10 Cover Versions That Were Hated by the Original Artists    

I would imagine that an artist feels a certain amount of pride upon hearing that someone wants to cover one of their songs.  But that pride is probably dampened when the cover ends up SUCKING.

 

 

Here's a list of cover songs that were HATED by the original artists:

 

 

1.  "You Really Got Me",  Van Halen:  Ray Davies of The Kinks said it sounded "very middle-America."  And his brother Dave added, quote, "Good art isn't always about having the comfiest technique."

 

2.  "Ol' 55",  Eagles:  Tom Waits called their version "a little antiseptic."

 

 

3.  "Anarchy in the UK",  Motley Crue:  Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols called it "hilarious" . . . but he also thanked the Crue for, quote, "making me loads of money in the easiest possible way."

 

 4.  "Behind Blue Eyes",  Limp Bizkit:  Pete Townshend from The Who did NOT hold back.  He said, quote, "It was an embarrassing effort, and one that discredits a fine song."

5.  "Street Spirit",  Peter Gabriel:  Radiohead never publicly trashed Peter's effort . . . but Peter himself once said that he heard they didn't like it.

 

 

6.  "Blinded by the Light",  Manfred Mann's Earth Band:  Bruce Springsteen only hated one part of their version, and I bet you can guess what it was.  In the original, Bruce sang, "cut loose like a deuce."

 

 

But Manfred Mann changed it to "revved up like a deuce" . . . and the way they sang it, it sounds like "wrapped up like a douche."  Bruce once said, quote, "One version is about a car, the other is about a feminine hygiene product."

 

7.  "These Boots",  Megadeth:  Lee Hazlewood, who wrote Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" didn't like the raunchier lyrics Megadeth added.  But he pocketed 10 years of royalties before he complained.

 

 

 

 

8.  "Summer Breeze",  Type O Negative:  They originally changed the title to "Summer Girl", and added references to sex, vomit, and "Devil music".  Yacht Rock superstars Seals and Crofts were NOT amused.

 

 

So "Summer Girl" got shelved, and Type O released a straight remake of "Summer Breeze" instead.  (Check out "Summer Girl" here.)

 

 

9.  "Where the Streets Have No Name",  Pet Shop Boys:  They were actually kind of feuding with U2 when they gave this track the disco treatment. 

 

 

Bono said, "What have we done to deserve this" . . . a nod to the Pet Shop Boys track "What Have I Done to Deserve This?"

10.  The list also includes Weird Al Yankovic . . . even though he did PARODIES, and not covers.  But he did run afoul of Coolio for turning "Gangsta's Paradise" into "Amish Paradise".  They made peace later on.

 

 

Al was actually turned down by several artists, including Paul McCartney, Weezer, and Prince.

 

 

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