Are you ready for some mind-blowing revelations? You might expect a list of obscure songs you’ve never heard of, but most of the tracks in this blog post are actually well-known classics. And the musicians you think wrote them, turn out to be copy cats. Not in a bad way. But still, a cover is a cover.
All musicians borrow from each other. This even leads to big lawsuits from time to time. Like with “Hound Dog” by Big Mama Thornton. Yeah, you’re reading it right, Elvis wasn’t the first to record that song. But that’s then, and this is now. So, which other songs are covert covers?
Pet Shop Boys – Always on My Mind (1987)
One of the best tracks of the eighties is, without doubt, “Always on My Mind” by the Pet Shop Boys. We hate to burst your bubble, but this song isn’t written by the iconic band. Some of you will be jumping out of your seats, because you know Elvis Presley released a recording in 1972.
And you’re totally right about that. But Brenda Lee released “Always on My Mind” just a few months earlier that same year. And two years before that, in 1970, B.J. Thomas recorded the song for the very first time. But that version only got released twenty years later in 1996.
Wet Wet Wet – Love Is All Around Me (1994)
“Love Is All Around Me” by Wet Wet Wet was a major hit in the nineties. Only a few people know that another band wrote the song almost thirty years earlier. Ever heard of The Troggs? A band with hits like “Wild Thing” – yup the one and only – and the track that made Wet Wet Wet mucho popular.
Check out the chords for The Troggs’ “Love Is All Around Me” from 1967 and see if you can feel the different vibe. Remember that the key a song is played in most of the time has to do with vocal range of the singer. So, it totally makes sense when a track sounds the same but has different chords.
Felix Jaehn ft. Jasmine Thompson – Ain’t Nobody (2015)
The hit song “Ain’t Nobody” by Felix Jaehn and Jasmine Thompson reached number one in multiple charts in 2015. It’s a great track by the German DJ and producer Felix Jaehn. But, of course, someone else wrote it. And we’re talking about a big star here.
If you were born in the eighties, you have definitely heard of them: Chaka Khan & Rufus. They used to dominate the R&B dance scene. The chords in Chaka Khan & Rufus’ “Ain’t Nobody” are not quite the same as in the new version. Check out both songs and enjoy jamming to the version you like better.
George Harrison – Got My Mind Set on You (1963)
If the Beatles guitarist George Harrison releases a song like “Got My Mind Set on You,” than it has to be authentic, right? Wrong! “Huh, what?!” Yeah, that’s right. Even George Harrison likes to cherry pick songs that sound good but somehow got buried in the past.
Play along with the chords of “Got My Mind Set on You” by James Ray from 1962 and compare that with George Harrison’s version. Which one sounds better for your setlist? Enjoy and happy jamming!