So it’s not a shock that it went top ten in 1983 while Iggy’s original has been heard by about seventeen people, including you if you played the above sample. Bowie’s slick, clean cover of Iggy Pop’s “China Girl” adds the “Oh-oh-oh-oh” vocal hook and generally doesn’t sound like it was recorded in a garbage can. upped the energy level a bit, I’m a little surprised the earlier version didn’t break the top 40 itself. Like other 80’s metal anthems (Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name”, Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It”, for example) it begins with the fist-pumping, anthemic chorus–not a verse–and is fueled by a much more pronounced backbeat.įelix Cavaliere and the Rascals (who still called themselves the Young Rascals at the time) broke through with the first of their three #1 hits in 1966, a cover of the Olympics’ #81 chart dud of the previous year. To my (American) ears Quiet Riot’s cover is a lesson in how to make a rock song feel more like a punch in your face. Conversely, Quiet Riot’s version didn’t chart in Britain, while American fans made it a #5 hit. Honestly in this case I can’t imagine a large number of people being fans of both incarnations of this song–making the case for studio production’s major role in a song’s appeal.Īlthough Slade’s 1973 original has a certain glam rock charm, it also demonstrates in unmistakable terms the relative appeal of glam here (where it peaked at #98) and across the pond where British fans made it a chart-topping single. What have we here? The legendary former Beatle (redundant I suppose, since you can’t be a former Beatle and un-legendary) teams with producer Jeff Lynne for a 1987 #1 hit that sounds like…a 1987 ELO song.Īgain the contrast with the original (James Ray in 1962) is striking. While both versions have merit, the contrast between the two is jarring. While its arrangement is heavy on the atmospheric 80’s synths, Jackie DeShannon’s 1975 original by contrast comes on like Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show band. In this our third installment revealing the relatively obscure original versions of familiar songs, we hope to open your eyes and ears once more with revelations about songs you didn’t know quite as well as you thought you did.Ĭarnes’ career-making “Bette Davis Eyes” topped the charts for nine weeks and won Grammy awards for Record- and Song of the Year in 1981. Have you ever been taken aback to discover a beloved or familiar song has roots in another decade, style, or incarnation? Did something you heard on the oldies station ever cause you to lose just a little of the awe and reverence you had for a particular artist’s creative proclivities?
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