Beatles Tunes Sung By Other Artists

I was just wondering how you all feel about The Beatles tunes sung by other Artists. I know there has been numerous versions of Yesterday and The Carpenters did a version of Ticket To Ride which I am not a fan of because I feel they sang the song way too slow. In the Bruce Willis movie Armageddon AeroSmith did a great version of Come Together. I have a four disc CD set called The British Beat Best Of The 60s and The Silkie did You've Got To Hide Your Love Away. For the most part I always feel that whenever someone does their version of an Artists' song it is never as good as the original and I find this to be true too when someone else does a Beatles tune. I know there are exceptions to the rule of course . Other than AeroSmith doing Come Together I really can't think of another Beatles tune off of the top of my head that I particularly like that was done by someone else. I realize everyone tries to make the song their own by doing it in their own style and trying to be different from the original version. Though I do like Linda Ronstadt's version of Blue Bayou
and her version of some other songs much better than I like the original versions which is quite rare for me.

Beatles1964

Some possibilities you might consider are the Rolling Stones' version of "I Wanna Be Your Man" (a pleasantly more abrasive version), Joe Cocker's "With a Little Help from My Friends", Badfinger's "Come and Get It" (the Beatles' original was unreleased while they were together, but is now available). Many people revile Jim Carrey's "I Am the Walrus" but it has its moments...depending on how you feel about Jim Carrey.

I don't think I ever heard Jim Carrey's version of I Am The Walrus. I like some of his movies alright. Was the Carrry version supposed to be done in a comedic way? I know Tom Jones did a pretty good version of Yesterday and I'm a huge fan of Tom Jones. I was going to say I'm totally unfamiliar with The Beatles tune Come and Get It. In your opinion, how does the song stand up with the rest of the songs they did? Is the song out as a single or is it with a Best Of or Greatest Hits of The Beatles? Thanks for the suggestions krolik I had completely forgotten about The Rolling Stones' version of I Wanna Be Your Man and also the Joe Cocker version of With a Little Help from My Friends. I think there have also been some different versions of Hey Jude.

I know that The Beatles song Yesterday is the #1 song of all time that has had the most different versions done of it which was over 2,500 versions the last time I heard anything and that is saying quite a bit too with all the different versions of Happy Birthday To You out there. How can I find the Jim Carrey version of I AM The Walrus?

Beatles1964

I think that 99% of the time the version of a Beatles tune done by another Aritst isn't as good as the original Beatles version. Like I say there are of course exceptions to the rule like everything else but for the most part in my personal experience I find that I don't like someone else's version of a Beatles tune. Don't get me wrong I may like another Artists' version of a Beatles tune alright but it's rare if I think it's as good as The Beatles own version.

Maybe I'm picky and just used to hearing The Beatles original versions since I grew up listening to them and everyone else from The British Invasion and no one can do justice to a Beatles tune. I know I still listen to my Beatles CD's and I still have their LP's and 45 Records and watch HELP! and A Hard Day's Night on my VHS Video tapes plus The Compleat Beatles as well as my copies of The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, Magical Mystery Tour, The Beatles First U.S. Visit, Fun With The Fab Four, Yellow Submarine, Sing Along With The Beatles and the rest of my Beatles VHS tapes and DVD's.

I wish Paul would buy back the copyrights from Michael Jackson to all of The Beatles songs he and Lennon wrote together. Because I think a Beatle should own the rights to their own music. Besides the fact that I really hate the commercialization of The Beatles songs I find on TV like the _target commercial using Hello, Good-Bye. I mean that _target commercial really stinks and they say Hello, Good Buy.

Beatles1964

"Straight" versions of Beatles song are among the blandest imaginable, as with The Overlanders' "Michelle", and Marmalade's (normally a really good group) "Obladi Oblada".

The stand out versions are often the soul covers, as they are radically different. Joe Cocker has already been mentioned, but also try and hear

"Hey Jude" by Wilson Pickett
"We Can Work It Out" by Stevie Wonder
"Day Tripper" by Otis Redding
"Come Together" by Ike and Tina Turner
"Got To Get You Into My Life" by Earth Wind & Fire

There is also Elton John's cover of "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" with its surreal reggae middle eight (it might appeal to some). But the pièce de resistance is something you have to hear to even believe it. Is it a p*ss take? Was he being serious (surely not!)? Beg, steal, borrow, cajole, bribe, flatter, do what you have to do, but somehow, find yourself a copy of William Shatner's "singing" cover of the same song, "Lucy In The Sky..".
You can probably already imagine how it goes if you are a fan of the Classic Star Trek : "PICTURE ... (yourself) .... on a ... BOAT.., on a RIVER .... " You're almost waiting for "Scotty ... give me Warp Fathoms 9, and hurry up with those mushrooms"

Fiona Apple's "Across the Universe" is pleasant.

I would say that 95-99% of all Beatles coverers will have a special place reserved for them in hell*. There are a few exceptions but I can't think of any at the moment.

* and I don't even believe in hell. So, I'm assuming a hell has been created just for these people.

^True, but when you think that the Beatles honed their craft in the beginning by doing covers, you gotta led some of them slide.

I know there was a film called Across The Universe and I've seen bits and pieces of it but from what I've seen of the film I liked it. I know that I'm just prejudiced with my opinion of saying that no one is able to really do a decent version of a Beatles tune better than what they did themselves. I know they're out there like everyone else but for some reason I feel the vast majority of them just don't measure up because the tempo is either way too slow or way too fast or it's being sung in a way I just can't get past or for some completely different reason I just don't like another Artists' version of a Beatles tune.

I'm the same way with movies whenever I see a remake of a movie I always say it's not as good as the original version even though the newer version may have more Special Effects but that still doesn't make it any better than the original version.

Take The Lost In Space movie version against the original 60s TV Show I grew up watching the original series and I've seen the 90's version of the movie but I still feel the original version of Lost In Space is much better. The same thing with the original version of The Addams Family, The Munsters, The Wild, Wild West, The Incredible Hulk, My Favorite Martian, McHale's Navy or any other TV Series from the 60s or 70s that you can name and the remake of the movie or an updated TV Series is NEVER as good as the original version. I say give me the original version of something anytime over a remake or updated TV Series or even the original song over another Artists' version of the same song.

Beatles1964

I like "Hey Bulldog" by Fanny, and "Hey Jude" by Yusef Lateef.

(edit) and "Come Together" by Michael Hedges.

The reggae guitar in Elton John's "Lucy" was played by.....John Lennon. The two also did a live version of "I Saw Her Standing There", which was on the flipside of the "Lucy" single.

> 7 , 9

give my list a try - you might be pleasantly surprised

I just had to Google Fiona Apple, Yusef Lateef, Michael Hedges in order to find out who they are since the names are totally unfamiliar to me and Fanny who? I can honestly say that none of them are exactly my cup of tea. I'm way too set in my ways about the kind of music I listen to since I think the last great decade for music was the 80s and I can't stand anyone who is from the 90s and 00s like 'NSync, The Back Street Boys, Britney Spears, or anyone else for that matter from this era. Personally, I stopped listening to music after the 80s because at the time I didn't like where Rock, Country or music in general was heading after the 80s. I just listen to the same music I listened to in the 60s and 70s when I was growing up. Today's music does nothing for me not like the music I grew up listening to does.

Beatles1964

Bob Dylan sang The Times They Are A-Changin' but I decided not to change along with the times and that's why I feel today's music isn't as good as the music from the 60s and 70s I grew up listening to and my taste in music still remains the same today as it was back then. Nothing today can even come close to equalling the music from the 60s and 70s.

The Music Of A Generation. There's never been another one quite like that one. Ah, how I wish I could Time Travel and go back to the era and live it all over again. Hey how about it?
Would anyone want to Time Travel with me and relive the 60s and 70s all over again?

If you could actually Time Travel and live part of your life all over again, that is.

Beatles1964

I will say that there was a local folky group around here called Natural Bridge and they did a cover of "I Will" which was outstanding. The female singer's voice was perfect and the monster sized standing acoustic base was an incredible back drop for the song.

Interesting POV beatles1964. Those days are my days too. By the late 80s I was hearing hip hop and dance music and decided "that's it! it's all gone bad, time to duck out".

Strangely, times changed again, and I changed with them. Now I love hip hop, and it's tired old rock, which got stuck in a groove and never managed to break out, that makes me bored bored bored (I can still enjoy Classic Rock though).

That's the point of the Dylan song. The times they keep a-changing : tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis (times change, we should change with them).

I hate Rap, Hip-Hop and what people are calling R & B today. The only R & B I listen to came from Motown in the 60s and 70s. The thing is as many times as I have heard the tunes from the 60s and 70s I have never grown tired of them, not even once. I don't think, well I've only heard this song about a gazillion times since it first came out instead the music to me is like comfort food or a favorite pair of slippers they've been around awhile and you're comfortable with them. It's the same reason I love to go back and re-read books again and again because it's like visiting some old dear friends you haven's seen or heard from in awhile and you just drop by for a visit. Like Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy it's like I think I'm going to drop by The Shire and see Bilbo or Frodo or I wonder what old Gandalf is up to now or dropping by Rivendell and see the Elves again. Besides the music from the 60s and 70s is my generation and I can relate to it because it's personal to that particular generation. I just prefer things I'm comfortable with besides Rap, Hip-Hop, today's music from the 90s onward is nothing but noise pollution cluttering up the airwaves. Give me that old time Rock 'N Roll... that's exactly how I feel.

Beatles1964

Rap, Hip-Hop, today's music from the 90s onward

Erm, not quite lol. Rap originated in the Battles of the Sound Systems in Harlem and the Bronx in the early-mid 70s. The first rap chart hit was in 1979. So... 30 years old this year !

I agree about the misuse of the term R&B though, though instead of Motown (which I love but is more pop music), it would be Stax and Atlantic, Southern funk and Muscle Shoals. Yeah!

I know that people used to carry around HUGE Boom Boxes back then. But Rap & Hip-Hop is still nothing but noise and every other word you hear is a cuss word too. I hear it all the time when you're stopped at a Stop Light with that Bloody noise coming out of the car next to you. But my point is that Rock, Country Music and music in general was starting to change in the late 80s and that's when I decided to stop listening to Rock and Country Music other than what I already liked at the time. I didn't like where the direction music was headed in back then.

And I can't stand any Artist who was new on the scene during the 90s and 00s because that music is not for me which is why I say I don't listen to anything later than the 80s and that the 80s was the last great decade for Rock. Because the music from then has all gone down hill and continue to goes down hill each and every year.

Beatles1964

Hey Bulldog by Fanny from the album "Fanny Hill" released in 1972.

beatles1964 - here are a list of more recent artists you may or may not like, but are certainly not representative of the hip hop culture you hate so much :

Mercury Rev : (All Is Dream; Survivor's Songs)
Flaming Lipps : (Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots)
McFly : (Room on the Third Floor)
Radiohead : (OK Computer)
Goldfrapp : (Felt Mountain)
Zero7 : (When It Falls)
Joss Stone
Air
The Kaiser Chiefs
Fleet Foxes
Bon Iver

You will find something in there you like, I'm certain of it.

Thanks for the list Tid but I only see two names I even recognize and they are Radiohead and Joss Stone. And Radiohead is probably the only one I would even bother listening to since the've been around from 1985 as for Joss Stone and the rest I can comfortably say they're not exactly my cup of tea and wouldn't even bother with them.
I know that Radiohead is an English alternative rock band though I'm not really into alternative rock or techno or anything else like that but Radiohead is certainly worth a listen or two. You see, I'm the kind of person who really doesn't accept changes that well I need some time to get used to them and if I like it ok, I'll give it a chance but for the most part I dislike change because it's not what I'm used to and I firmly believe that change is not always for the better which is why I am so firmly set in my ways about certain things like the kind of music I love to listen to and what music I honestly hate with a passion. I either like something or I hate it for me there is no middle ground. For example I hate the Yankees, Redskins a.k.a. Deadskins, and Patriots and will root for whomever their opponent is for that game or in the Play-Offs. I like to tell people I have 31 favorite NFL Teams, the Cowboys, Dolphins and whoever plays the Redskins on any given game. I feel the same way about the Patriots if the Raiders, Eagles, Steelers, Giants, etc. is playing the Patriots I'll root real hard for the opposing team with the possible exception of the Redskins because if the Patriots are playing against the Redskins I can't bring myself to actually root for the Redskins so I'll wind up rooting for the Patriots because a loss by the 'Skins would certainly help the Cowboys, Giants, and Eagles.

Beatles1964

Hate is a pretty strong word.

I can't help it that's exactly how I feel about the Yankees, Redskins, Patriots, Rap, Hip-Hop and other thngs too. Just saying I strongly dislike them isn't enough besides what is the differennce between someone hating Bill O'Reilly and Fox News and my hating the Yankees, New England Patriots, Redskins, Rap, Hip-Hop, etc. it all amounts to the exact same thing in the end. I'm not hurting anyone. I'm not a Neo-Nazi or Skin head.

I'm not a member of the KKK nor do I condone any of the methods from these hate filled organizations. I'm not burning crosses or tossing bombs besides I'm not trying to preach to everyone else that they must also hate the Yankess, Redskins, New England Patriots, Rap and Hip-Hop too. It's just my opinion on how I feel about them just like other people express their feelings on how they hate O'Reilly and Fox News. Nobody said to them Hate is a pretty strong word.

Beatles1964

Those guys playing on teams are just making a living, supporting their families, playing a game. What's to hate?

The hater hurts themselves. I think I heard that in Star Wars....

Yes, but they are also very arrogant, rude, and obnoxious too. I seen the Yankees and their fans enough in the Post-Season to know this for a fact.
I mean look how the Yankees and their fans treated the Red Sox and their fans for over eighty years. When the Red Sox came back and swept the Yankees in four straight games in the 2004 ALCS Series after being down 3 games to zero and on the verge of being swept by the Yankees and wound up winning the 7th & deciding game in Yankees Stadium in front of the the team and their fans I thought it was justice to see the Yankees finally get their comeuppance in the end. How arrogant of the Yankees and their fans is it to think they could get away with slapping the ball out of the mitt from the Red Sox' First Baseman and have the gall to think just because they're the New York Yankees they can get away with it and score the game-tying run at the time. The Umpires on the field made the correct call at the time by calling the Yankees out for interference with the play and then the Red Sox went on to Sweep the Cardinals in four straight games and win their first World Series Championship since 1918.

There are some very heated rivalries in Pro Sports just look at how heated the rivalries are for the Cowboys vs. Redskins, Celtics vs. Lakers, Red Sox vs. Yankees, Raiders vs. K.C. Chiefs, Bears vs. Packers, etc. There is no love lost between these teams involved in the rivalries. The fans and teams really do hate each other and you can see it when one team has to play in the other teams home stadium or Court as the case may be in the NBA. Anyway the fans and teams really get into these rivalries as much as the players and coaches do themselves.

Beatles1964

Anyway, I think Nina Simone did some nice Beatles covers....

makifat

A little known fact about Taylor Branch, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his work on Martin Luther King, is that he is a sometime-rocker. He joined two former college bandmates on a CD, "The Blue Album," that pays homage to the Beatles and the trio's alma mater, the University of North Carolina. Here's an interview with Branch on music:
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/books/blog/2008/11/rockin_with_tay...