Guest Blogger: Beatles Songs Covered (Max – Part 2)

Uncategorized 4 Minutes

Making his triumphant return this week to my blog is my pal Max. His blog can be found here:

https://powerpop.blog/

Last week, he presented a blog of his favorite Beatles songs that were cover songs (songs originally done by other artists). This week, he looks at the other side of the coin. Here now, is his presentation of great covers of Beatles songs by other artists. I hope you enjoy it! Take it away, Max…

Beatle Songs By Others …

Hello everyone welcome back this week for the conclusion of the Beatlefest on Keith’s site. Today I’m going to list my favorite Beatle covers. Although I like these a lot…I usually still go with the Beatles version. There is one that I do like better than the original…and that is…well you will just have to read on. I did include some live versions of songs. 

I added two at the bottom as runner ups but they just as well could have been in this list. Many songs could have been…depending on which day I was deciding. . I never thought about how many covers there were out there until Hanspostcard started to have a series on Beatle covers…there are a bunch! (KEITH: Hans posted some rare ones that I have never heard before!)

10: Aerosmith – Come Together...Aerosmith did a good job on this song. They didn’t stray too far at all from the original off of Abbey Road. This song was the one good thing about the movie Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band…there weren’t very many bright spots. Peter Frampton fighting Steven Tyler on film was also a keeper. (KEITH: I certainly love this one – but their cover of “I’m Down” is my favorite!)

9: Chris Cornell  – You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away – Chris’s voice is incredible in this and it’s the way he phrases that I like so much…it’s a lot of depth and feel in his version. Eddie Vedder also has a good version. (KEITH: Great song, but I tend to lean toward the original)

8: Fats Domino – Lady Madonna – This song sounds like it was written just for Fats Domino. He did a great job. He did a wonderful job every  time he covered the Beatles. (KEITH: Fats was one of the great influences of Beatles music. I would tend to agree that this really sounds more like a Fats song)

7: Emmylou Harris – For No One – I can listen to anything she sings but on this she re-worked the song in her own way and it works great. I was told about this cover by Aphoristical a year or so ago and ever since…I’ve wore it out. It puts a new light on the song. (KEITH: I have a buddy, Ken, who just loves Emmylou. Because of our many conversations about her, I stumbled on this one. Great voice.)

6: Stevie Wonder – We Can Work It Out – Stevie puts his incredible spin on this song and lifts it up. (KEITH: Love that Stevie really made this on his own!)

5: While My Guitar Gently Weeps – At the 2004 Hall of Fame Inductions you had Tom Petty, Dhani Harrison, Jeff Lynn, Steve Winwood, and Prince. Prince stole this performance with his amazing solo…you could tell Dhani (George Harrison’s son) was really enjoying it. (KEITH: When I went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a year or so ago, they played the video of this amazing song. Prince – WOW!)

4: Al Green – I Want To Hold Your Hand – I would have never put these two together but Al Green turns his version of I Want To Hold Your Hand into an Al Green song. (KEITH: How can you co wrong with Al Green + The Beatles?!)

3: Johnny Cash – In My Life – This version is heartbreaking to listen to knowing that Cash was looking hard at his own mortality. (KEITH: That was my thoughts exactly when I heard this cut. Johnny is VERY reflective in his vocal…)

2: Wilson Pickett – Hey Jude – Duane Allman was a studio musician at Muscle Shoals when he brought this up as a single to Wilson Pickett. The Beatles version was still on the charts at the time. No one wanted to do it but Wilson agreed when he heard Duane’s version.  They re-worked it and it worked. After Eric Clapton heard this version he wanted to know who the guitar player was at the end of the song. That is how Eric found out about Duane Allman. (KEITH: The Wicked Mr. Pickett! This one has been a favorite of mine for some time. )

1: Joe Cocker – With A Little Help From My Friends – This is the one cover that I like better than the Beatles original. He turned the song into a show stopper. (KEITH: A Cocker Classic! I agree, Max. Such a powerful cut!)

Runner Ups

Larkin and Poe – In My Life – Christian at christiansmusicmusings turned me on to. This one is a lovely version of In My Life. (KEITH: Have never heard this one before – but I like it!)

Aretha Franklin – Eleanor Rigby – She is the one and only Queen of Soul. My favorite female singer of all time. She turns this into a soul song. (KEITH: Everything she touched was gold! She was amazing! Great cut. I would say that Ray Charles version is equally as good!)

THANKS, MAX!

I want to take a moment and thank Max for taking the time to write for my blog. I guess I need to write my Beatles Blog now.

Published by nostalgicitalian

I'm just a guy who likes the classics. I love Old Time Radio Shows. I love Classic TV. I love Classic Movies. I love songs from the "Great American Songbook". I dig songs from the first decade of Rock and Roll. Don't get me wrong, I am not opposed to newer things. My musical taste ranges from Classical to Classic Rock and Country to Rap. I love a good book and am always looking for something to read. I tend to lean toward historical fiction, biographies, mysteries, and more. I have always believed that our past (and the things we've experienced in it) make us who we are today. That being said, after reading through some old My Space blogs (yeah, that's about how long it's been since I blogged regularly), I decided that I should once again write. Welcome to my blog. I hope you find it interesting, thought provoking, and entertaining in some way. CONTACT ME AT - nostalgicitalian@yahoo.com

Published

30 thoughts on “Guest Blogger: Beatles Songs Covered (Max – Part 2)”

  1. It’s my pleasure Keith. I could almost promise that NO two lists would be the same. I had a great time picking this but I was agonizing over most of them and would probably pick a few different next week…but looking back over this…I would say 1-3 probably wouldn’t change.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  2. Pingback: Replacements – Color Me Impressed – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

  3. AAA+++ playlist, Max. Now I see who the mystery artist was ❤ The Beatles songs feel like old friends and you chose some good artists to bring their spins to them. I love every one of them.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Thanks Lisa! He did such a great job…but it was hard to pick between his and Vedder’s version. I love his phrasing. It was kinda soul heavy but that is not a bad thing.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply
  4. Pingback: Merle Haggard – Branded Man – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

  5. fats domino’s lady madonna was the first 45 I ever bought. I saved up my change, went to the store, very excited, and played it, realizing for the first time that such a thing as covers existed. a sad moment (

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  6. Fantastic list, Max! And I’m truly shocked about your no. 1! 🙂 To me, it’s the ultimate rock remake. I also agree it’s better than the original – no question!

    I also love the renditions by Emmylou Harris and Johnny Cash. I will admit the latter has gotten under my skin and made me cry.

    And what can one say about that out-of-this-world guitar solo by Prince? To me, it’s almost like a dividing line: The time prior to that rendition at the Rock & Hall of Fame and the time thereafter. While I dig the original and solo version by George Harrison and Eric Clapton, after listening to Prince that song simply never sounds the same.

    Thanks for the shout-out, BTW. The two ladies of Larkin Poe keep blowing me away. They’re just so super talented, and their harmony singing is something else!

    Two other Beatles covers I find outstanding are the following:

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Those are great ones Christian. It was hard picking them because it’s such an endless supply of songs.

      The Johnny Cash got to me also. It’s almost painful listening to it knowing that he didn’t have much longer and he knew it.

      I love what Wison Pickett and Al Green did…they turned the songs around.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  8. A fine list and the choices are many… what bands or singers HAVEN’T covered the Beatles once or twice. I’d forgotten about the Stevie Wonder one, that is excellent. A few on my list that you didn’t include would be Elton on “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” (with a helping hand from JohnL), “You Won’t see Me” by bryan Ferry and “And your bird can sing” by Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs ( a version that is very close to as good as the Beatles and would, dare I say if there was a video of it…you know, no offense Paul but you’re no Susanna Hoffs). Great idea for a list both of you guys.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. Dave…me NOT thinking almost added Jealous Guy by Bryan Ferry…it then dawned on me…nope that is John Lennon.
      I also toyed with And Your Bird Can Sing by the Jam…I forgot about the duets damn it…but that is the deal doing this…there are so many. Thanks for commenting Dave.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      2. I’ve heard that one before…poor George….Frank thought Lennon and McCartney wrote it and announced it that way.

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Graham that really is good. That period is hit and miss to me but this is really good.
      I almost picked Emmylou Harris’s version also…

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply
  10. Pingback: Hank Williams – Your Cheatin’ Heart – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

  12. Great list Max! Like Dave, one of my top 10 picks would be Elton John’s “Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds”, otherwise I pretty much agree with most of your picks. I’d never heard Fats Domino’s cover of “Lady Madonna”, but it’s terrific.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

Leave a comment