Season of the Ukulele 276: What Have They Done To My Song?

hendulele

Check your fleas
UU VIP
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Messages
3,078
Reaction score
1,232
Location
Raleigh, NC


Greetings, Seasonistas!

This week we will celebrate songs that were written (and possibly even performed initially) by one artist but made more famous or memorable by another. Not so much cover songs, but songs that for whatever reason didn't go far when first written but just needed the right interpretation to be unforgettable.

Some examples? (writer/performer)

"You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman," Carole King/Aretha Franklin
"I'm A Believer," Neil Diamond/The Monkees
"Leaving on a Jet Plane," John Denver/Peter, Paul & Mary
"Quinn the Eskimo," Bob Dylan/Manfred Mann
"Joy to the World," Hoyt Axton/Three Dog Night
"Crazy," Willie Nelson/Patsy Cline

Get the idea?

I'll be pretty flexible here, but please don't test me. The Beatles doing Chuck Berry doesn't really work.

I also don't care how you arrange and perform the song as long as it essentially satisfies the theme.

RULES: :rulez:

1) Three song max, for now
2) The uke should be the star, but multitracking, etc., just fine
3) Collaborations welcome
4) Originals also welcome. Did somebody steal your song idea uncredited and have a hit? (redpaul1 will remind us about Paul Simon's multiple offenses, no doubt :eek: )
5) Normal time boundaries, 12:01 HST Sunday 28 May through 11:59 HST Sunday 4 June
6) Be kind and comment on others' videos

If I'm missing anything, I'll amend later.

PRIZES:

Something from my extensive sticker selection. I may have the dogs pick the winners.

Also, inspired by TCK, for every video posted I will donate $1 to Pinecone, the Piedmont Council for Traditional Music, a local nonprofit that gives a lot of love to the folk, blues, bluegrass, Americana scene in Central North Carolina. They've hosted at least three concerts by Jake S. over the years, and do many other good things, including promote our local uke jams.

Their website is here: PINECONE

Don't forget to dance and post on Geoff's thread for the next day-plus!

Dig into your music library (OK, wear out Wikipedia) and have some fun!

PLAYLIST FOR SEASON 276
 
Last edited:
There is a song that I have more recordings of than any other (besides Summertime which is on every record ever made), and I finally get to play it. Excellent theme-excellent prize ;)
 
redpaul1 will remind us about Paul Simon's multiple offenses, no doubt :eek: )
:smileybounce:
NEW5.jpg
 
I have an original song that came out sounding like it belonged on The Enigma Variations compilation. Would that work?
 
There is a song that I have more recordings of than any other (besides Summertime which is on every record ever made), and I finally get to play it. Excellent theme-excellent prize ;)

NICE! I look forward to this.
 
Not very often that a theme comes around and two songs I already know how to play fit the bill.

No just gotta wait a couple hours to post them....
 


The Troggs did OK with this song - especially in the UK but Wet Wet Wet had a number one hit in many countries decades later.
So I'm hoping this will be OK.
 
Last edited:
So I wake up about half seven, see the theme, and the first song that comes to mind is this. It was released by Ron Davies (no relation to the Kinks as far as I'm aware) in 1970 but a couple years later Bowie covered it on Ziggy Stardust and probably brought it to more people. It's where I first heard the song at any rate. So out I go onto the balcony to do a quick take.

Listening to both I think I prefer Davies version, it's a bit more bluesy and there's more going on. I love Bowie's vocals on his though. Sort of combined the two here.





Ron Davies original

Bowie
 
Last edited:
And then while that was uploading I remembered this one. I've done it before but as I remember it didn't technically fit the brief that week so didn't count. It's a very fun song to play.

Released by early grungers The Meat Puppets, Kurt Cobain paid homage to them at Nirvana's MTV Unplugged gig, and actually had the band come out and play it too, along with two other songs of theirs, Oh Me and Lake of Fire. This has always been my favourite of the three though.




Meat Puppets

Nirvana
 
Last edited:
Big Mama Thornton being ripped off by Elvis.



Big Mama walks on the stage, carrying her purse. You can't beat that.

You probably know this, Rob, but Lieber and Stoller wrote this for her. They were overseas when Elvis' version hit the charts. They got a telegram congratulating them for writing a #1 song and their original thought was, About time! Big Mama deserves it.

Only then did they learn that some kid from Mississippi they'd never heard of had the hit.
 
Anyone seen Tommy C recently?
i haven't heard from him for about a week, paul. anyone else? hope he's ok


ok, here's a song i didn't realise was a cover, "hanging on the telephone", big hit for blondie, but originally by, so the internet tells me, and heaven knows it's never wrong ;) the nerves

 
Top Bottom