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Listen to this track by experimental pop collective and repositioners of classic R&B songs The Flying Lizards. It’s “Money (That’s What I Want)”, a cover of the much-beloved 1959 Barrett Strong original. As often as it was covered, by both The Beatles and by The Rolling Stones among many others, The Flying Lizards made this one their own. After its release as a single, it eventually appeared on their self-titled 1979 debut album and became an (perhaps unlikely) hit single; number 5 in the UK, and number 22 on the dance charts in the States.
In some ways, it sounds as though this take on the song is trying to throw its own fight in the appealing pop music stakes. And yet somehow, the opposite effect knocked listeners out during the height of new wave when weirdly cool records were able to thrive as record companies, perhaps, were still trying to figure out the paradigm shift. Even in 1979, this sounded pretty weird coming out of the radio; a true novelty hit.
But beyond the novelty aspect of things, I think there is something underneath this version of a classic and well-covered R&B song that does more than just amuse us by being such a curiosity as a hit single.
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was the White Stripes’ third album, with very little out of place from their debut and its follow-up. But, this time, the songs seared through the initial novelty of the band’s guitar/drums/no bass structure to reveal some of the best tunes in rock songwriting for that year. And such a simple approach too – just a guitar, bombastic drums, and a petulant whine about a girl who’s “in love with the world” and not necessarily with the narrator. Sexual frustration, confusion, and heartbreak, all in one song. Rock n’ roll.
Two years later in 2003, soul music was given an infusion of the Old School when a teenager from the West Country in England emerged as a perhaps unlikely candidate for new soul queen; Joss Stone. Stone’s apprenticeship under 70s soul star 
, the follow-up album which Buckley was working on before his death in Memphis in 1997.
One of the things which most strikes me about this song, besides how prescient it is that Buckley covered it so close to his own death, is how old this song sounds. It could be a turn of the century folk tune, or at least a church hymn from the 20s. No. It was written in 1955 when it charted at #1 on the country charts by its writer 
This version of the song has graced the soundtracks of a few films, much like the original version served as the centerpiece to The Wizard of Oz. Israel Kamakawiwo’ole infused it with passion, albeit as a Hawaiian folk song and not a Hollywood show tune. The man himself released it along with his album 
in 1993. Since then, it’s appeared on a number of recent soundtrack albums such as 50 First Dates, Fred Claus, Meet Joe Black, and many others. The track is a stripped down take on the tune, with just Iz’s voice and ukulele accompaniment. His voice is both hushed and strong at the same time, and the starkness of the arrangement brings out the gentle simplicity of the song, and its connection with childhood innocence which lays at the heart of it. The spirit of the tune, which is really about optimism, is further accentuated by adding a bit of Bob Thiele’s “What A Wonderful World” into the mix, which was the subject of 
It’s been firmly established that Judy Garland is one of Rufus Wainwright’s musical heroes, and it’s also of no surprise perhaps that his version is closer to the Garland original which was first recorded in October 1938, and released the next year to become her signature tune until her death in 1969. In the Wainwright version, recorded for his 
If anyone was aware of cultural shifts and changing times, it was Bowie who first made a splash on national TV when he debuted his song 
(called “Round and Round”) is along the same lines as the Animals, in that this is more than just a story of an overcrowded night club. This is about fear and supresssion on the part of the authorities. Bowie’s delivery is not as menacing as Burdon’s, but there is a heightening sense of tension in his voice, something almost maniacal when he reaches the line “those doors flew back!”. And Ronson’s haphazzard guitar solo makes this sound like a riot is breaking out, which is perfect for the material. Like a lot their work together, Ronson’s guitar is the wave on which Bowie’s voice rides. And the “Around and Around” on this version is about disorientation, more than it is about dancing. Bowie would cover this ground on his own of course with his song “Changes”. But on this track, we’re not getting a patient explanation that the generation coming out of the time is “immune to the consultations” of police and government. This is anarchy. This is revolution.
The Wicked Pickett covered this song in 1969, the year after the original Beatles single which had stayed on the number one spot for 9 weeks, despite it being over 7 minutes long. Pickett included it on his album named after this cover version, 
. The arrangement dials up the gospel overtones of the original, while also bringing in the truly supernatural guitar chops of Duane Allman. Wilson Pickett made a career of singing soul music as if fighting for his life, and this is a great example of Pickett’s approach – a rough and ready tone that belts out the lines of encouragement in a way that Paul McCartney would have done it, had he been born a Southern Baptist preacher. The soulful evocations of “It’s gonna be alright!” in the famous coda section, along with the heavenly horn section and Allman’s fiery guitar make this a contender for best version ever.
Joe Cocker recorded his first album 
named after this cover version , in 1969. On doing so, he employed several musical luminaries which include Jimmy Page on lead guitar, 
This is a legendary recording, possibly for different reasons than were originally intended. William Shatner of course is no singer – he’s an actor of stage and screen, possibly most famous for his role as James Tiberius Kirk, Captain of the starship Enterprise from the original Star Trek series. Here, the Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” becomes less the
, released in 1968 at the height of his tenure as the Captain of the Enterprise, while also pulling from his stage acting background. Shatner would make more of these types of recordings through out his career, even into the present day with his spoken word album Has Been, made with songwriter Ben Folds in 2007.
“We Can Work It Out” is a pretty dark tune in the end. It’s about a struggling relationship, possibly on its last legs. The narrator of the tale is becoming pretty tyrannical in his approach to making his relationship better – “why’d you see it your way?”, “think of what I’m saying…”. In his 1970 cover version of the song found on his 
, Stevie Wonder infuses this love-gone-wrong tune with an effervescence that draws a striking contrast to the darkness and desperation in the lyrics. You find yourself smiling at this tale of a man trying to push all of the blame on his partner. Who knew that narrow-mindedness and trivializing the opinion of a lover to get your own way in a relationship could sound so joyous?
In keeping with the trend of a dark theme against a celebratory arrangement, 
John Lennon allegedly wrote “Come Together” initially for a political campaign anthem for LSD guru 
compilation. They would make a number of cover versions of popular rock songs, which in many ways brought them full circle having inspired many of the artists who would write those songs, including the Rolling Stones and Rod Stewart, both of which Tina Turner would tour with in the ensuing years after her partnership with Ike ended.
This version of the song from Emmylou’s 1975 album 
endures because I think this tune was always meant to be a country song, specifically a 
By the early 80s, the era of a possible Beatles reunion was crushed. Yet, it was also a time when the songs the group recorded were being looked at again as being examples of great songwriting beyond the era to which they had been attached. In 1981 on his 
album, Nils Lofgren took an unassuming album track (found on the Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night), and made it into a stadium anthem. The pure joie de vive of his version reveals it to be a mark of the time in which it was written. But, it also captures the feeling that the innocence of young love is ultimately pretty timeless.
album in 1994 (I suspect she did, given other political content on the album). But for my money, this is a shining jewel of a version which made me wonder whatever happened to Dionne Farris, frankly, until I found the 
Fiona Apple’s take on this song originally found on 1970’s Let It Be was featured in the closing credits of the film 
, the story of two modern-day teens who are thrust into the black & white world (in all senses of the term) of a 1950s TV show universe. The teens introduce new ideas into the minds of those who live in that world, revealing new possibilities to them. And the inhabitants cease to be characters in a TV show, and are transformed into real people. Fiona Apple’s take on Lennon’s song (written in India in 1968 while studying 
Otis Redding routinely proves the cliché that a good singer makes every song they sing their own. ‘Try a Little Tenderness’ dates back to the 30s, when Bing Crosby covered it, modeling it on the original recording by the Ray Noble Orchestra in 1932. Otis recorded it for Stax in 1966 with the MGs and the Memphis Horns backing him, and made it a (rightful) soul classic. Otis’s version inspired a cavalcade of 
Hendrix had long been a fan of Bob Dylan’s work, particularly of Bob’s ability as a lyricist. As such, Hendrix took the song ‘All Along the Watchtower’ from Dylan’s late-1967 album 
By the early 70s, the state of dance music was in jeopardy in Britain being as it was in the middle of an era of 
One thing that makes Bowie such a talent is his ability to spot talent in others and add his own touches to it. Bowie’s involvement in the career of Iggy Pop is a prime example of this, first having involvement in the production and mixing of The Stooges landmark third album Raw Power. In addition to this, Bowie teamed up with Iggy again in 1977, producing Pop’s album 
This one may look a little strange to readers in the UK who already know this. But the breakthrough song ‘There She Goes’ by fey American outfit 
American pop band No Doubt have famously praised British music as being a prime breeding ground for the sound they crafted for themselves in the 1990s and in the early part of the new millennium. For their 
The Delete Bin 