Hi, this is Jay Sweet, and you're listening to
My Weekly Mixtape with Brian Colburn. We're about
to blow your motherf***ing minds. Welcome to
My Weekly Mixtape, a podcast that takes the classic
mixtape approach to building a modern playlist.
I'm your host, Brian Colburn. Joining me tonight
as guest curator is someone who you might remember
from episode 10, the 2000s punk rock episode,
as well as the years we hosted TuneStyle's podcast
together, Mr. Jay Sweet. Jay, welcome back to
the show. Hey, Brian, thanks for having me. It's
great to be back and have just another great
music conversation with you. Yeah, and this one
is... Something that came about organically because
about an hour and a half ago, you and I were
texting back and forth about our random music
nerdery like we tend to do. And we were talking
about songs that we wondered if people knew were
cover songs or not. Yes, because you blew my
mind a few episodes back when I was listening.
You mentioned that Hearts Alone is actually a
cover, which I had no idea at all. And with that,
I said, well, gee, that would make a fantastic
episode. And you responded with why? Yes, it
would. I said, well, let's take an hour break
here, have a bite to eat, put together a bank
of songs and do this. So there has been no social
media plug for this episode. There has been no
lead up, no build up. This is as organic as it
gets. Great. And I'm looking forward to it right
off the top of our heads like it used to be.
Yes. Well, before we get started, I want to say
that this kind of episode songs that you didn't
know were covers could be a bit of a slippery
slope because I know for a fact that listeners
of my weekly mixtape range from the casual music
fan to full blown music fanatics. So there may
be some songs tonight that you and I bring up
that depending on where listeners stand on that
spectrum. Might not be shocking to you at all,
but I want the listeners to know that, at least
on my side, my heart is in the right place with
songs that I've brought to the table tonight.
Yeah, same for me. I don't think that there's
anything, you know, I had no idea that some of
these were covers to begin with. And I mean,
I've got a good, what, 40 songs at least. A lot
of them, you know, you know me, very 80s centric.
And we can talk about, I mean, look. To be perfectly
honest, we could talk all day about how the 1950s
and 60s when rock and roll was new, everyone
was covering everyone else's songs because there
was nothing else to do. So we'll just how many
versions of of rock and Robin can there be? You
know, right. So Mustang Sally. Right. Well, I
mean, depending on what cover bands you go see
on any given Saturday. Somewhere right now, Mustang
Sally is being played. That's right. Well, let's
get down to business tonight. As I mentioned
at the top of the show, Jay and I will be curating
a songs you didn't know were covers mixtape.
And we're going to use that old cassette deck
approach. Jay is my special guest. We'll begin
side A with his first song choice. And then I'll
add a song that I feel best follows up that choice.
We'll then flip flop choosing songs until we've
mapped out 10 songs for side A. We'll then give
our mixtape a proverbial flip and we'll map out
side B. Only this time, I'll kick things off
with Jay choosing second. Our overall goal for
the episode is to craft the best songs you didn't
know were covers mixtape possible through only
20 songs. At the end of the show, you can take
our conversation to the next level by visiting
the episode page at myweeklymixtape .com to give
our final mixtape a listen via the embedded playlist.
Finally, if you like what you're hearing on My
Weekly Mixtape, you can help me out personally
by either telling a friend about the show, leaving
a five -star review wherever you're tuning in,
or becoming a Patreon mixtaper at patreon .com
forward slash myweeklymixtape. So with that said,
Jay, I'm officially pressing the record button
on our mixtape, and the floor is yours. What
song did you choose to kick off side A? Well,
I went back and forth on a good way to start.
because there's a lot to choose from. And I could
either hit it with my favorites right off the
rip, or I could sneak into it. And I think I'm
going to go with that route. We're going to ease
right on into this with a cover that you probably,
again, feel free to judge away because we talked
about when rock and roll was new and different
people recorded the same song over and over again.
So what I'm going to start off with is Gladys
Knight and the Pips heard it through the grapevine,
which was actually also done by Smokey Robinson
and the Miracles. They shelved it. This is a
great story about this song. They shelved that
song and then Gladys Knight and the Pips released
their version of it. And then it was, of course,
picked up by Marvin Gaye and then Creedence Clearwater
Revival. So we got a little foreplay going on
there. It's a great song. I am personally a huge
fan of the Creedence version because I love the
swamp rock nature that they brought to it. And
the fact that it goes on for 10 minutes but doesn't
feel like it does. And that is a true testament
to Fogerty and what the three of them brought
together musically. But all of the versions of
that song are amazing. The California Raisins
1980 something version that came out with the
commercial. I had almost forgotten about that.
The claymation version. There were a lot of kids
at our age at that time that were saying, wow,
these raisins even have their own song. That's
right. But that is a fantastic song and one that,
yes, if you did not know Gladys Knight, you would
not know her version was actually a cover because
hers was the first one to actually. show up on
the scene, even though the song was written and
recorded prior to that. That's right. And even
more so to the fact that it's Smokey Robinson
and the Miracles who had, or at least the Miracles,
it was recorded under the Miracles. So it's incredible
to think that someone iconic like a Smokey Robinson,
like the Miracles, got kind of trumped by Gladys
Knight, who's equal iconic in the music genre
on that song. Definitely. What I'm going to do
now is follow up that vibe that you're talking
about, where a song is written and is released
by a band, and you think that it's their song,
when actually it is a cover. And the song that
I'm choosing is going to raise some eyebrows.
I think a couple eyebrows, maybe. It was originally
written and performed live by Joni Mitchell in
1969, and it appeared on her album Ladies of
the Canyon, which came out in April of 1970.
Now, the reason that this might raise eyebrows
is because one month earlier, in March of 1970,
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young released the Deja
Vu album. And that album contained the song Woodstock.
And Woodstock was originally written and performed
by Joni Mitchell. But because of label shenanigans,
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Youngs came out one
month earlier, making the original songwriter
seem like it's a cover version, which I think
is hysterical. And this is 1970. This is pre
-internet. This is pre -MTV. This is radio airplay
only. We're talking here. Another interesting
thing about this song that ties it into I Heard
It to the Grapevine is that in 1970, there were
four versions of this song that were released.
The other two versions released in that same
year, British band Matthews Southern Comfort
released a version in July. of 1970 after they
got a huge reception to a live rendition they
performed on the bbc network so they went and
tracked a studio single and then the assembled
multitude recorded an instrumental version of
the song later in 1970 as one of those do you
know in like the 70s they would put out these
instrumental versions of the Beatles and all
these different albums. This was a bunch of different
songs. Yeah. And this version has like a James
Bond feel to it. It's a really wild instrumental
version, but Woodstock was a single four different
times in 1970. And if for the people that know
the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young version are
right to assume that they're the first ones because
it's the first one released when in fact. It
is a cover song. And you mentioned it was written
by Joni Mitchell, right? Yes. Yes. And they just
got they got to the recording first. Again, you
mentioned record company shenanigans. That's
going to come up a lot in this episode. Oh, definitely.
Yeah. And this is one of those things where I
mean, look, a good song is a good song. And obviously
there's no denying the power of Joni Mitchell
songwriting. And everybody knew it. Everybody
knew she had the magic touch when it came. And
that is why. People from America and in London
where everybody was trying to get their hands
on this song because it spoke to the time. And
she is one of the premier songwriters of that
era. Yes. And iconic. Again, we're going to probably
overuse that word like we usually do. But she's
an amazing songwriter. And, you know, her contribution
to the music scene echoes through today, which
is the longstanding stuff that she's done. All
the way through Big Yellow Taxi with Counting
Crows and Vanessa Carlton. Yeah, and a lot of
people didn't realize that was a cover either.
That's right. But that might be one where a lot
of the younger people didn't realize it was a
cover, whereas our parents at the time immediately
said, wait a minute. Yeah, and I think that's
going to be pointed out a lot here is some of
this stuff is going to be. obvious to people
of a different generation than it would be to,
say, my kids. Exactly. Yes, it's definitely a
generational gap here, whereas certain songs
that you and I might know as covers because we
were around for the originals or our parents
in this instance of Woodstock, younger people
who maybe are hearing it for the first time might
have no idea. So I think that's kind of an interesting
spin on this as well. Excellent point. All right.
Gladys Knight and the Pips, Crosby, Stills, Nash
& Young. What do you got for track three, Jay?
Let's keep going in this little groove that we've
got going, this 60s, 70s groove that we've got
going. Heavy metal fans will recognize this next
song by Judas Priest. Diamonds and Rust was originally
written by Joan Baez, and it was a song actually
about her relationship with Bob Dylan. It's a
great song. And Judas Priest has several because
you scooped me on the band. I had the Green Manalishi
on my list, which was originally recorded by
Fleetwood Mac. But a lot of people knew the Judas
Priest version was kind of their introduction
to it. And then there are other versions of Judas
Priest songs where it's a little more obvious,
like their cover of Johnny B. Good. Right. And
this one, I mean. How would you not know? You
listen to a song like that, Diamonds and Rust,
and you're like, oh, yeah, this is definitely
some British metal, British steel. Here we go.
And yeah, no, that came out of the straight out
of the 60s with John Baez. All right. Now, coming
out of Judas Priest. Now, I kind of want to lean
into that hard rock side you're going with here.
And I think I'm going to go with one that might
be a little bit obvious for this episode. But
I'll be perfectly honest, I didn't know this
as a kid when I was rocking out to Quiet Riot
in the early 80s. I had no idea that Come On,
Feel the Noise was originally recorded by Slade
in 1973 as a non -album single. So following
up Judas Priest, Diamonds and Rust, I am going
with Quiet Riot's Come On, Feel the Noise. anthemic
songs. And I'll be honest, when I listened to
the Slade version and I listened to the Quiet
Riot version, sans Kevin Dubrow's amazing vocals.
I mean, one of a kind vocal delivery. He had
the rock voice that so many people just dream
to be able to nail with such ease. He was such
a one of a kind talent. The Slade version, there's
not so much difference in the song. Quiet Riot
didn't reinvent the wheel with it. They just
played it as they would play any Quiet Riot song.
It might have a little bit more oomph and a little
bit more energy, but the Slade version is heavy
as hell as well. Absolutely. And I got to tell
you, so you scooped me, of course, there with
Quiet Riot. Quiet Riot, for all intents and purposes,
could be considered a Slade cover band because
not only was Come On, Feel the Noise. A Slade
song, but I believe Mama, We're All Crazy Now
was also a Slade song. And that's the one I had
on my list. Yeah. I mean, Slade, when you talk
about underrated rock bands of all time, Slade
has to be in that conversation. Absolutely. All
right. So how do I follow? We've made a terrific
jump here from Gladys Knight to Pips and Joni
Mitchell to. Diamonds and Rust and now Quiet
Riot. So let's stay on that heavier side, that
rock and roll side, and let's talk about how
much we love rock and roll. As Joan Jett, or
should I tell you, The Arrows, had once told
us back in the day. That's, again, I grew up
in the 80s and, you know, Joan Jett was fierce
on the scene. She's one of my favorite artists
of all time. I would never have known that I
Love Rock and Roll was a cover. I did not know
that as a kid. My parents did. So I knew that
little tidbit of information a little younger
than most. But Joan Jett did a lot of covers
back in that era. Because if you think of her
cover of Crimson and Clover. Right. She did Dirty
Deeds, which the entire album that was from was
nothing but cover songs. So there were a lot
of cover songs sprinkled in the mix of Joan Jett
and the Blackhearts. Obviously the most iconic.
I love rock and roll. When I listen to the Arrows
version, I'll be honest, it is probably the closest
note for note rendition of a cover. That I have
on my list tonight, because when you listen to
the Arrows version musically, it sounds very
similar to what Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
did. It just doesn't have Joan Jett's growl and
snarl to it, which is what I think really set
the two apart. Definitely. And it's more that
she brought it to life across the pond, as it
were, and had just brought that intensity that
Joan brings to it. Every record that she does.
I am going to continue leaning into this with
one that I did not know for the longest time
was a cover song. And it was originally recorded
by someone called Jake Holmes in 1967 for his
debut album, The Above Ground Sound of Jake Holmes.
A year later, a band called the Yardbirds reworked
the song with a new arrangement. and included
it on their Yardbirds 68 album, which was produced
by the one and only Jimmy Page, who then took
this song, dazed and confused, to Led Zeppelin,
and the rest is history. Even though Jake Holmes'
version still has that psychedelic trippiness
to it, Led Zeppelin's became... the definitive
version of the song to the fact that people didn't
even know it was a cover for such a long time.
Yeah. Until he sued them. Yeah, exactly. It just
became the version of the song. And that's something
that when you create a cover that completely
eclipses the original to the point that people,
I don't want to say forget, but people, yeah,
that's the only word I could use that they forget
the original even existed. And now, granted,
there's a gray area here because Jake Holmes'
version has different lyrics, but when you listen
to the two back -to -back, it's very obvious
that Led Zeppelin's version is a cover. Yep.
And when you say to somebody, dazed and confused,
the first band they say is Led Zeppelin. They
don't say Jake Holmes. And there's a reason for
that. And they don't even say the Yardbirds.
Right. And Yardbirds did have Jimmy Page in it,
but still, it wasn't... Robert Plant's vocal
delivery, which again, that separated it from
the Yardbirds version and separated it from the
Jay Combs version. And I feel like this one for
classic hard rock fans might be a little come
on, Brian and Jay. I know this was a cover, but
for the casual music fan, they might be surprised
by this one. So this one I had in my list as
a possibility to use. But coming out of Quiet
Riot and Joan Jett, I felt like it was the perfect
time to squeeze this one in. Awesome. A great
pick. Let's dial it back into some funky rock
and roll here. I'm going to talk a little bit
about something you had touched on a little while
ago was Fleetwood Mac. And if you had asked me
a few weeks ago, even, if you say the words Black
Magic Woman, your thoughts are Carlos Santana.
That's not true. Originally, Fleetwood Mac recorded
Black Magic Woman. And then Carlos got his hands
on it. And oh, boy, I just lost. Who's the vocalist
for that record? Greg Raleigh from from Jerry
Raleigh. Yep. From Journey. That's right. So
Greg Raleigh threw his vocals at it and really
lit out that really cool pipe organ in the beginning
of it. And just magic happened. Fleetwood Mac
was always an amazing band, even in. Their earlier
era before the next Buckingham phase. And people
tend to forget that. But that's why bands like
Judas Priest were covering the Green Manalishi
and Santana was covering Black Magic Woman. They
had that magic, whatever you want to call it,
that lightning in a bottle. No matter who was
part of Fleetwood Mac, every one of their eras
was iconic. And I think that is a testament to
Mick Fleetwood having his finger on the pulse
of music throughout all the iterations of the
band, even into the 80s when they dialed into
the AOR sound for the late 80s Little Lies. They
knew how to keep their finger on the pulse and
stay relevant decade after decade after decade.
And I think while Santana's version is the definitive
version. Fleetwood Max is still incredible. Absolutely.
All right. So following that up, I'm going to
bring in a song that kind of has an asterisk
next to it. Because for all intents and purposes,
a majority of people didn't know this song had
an original version until some 27 years after
its initial quote unquote release. Paul Pena
wrote and recorded this song for his 1973 album,
New Train. However, because of a, here we go
again, dispute between him and his label, New
Train did not see the light of day in record
store shelves until the year 2000. However, through
New Train's producer, Steve Miller heard the
song and recorded it. in 1975 during his Fly
Like an Eagle album sessions and eventually released
it on his 1977 album, Book of Dreams. And that
song is Jet Airliner. That is so good to hear
that I didn't even know. Again, that's that riff,
that guitar riff, that opening. That is iconic
to me. And that is Steve Miller. But it was written
by Paul Pena and his version is very similar
to Steve Miller bands. It still has that bluesy
rock feel to it. Although lyrically, Steve Miller's
is a little different. I went and got the new
Train album and the entire album is incredible.
And it's one of those lost records that you go
back and listen and you go, how the hell was
this guy not more popular? And obviously, the
scene knew it because Steve Miller would not
have covered the song if he didn't feel what
Pena was putting out. And to me, this song is
one of those examples that when you hear Jet
Airliner on classic rock radio, you immediately
go, oh, this is a Steve Miller band song. But
when I found out that it was a cover and I first
heard Paul Pena's version, it blew my frigging
mind. And I'm hoping. It's blowing somebody's
mind that's listening right now. Oh, 100%. That's
blowing my mind. Well, all right. So where do
we go from jet airliner? Hmm. All right. So let's
do it this way. So let's talk about a little
movie called Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey. And
I think just by announcing the title of that
movie, I think you know exactly where I'm going
with this. 100%. Now, Kiss is not actually. unknown
to the cover songs realm either. But this song
was reworked by originally done by Argent and
Russ Ballard, which is again, no stranger to
the Kiss catalog. Russ Ballard's contributions
to the Kiss catalog are numerous. But it used
to be the lead singer of a band called Argent,
which is most well known for their song Hold
Your Head Up. But if you were to listen to a
great tune, God gave rock and roll to you. And
then Kiss redid it as God gave rock and roll
to you too for the Bill and Ted movie. Which
I'll be honest, I didn't know that it was a cover
when Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey came out. I
learned about it because I was a nerd opening
up the J cards and reading through the cassette
liner notes. And I'm like, what's this Russ Ballard
name next to Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons? What's
going on here? But I love that song and coming
out. It's very anthemic. I mean, I could see
why Kiss did it. And then obviously thinking
about the movie soundtrack. and thinking about
Bill and Ted's bogus journey, it really is the
perfect song for that movie, regardless of who
wrote it originally. And I absolutely love the
pick and the close outside a, I am going to go
with something you mentioned right at the top
of the show, Jay, you spoiled it at the beginning,
but for those that don't know, originally recorded
by I 10 for their 1983 album, taking a cold look.
I am going with hearts alone. because it is an
anthemic side closer, and I need to continue
that energy from God Gave Rock and Roll to you,
and how else can you do that besides Anne F .N.
Wilson and her amazing vocals? There is no other
way, and that's a great way to close out this
tape for sure. Now, that song was also a double
cover because after I -10's version, It was also
recorded prior to Heart by actress Valerie Stevenson
and actor John Stamos. Yes, Uncle Jesse from
Full House for the CBS show Dreams. And there
is a YouTube video that I am going to embed on
this page on myweeklymixtape .com so you could
see. John Stamos and Valerie Stevenson doing
their take on, yes, I'm just going to say it,
Hart's song alone because Hart made it their
song. Look, I love I -10 for writing it. I thank
them for it, but it's Hart's song. It's forever
Hart's song to me. They could never have brought
the, again, I spoke of the energy and the intensity
that artists bring to these covers. And you cannot
match what Ann Wilson brings to the table in
any capacity. I mean, to the point where we've
discussed on several occasions, the tribute to
Led Zeppelin with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page
in the audience doing Stairway to Heaven with
an orchestra and a choir behind her is just mind
blowing. And it's, you know what? That could
have been a hard song. What do I know? She's
amazing. I will say this. truly in my heart of
hearts think that that version of Stairway to
Heaven is in my top three greatest cover songs
of all time. I have to agree with you. I mean,
every time I watch that video, the hair on my
arm stands up and you get that lump in your throat
when the chorus at the end, when she's hitting
the high notes, you see Robert Plant crying and
you're sitting there going like, man, who's chopping
onions around me as I'm watching this on my computer?
What is this lump in my throat? Like this is
not, it was just so powerful and it was such
a moment. And I'm not a huge live performance,
like, you know, recorded live album. Like I'm
a studio versions guy. But that version is absolute
perfection. Period. End of story. And end of
side one. There you go. And there you have it,
folks. Side A of our songs you didn't know were
cover songs. Mixtape, which kicked off with Gladys
Knight and the Pips. I Heard It Through the Grapevine,
originally by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles.
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's Woodstock, originally
by Joni Mitchell. Judas Priest's Diamonds and
Rust, originally by Joan Baez. Quiet Riots, Come
On, Feel the Noise, originally by Slade. Joan
Jett and the Blackhearts, I Love Rock and Roll,
originally by The Arrows. Led Zeppelin's Dazed
and Confused, originally by Jake Holmes. Santana's
Black Magic Woman, originally by Fleetwood Mac.
Steve Miller Band's Jet Airliner, originally
by Paul Pena. Kisses God Gave Rock and Roll to
You Too, originally by Argent. and Hearts Alone,
originally by I -10. Head over to myweeklymixtape
.com to hear all of the songs we've discussed
through the embedded playlist, and that includes
both the cover songs and the original versions
that you may have not known were original versions.
Now, Jay, before we flip this proverbial mixtape
over to Side B, do you think we've left some
jaws on the ground with this first batch of 10
songs? Maybe a couple. Like I said, this is it's
going to be generational. It's going to be, you
know, my my parents were young, wouldn't have
necessarily known that Dazed and Confused. I
don't even think that my dad knows Dazed and
Confused is. He's, you know, big band musician
and was very much into jazz and and big band
swing. So not very much of a rock and roll fan.
But he you know, my mom was into all the country
music and everything else. She was the pop side
of things for me. So yeah, I mean, but your parents,
to your point, your parents knew that some of
these songs were covers and then pointed that
out to you like the arrows. So it's anybody's
guess at this point, judge away if you must,
but some of those caught me off guard. And I
know that when we get into side two, I'm sure
there'll be more that you're going to say, how
did you not know that that was a cover? In fact,
we can lead into that right now. When I was listening
to your interview with Billy Gibson. Talking
about Huey Lewis and the News, Do You Believe
in Love was a cover. And that is my all -time
favorite Huey Lewis and the News song. Because
it's a Huey Lewis and the News song. You had
no idea about the original, huh? Not a clue.
Well, then with that, I will take that lead and
I will start Side B with that song. There you
go. Because I want people to go back and listen
to episode 23, the ultimate Huey Lewis and the
News playlist featuring Bill Gibson. the band's
drummer. I would rather you hear the story from
his mouth versus mine, but long story short,
it was originally recorded by supercharge in
1979 for their album body rhythm and their lead
singer. Some guy named Robert John Mutt Lang
is the one who submitted the track to Huey Lewis
in the news. And if you know music in the eighties,
Mutt Lang is all over the decade. Oh, for sure.
And he knew what a. hit song was, and obviously
so, because Do You Believe in Love is just that.
And yes, when I first found out that that was
a cover, because you cannot find that version
on Spotify, I was like, are you kidding me? There's
just no way. There is no way. And it's the same
thing with Heart and Soul, the other Huey Lewis
in the News hit, because I had both of the songs
sitting in my bank, because those are both cover
songs. And I had no idea. And we talk about both
of them. So instead of going deeper into Huey
Lewis in the news, I would rather the mixtapers
go back and check out episode 23 because it's
much better coming out of Bill Gibson's mouth
than it is mine. So kicking off side B Huey Lewis
in the news. Do you believe in love originally
by supercharge? Beautiful, beautiful. That was
a beautiful segue. I set you up nicely for that.
Yeah, thank you. You lobbed it. And I just, I
take the swing. That's right. That's how it works.
That's how it works. Like minds, we share a brain,
right? Or at least a cell. Yes. Whatever's left
after the 90s. All right, we started off with
some Huey Lewis in the news. We're talking about
believing in love, and let's stay in the love
vein. Everybody knows a little movie, Ghost,
with Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze, the late,
great Patrick Swayze, and that iconic scene where
we got clay everywhere. And Matt, I'm just going
to leave it at that. But the song that was playing
in the background of that scene was Unchained
Melody by the Righteous Brothers. That was, as
far as I was aware, and I was a big fan of the
Righteous Brothers, that was their song. But
it was in fact not their song. The original,
again, when I talked about earlier, the rock
and roll was new and kind of everybody had a
version of everybody else's song at one point
or another in the 50s. early 60s. This song was
originally done by Les Baxter in 1955, and then
it was covered by three other artists before
falling into Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield's
hands. That song honestly is the Righteous Brothers
to me. They, like Hearts Alone, made the definitive
version. But when you go back and listen to the
others, you go, wow, that, you know. I mean,
at the end of the day, an amazingly written song
is an amazingly written song. And Unchained Melody
might be one of the greatest love songs ever.
For sure. It's just so timeless. Because think
about this. Ghost came out. Was that in the late
80s or early 90s? Good question. I want to say
early 90s. Actually, I just Googled it while
you were thinking. It was 1990. See, I am not
a movie guy, so I do have to cheat when it comes
to that stuff. So I was kind of right. 1990,
depending on who you ask, could still be the
end of the 1980s. But again, that is several
decades after the original, and it still felt
real in the 90s. Absolutely. Think about this.
Boys to Men did their version of In the Still
of the Night. originally by the five satins and
it's still because of unchained melody there
was that kind of era where in the early 90s old
doo -wop felt modern again it kind of did that
full circle movement where the old sound sounded
fresh and new again so to me unchained melody
did that because of the use and ghost and pivoting
out of that i just want to go with this next
song it's a total 180 I'm just blowing the playlist
up here, but I have to be honest. This is one
that I recently learned was a cover song. And
the only tie that it can have to Unchained Melody
and Do You Believe in Love is that it involves
love in some sort. That's the only tie because
I'm going into a completely different genre here
and one that we haven't touched on yet for the
most part. And that is country music. In 1991,
a band called the Marcy Brothers wrote and released
a song called Don't Tell My Heart. And it didn't
really go anywhere. And then a year later, a
man with a purpose and a mullet changed the face
of country radio and took achy, breaky heart
to the top of every chart there ever was. Billy
Ray Cyrus, achy, breaky heart. is a cover song
originally recorded as Don't Tell My Heart by
the Marcy Brothers. What tie does that have to
Huey Lewis and the News, Do You Believe in Love,
and the Righteous Brothers' Unchained Melody?
None. This one shocked me that it was a cover.
So I'm hoping it's shocking somebody listening
right now. Well, I got to tell you, I worked
in country radio right around the time that that
song was climbing its way up the charts. And
so I knew that that one was a cover, but I had
never heard the original. So all I knew because
country music and I don't get along very well.
I don't think there's any other way to put that.
We're not friends. Um, but I did, I did a quick
stint for those of you who knew me and from way
back, know that I worked in country radio at
country 108 in Syracuse, New York, right around
the time with Garth Brooks blew up and Martina
McBride and Faith Hill and Billy Ray Cyrus was,
was another one of those artists. And I'll tell
you what, I kind of dog on country music, but
there are a few songs out that are, have been
released that are out there. Then I'm like, you
know what? That is a good song. And I'm sorry.
A good song is a good song. We've said it all
since our tune styles days. Words by heart is
probably one of those. Oh yeah. Just take you
back to high school. And I remember I found the
letter that you wrote me that broke my heart.
And you slipped it in my letterman's jacket.
You know, but let me go back. And since it's
my turn to pick the next song here, I'm going
to go ahead. And stay in the country music vein,
believe it or not. And actually, we could talk
about All For One being a John Michael Montgomery
cover band for the most part. But one of my favorite
songs growing up because of my mom was a song
by Juice Newton called Angel of the Morning.
And it had such a beautiful melody and just the
haunting music behind it, the way the arrangement
was behind it. But that went on to be covered
by Chrissy Hinton, The Pretenders. And I think
it featured on Friends, did it not? Let's just
say my wife being the biggest Friends fan that
I know personally would be very upset with me
if I didn't give that a resounding yes. So yeah.
There you go. Well, it was originally recorded
by Evie Sands in 1967, and I had no idea who
Evie Sands even was. I grew up with the Juice
Newton version, and that version is my version
because my mom. So I had no idea, and I went
back and thought, oh, all right. Evie Sands 1967
and it is a beautiful it's still just it's a
gorgeous song it's one of my favorite songs and
then obviously you have to fast forward a few
years because Shaggy had Angel which lifted that
same melody that's right for his reggae version
that song again just kept coming back and back
that's right why because it's so damn addictive
and if you think about if you listen to that
song the bass line Fits in perfectly with The
Joker by Steve Miller Band. That's right. And
Leaving Las Vegas by Sheryl Crow. And that is
why Blues Traveler used to cover that song and
mash them all together because of the way they
flow so nicely into each other. You're kidding.
Yes. Yes, they did. I got a funny story about
that. So this is actually how I found out that
Unchained Melody was a cover with the Righteous
Brothers version was a cover. I was working with
a band called Street Corner, fronted by the amazing
Jimmy Mitchell in Syracuse, New York, and just
a five -piece acapella doo -wop group. And they
sat and they did the whole finger -snapping,
toe -tapping, and doo -wop thing with the hoo
-ahs and the vocal harmonies behind it in five
-part harmony. It was beautiful. And when I would
show in for one of the singers, every once in
a while I'd come out from behind the soundboard.
and kind of became the honorary sixth member
of Street Corner 5. Then they started doing Angel
by Shaggy, and then Rift into Joker by Steve
Miller, and then Rift into Leaving Las Vegas
by Sheryl Crow. I can't believe that Blues Traveler
did that. That's funny. Yeah, it's an awesome,
awesome tune. And obviously, look, you're going
G, C, D for a chord progression. They're not
rewriting the book, but it's just such a perfect
progression. Oh, for sure. Following up Juice
Newton, I want to go with another female artist
here. So I'm going to go with a song that was
originally recorded in 1993 by a Danish singer
named Liz Sorensen. And the song was called Brant,
which is Danish for burnt. Then a year later,
two of the original songwriters, Scott Cutler
and Annie Previn, recorded another version of
this song. In 1994. With their band Edna Swap.
And then in 1996. American Norwegian singer.
Trine Rain. Recorded a version of this song.
None of those three versions. Really hit big.
But obviously. Somebody out there knew that this
song. Was destined to be massive. And finally
in 1997. Natalie Imbruglia. Released her version
of the song. Which became the de facto. go -to
version of torn. It took an Italian Australian
to figure out how to make that song pop. Yeah.
And that song exploded. And that was all you
heard on radio for all of 1997. And if you want
another laugh, head over to my weekly mixtape
.com because I put, I'm going to post a comedy
skit by David Armand, along with Natalie and
Brulia. David Armand is the comedian who takes
songs. And he mimes them with his hands and facial
expressions. And it is hysterically funny. And
Natalie Imbruglia is singing the song live as
he's performing it, kind of mimicking whatever's
happening in the song he's doing with his hands
and facial expressions. I do the song No Justice
by explaining it, but the video is absolutely
hysterical. I've never seen this video, but I'm
seeing it in my head unfold as you're saying
it. And it's funny. I'm going to check that out
for sure. Definitely. So Natalie Imbruglia is
torn following up Angel of the Morning. All right.
Well, let's stay in Italy then. Not that Natalie
was in Italy, but she was Italian in Australia.
Very weird. What are you going to do? A little
song by a young lady who unfortunately once again
left us too soon. Miss Laura Branigan had a very
famous song called Gloria, which was originally
an Italian song. So it took. Laura Branigan to
translate that song into English, originally
by Umberto Tozzi and Giancarlo Bagazzi. Terrible
Italian. It's terrible. It was translated into
English by Jonathan King, and in 1982, Ms. Branigan
recorded that song, and it just went up to number
two on the charts. Two. Two. Making it, you know,
the worldwide sensation that it is. And I'll
tell you again. How I found out that that was
a cover was we're eating at our favorite place,
Paisano's on Mulberry Street in New York City.
And I'm hearing this familiar melody coming through
the speakers in the kitchen. And I thought to
myself, oh, that's cool. Somebody Italian covered
Laura Branigan's song. And no, no, I had it the
other way around. So very, very cool. Very interesting.
And the original, if you don't speak Italian,
the original has a poetry to it. that a lot of
the romance language kind of contains that doesn't
necessarily translate when you translate it to
an English language or a Germanic language like
English, but it flows so beautifully in the native
tongue. All right. Well, coming out of Laura
Branigan, I'm going to stay in the 80s, I think,
and go with another massive, massive hit. But
the original was a song by a different name.
and it was more of a rock song. The original
song was called Kitty, and the band was called
Racy, and they recorded the song for their 1979
album Smash and Grab. However, it took Tony Basil
adding in the Oh Mickey You're So Fine chants
and changing the name of the song to Mickey to
make it the worldwide smash that it is, Tony
Basil's Mickey. is a cover song. Changed some
of the lyrics a little bit, but when you go back
and listen to Racy's version, you really have
to question how the hell the original wasn't
a hit because it's just as infectious. I just
don't think... Actually, you know, scratch that.
I think I know why Racy's wasn't massively popular
and Tony Basil's was. And it's three letters.
MTV. Well, sure. Right place, right time. Exactly.
Because the original song to me is just as good.
But there wasn't that video, that iconic early
MTV video. And I think that's why this song kind
of gets overlooked as a cover song. So, again,
I don't know if this one is a holy crap. That's
a cover moment. But when I first heard the original,
I'm going, when did a rock band do a version
of Mickey? And then like the nerd I am, I. Did
some research and found out Mickey was the cover
version. That's pretty cool. And so Tony Basil
was kind of Paula Abdul before Paula Abdul, right?
She was a choreographer. Yeah, she was a dancer.
And I remember that. And then she had that one
hit. And then she did a movie once bitten with
Jim Carrey, right? Yes, yes. But the thing is,
I think when people go back and hear the original
without the chanting, I feel like they're going
to be like something's missing. But it's actually,
at its core, like we've talked about throughout
the night, a fantastic song. Oh, yeah, absolutely.
Especially for pop music. Because, look, if it
wasn't for Mickey, Weird Al Yankovic doesn't
have Ricky on his first album, which kind of
helped propel him as, too, because his music
video, again, got airplay. I mean, it wasn't
to the level of Eat It, but still, this is kind
of where... He knew that there was something
about the song or else he wouldn't have parodied
it. That's right. And speaking of Eat It, let's
go ahead and stay in the 80s and talk about the
cover of that wholly original song that Michael
Jackson did a parody of called Beat It. For those
of you who haven't seen Weird Al's documentary
movie, you wouldn't get that joke. But for us
true Weird Al nerds, that one killed. Yeah, go
watch Weird. It was nominated, rightly so, for
many, many awards, deservingly so. Daniel Radcliffe
is amazing. Rainn Wilson as Dr. Demento. So funny.
So many good points of that movie. But in all
honesty, let me stay in the 80s. And I talked
a little bit about off the top about how it went
back and forth between The Gladys Knight and
The Pips and one of my favorite artists of all
time ever, hands down. I'm going to insert that
here because. A group called The Spinners were
popular yacht rock staples, right? The Spinners
had a great song called Working My Way Back to
You, Forgive Me Girl. And that song originally
was by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Yes.
And not a lot of people knew that. It was a kind
of a mashup, like the Nylons Kiss Him Goodbye
when they did that song in 87. It's a great song.
That was one that I knew was a cover growing
up because my parents used to take me to car
shows all the time growing up. Yep. So at the
car shows, it was all the older muscle cars and
they always had doo -wop and fifties music and
sixties music playing. So I heard a lot of Frankie
Valley in the four seasons. So when I heard the
spinners version, I was able to put two and two
together at a younger age, but had I not been.
kind of introduced to that scene, if you will,
I would have never known. Oh, for sure. And like
I said, I grew up on Frankie Valli and the Four
Seasons. Frankie Valli has one of those voices
for me that I could only hope someday that I
could have imitated. And still to this day, I'm
just that, just close, just that close. But I
knew, of course, because I had known Frankie
Valli and the Four Seasons. To your point, go
to car shows, state fair. Got to meet Frankie
Valli in the Four Seasons was amazing. Got to
introduce him to one of the state fairgrounds
in New York State. We got to introduce him on
the Cole Muffler Court at the time. And it was
a dream come true to just to meet him. And this
was before Jersey Boys, before The Sopranos,
when he just gets whacked in the worst way. But
yeah, he is one of my all -time favorites. And
that group shaped my musical influence. Having
heard that through my dad's cover band, The Professors,
when I was little, they would do that in Runaround
Sioux. So I knew all that doo -wop stuff from
that. And that's how I got to where I am in my
musical career now. Awesome. Awesome. I am struggling.
I have one song left and I have three songs I'm
literally staring at on my screen. But I want
to go with one that might actually surprise people.
Might. And because we've been kind of swaying
around the 80s here, I feel like musically this
is going to fit. So this song was originally
recorded by Gloria Jones in 1965 as the B -side
to her single, My Bad Boy's Coming Home. The
single was a commercial flop, which means the
B -side was a commercial flop. But then fast
forward to the 80s. and Soft Cell covered that
B -side and turned it into an international smash,
Tainted Love. Until recently, I was not aware
that Tainted Love was a cover. I thought that
was Soft Cell's original. So, wow. Yeah, I feel
like that's one that, because the cover was not
a massive hit and a B -side, when you go back
and listen to Gloria Jones' version, oh my God,
it's like, Motown, and you hear the song and
you think to yourself, this really works as a
soul song. So it made me respect Soft Cell's
rendition of it even more because they really
changed the musical landscape of that song because
the two sound like they're from completely different
cinematic universes, musically speaking. Sure.
but yet it's the same song. That's incredible.
And again, Soft Cell with Late 1981 with synth
pop coming into play and really taking that Motown
sound, again, right place, right time. I think
that Soft Cell capitalized on that new wave synth,
second wave British Invasion kind of stuff and
really sold it, really, really helped with the
launch of MTV. Well, Jay, I now get to pass it
to you. to close us out for the night. And this
is going to be tough because we've been sitting
in the 80s, but I still have a ton of songs on
my list here. I do, too. There's a volume, too,
just waiting in the wings for this one. Here
we are, up to number one on our final countdown.
This song is going to, I'm telling you, my jaw
hit the floor when I found this out. The Greatest
Love of All by Whitney Houston, covered by Mr.
Randy Watson and Cesar Tapley. was actually a
cover of a George Benson song. Believe it or
not. See, when you said Whitney Houston, I figured
you were going for I Will Always Love You, the
cover of Dolly Parton's smash country hit because
of your little knowledge of country music. But
that is a good pick because I have not heard
George Benson's original, I will not lie. And
it's very different. That Whitney putting her
stamp on it, that is exactly what made it the
iconic song that it is to the point where it
was lampooned in pop culture all over the place.
Yeah, I was going to say, there is a reason when
Whitney Houston puts her stamp on something,
she just takes it. She's like, it's mine. Because
Dolly Parton is one of the most recognizable
voices. In music history, is that a stretch to
say? Not at all. And Whitney took her song, which
I Will Always Love You, was a hit twice on country
radio for Dolly Parton in the 70s and in the
80s because of the re -recording for the Best
Little Whorehouse in Texas soundtrack. And yet,
when that song came out, I don't remember a single
person in the 90s telling me, hey, did you ever
hear the Dolly Parton version? It was just, did
you hear the new Whitney Houston song? And that
was what she did to songs that she sang very
much the way when Ann Wilson sings a song, she
makes it her own. Whitney does her thing and
makes it her own. So I think a perfect bookend
to close out side two of the ultimate songs.
You did not know where covers playlist, which
kicked off with Huey Lewis in the news. Do you
believe in love originally by supercharge? The
Righteous Brothers' Unchained Melody, originally
by Les Baxter. Billy Ray Cyrus' Achy Breaky Heart,
originally by the Marcy Brothers. Juice Newton's
Angel of the Morning, originally by Evie Sands.
Natalie Imbruglia's Torn, originally by the songwriters
in Edna Swap. Laura Branigan's Gloria, originally
by Giancarlo Bagazzi and Umberto Tosi. Tony Basil's
Mickey, originally by Racy. The Spinners' Working
My Way Back to You, originally by Frankie Valli
and the Four Seasons. Soft Cell's Tainted Love,
originally by Gloria Jones. And Whitney Houston's
The Greatest Love of All, originally by George
Benson. Remember to head to myweeklymixtape .com
to hear all the songs we've discussed in this
mix through the embedded playlist. And that includes
both the cover songs and the original versions
that you may have not known were. original versions.
Jay Sweet, as always, this has been a blast.
Thank you for joining me on the show, and I'm
looking forward to our next episode together.
Thanks for having me back, Brian. leaving the
show a five -star review wherever you're tuning
in, or becoming a Patreon mixtaper at patreon
.com forward slash myweeklymixtape. That's all
for this week. Thanks again for listening. Until
next time, enjoy the tunes.