Showing posts with label cover version. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cover version. Show all posts

Wednesday, 20 May 2026

Jolene and I Will Always Love You

Cover versions of the month #119 & #120 
White Stripes and Whitney Houston cover Dolly Parton

I have a list of songs and cover versions I intend to research and blog about when time allows. The White Stripes ferocious take on Dolly Parton's Jolene has been on that list for a while. As I set out to finally write about Jack and Meg White's ferocious garage band cover version, I stumbled across something astounding that made me decide to also write about Parton's I Will Always Love You.Whitney Houston's skyscraping version was number 1 for months in my youth.

The astounding fact is ... Dolly Parton, very likely, wrote both of these world class songs in one day! 

In 2017, Parton told a radio show that she had found an old cassette of some initial songwriting ideas/demos. Jolene and I Will Always Love You were on it, back to back! In a later interview with GQ in 2020, Parton said; 

If I didn't write them on the same day, it was during that same week, or that period of time when I had that particular cassette in my little player. It was very possible that it happened.

Wouldn't it be great to hear that initial demo?! Parton allegedly has a treasure trove of demos and unreleased songs. That would be some boxset!

Jolene was initially released as a single in late 1973, before becoming the title track of Parton's February 74 album. I Will Always Love You was then released as a single in March 74.

The picked guitar riff intro (by Chip Young) to Jolene is iconic - instantly recognisable. More subtle, is Wayne Moss playing the beautiful pedal steel guitar. Listen carefully, it is truly gorgeous. Headphones are recommended! Parton begins the song with the chorus, leaving the listener in no doubt about her concerns and the subject matter of the song through a heartfelt plea.

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene

I'm begging of you please don't take my man

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene

Please don't take him just because you can

Parton becomes more poetic in verse as she sings of Jolene's beauty, hair, skin, eyes, smile and voice. She knows, and admits, that she cannot compete.

After the first verse, there are two shorter verses, with Parton admitting that her love talks about Jolene in his sleep, and how she knows Jolene could take him, but she doesn't know what he means to her. After a chorus, Parton is back delivering two shorter verses, highlighting that this is the love of her life and her happiness now lies in the hands of Jolene.

It's heartbreaking to see the lyrics written down in black and white and to listen to Parton's pleas. What a voice! Parton is in danger of being heartbroken and you can hear it.

The song was inspired by a red-haired bank clerk who flirted with Parton's husband Carl Dean, just after they were married. Parton revealed that Jolene's name and appearance were based on those of a young fan who came on stage for her autograph.

I Will Always Love You is breathtakingly good. I mean, songwriting doesn't really get much better than this. The delivery is extraordinary. Parton's voice is astonishing and when the choir comes in to back her up it hits like a punch. If you didn't have tears in your eyes, then you might have now.

The intro is heartachingly tender and then Parton comes in ... WOW - this must be one of the best vocal performances of all time. I have to stop writing every time I hit play on this song. Parton won Female Vocalist of the Year at the 1975 Country Music Awards for this song - deservedly so!

If I should stay, I would only be in your way

So I'll go, but I'll know

I'll think of you each step of the way

Then you hear the chorus for the first time, Parton's voice rising, full of love and heartbreak;

And I will always love you

I will always love you

Partron's portrays lost love with tender care and through beautifully poetic lyrics. The second verse ends with the devastating realisation;

Good-bye, please don't cry

Because we both know I'm not what you need

Followed by the two line chorus. Coming in on the back of those lyrics, it hits even harder. The love is still pouring out, despite the hurt. The third verse is spoken word, Parton over strings and gently strummed acoustic guitar. The heavenly backing vocals that come in behind her for the final chorus really tug on the heart strings. Gorgeous. 

Had I ever heard Parton's original before researching this blog? I must have! Maybe on news clips back around the time Whitney Houston was at number one forever. But this was pre-internet. You couldn't just look something up on Spotify or YouTube! Anyway, Parton's original has blown me away!

On to the covers by The White Stripes and Whitney Houston ...

The White Stripes electrifying and spine tingling garage punk cover version of Jolene is raw and raucous. Jack White is spitting out the lyrics with passion and fire, while you can hear his guitar buzzing from the start.  Meg's drums are pure primal, coming in to help add urgency at all the right times, also falling back to allow Jack's voice to lead at others.

The band covered loads of songs through their career, but seemed to have a real affinity with Jolene - originally releasing a studio version as a b-side to Hello Operator in 2000, and then a live version from Blackpool in 2004.




I was fortunate to catch The White Stripes play King Tuts back in the day and their performance of this song was a stand out. Jack White playing a battered guitar and switched between microphones, while Meg looked super cool, following his lead, catching his eye, totally in tune.

Research leads me to believe that the guitar White played, that looked like it was covered in paper mache - but it wasn't, was his 1950's Kay hollowbody - believed to be a Kay K6533 Value Leader. It was like nothing I had previously seen. Likewise, I hadn't seen any band with such a ferocious live energy as The White Stripes. Their distinctive look and colour scheme, raw and powerful sound and incredible energy were captivating and mind blowing.



Music fans of my generation will remember this cover. How could you not?! It was inescapable, number 1 for months, thanks not only to Whitney Houston's remarkable vocal range, but due to its feature in the Bodyguard film in which Houston starred with Kevin Costner.

Listening back, Houston's voice is mesmerising. Her 3-3.5 octave range was unique in popular music and it made everything seem completely effortless to her, extraordinary to us mere mortals. Starting off acapella for the first verse, Houston's voice is beautifully tender. Strings are introduced for the chorus and then Houston's voice starts to really shine. By the second chorus, she is reaching notes that most can't even dream of.

The instrumental section is more 80's than 90's (the song was released in 1992), indeed, listening back, the music is very 80's and doesn't really match Houston's soulful voice. There is A LOT of saxophone and it even makes a reappearance when Houston is soaring through the post instrumental chorus. Like, really soaring.

However, the music is a mere footnote in this cover version, it's all about Whitney Houston and her extraordinary voice. You can only imagine the version she could have recorded with a producer like Rick Rubin, or even Mark Ronson - think of what he produced with Amy Winehouse.

Parton's sublime originals and The White Stripes (studio and live) and Whitney Houston cover versions are added to my Everything Flows Cool Cover Versions playlist on Spotify which also features all of the songs listed below. Search for the title or CLICK HERE

Previous covers of the month blogs

13. Hurt
39. ABBA-esque
40. Jumpin' Jack Flash
64. Lola
82. Drop
87. Indian Rope Man + bonus Strawberry Fields Forever + This Wheels On Fire
92. Valerie
101. Shout!

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Thursday, 21 August 2025

Some Velvet Morning


Cover version of the month #114
Primal Scream & Kate Moss cover Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra

Primal Scream's Evil Heat album, released in 2002, was a bit of a messy affair. The band were possibly a little burnt out from recording and touring 2000's extraordinary XTRMNTR, where they recorded and produced with the help of an exceptional array of guests including Kevin Shields, The Chemical Brothers and David Holmes. Their live XTRMNTR shows were a sonic kaleidoscopic exploration, with Shields joining them on stage to create all kinds of glorious white noise over techno beats.

Looking back, the Scream's run from 1991's Screamadelica, taking in Give Out But Don't Give Up, Vanishing Point and through to XTRMNTR is pretty astonishing. They knew no boundaries, pushed themselves to new levels, collaborated with Weatherall, Holmes and the Chemicals, went to Memphis to play country soul and rock n roll, benefited greatly from the addition of Mani on bass and partied harder than most. 

What goes up, must come down.

Evil Heat was a bit disappointing for me. I only really revisit 2 songs from the album; the sublime and dreamy Autobahn 66 and their cover of Some Velvet Morning with Kate Moss. Truth be told, I rarely listen to much of the Scream's work post XTRMNTR. Maybe 6-8 songs or so? The band rarely play much from their post 2000 albums either. 

Back to the cover version though. There is added zip and electro sleaze on the extended version of the song with Gillespie singing in a menacing whisper and Moss's vocals sounding dreamlike at times and beautifully seductive at others, especially at the end when she is purring look at us but do not touch.

Then there's the video. A masterclass in lo-fi psychedelia and effortless cool. Bobby Gillespie, all rock 'n' roll swagger, looking good, great hair, sharing the screen with the iconic Moss, wearing a babydoll dress, all sultry and seductive. Both start in seated positions, but are seemingly brought to life by the songs pulse and the psychedelic light show going on behind them. 

Before long, Gillespie is up at a mic, a modern and cooler take on Sid Vicious's look while singing My Way and Moss is prowling and dancing to the beat, looking effortlessly gorgeous. It's simple, yet utterly captivating. Surreal and beautiful.

The original Some Velvet Morning isn't just a song; it's a legend, created by whispered awes in the decades since it was released. In pre-internet and social media times, this was a song that was passed down and around via mixtapes, often mentioned by bands I followed in interviews. 

Hazelwood and Sinatra's Some Velvet Morning is kind of psychedelic folk by way of a western. It’s a dreamlike, almost unsettling duet, full of cryptic lyrics and a haunting, ethereal beauty. 

The contrast between the two singers creates a masterpiece of tension and seduction, a truly one-of-a-kind creation. Hazlewood's gruff baritone weaving around Sinatra's innocent, almost childlike delivery;

Flowers growing on a hill

Dragonflies and daffodils

This becomes super trippy around the 3-minute mark, when the song is cut up to have Hazelwood and Sinatra singing line about, with the music completely different for each line. It's the kind of song that sounds like it came from another dimension, existing outside of time. No wonder it is still talked of in wonder.

Primal Scream's electronic transformation of the song is super cool. Hazlewood and Sinatra's version feels like a hazy journey through a fever dream. The Scream Team take it on a shimmering, swirling sonic adventure - creating a pulsing groove, synth soundscapes and swirling texture. Both have a dreamy quality that isn't easy to capture on record.

Gillespie and Moss will have shared a few velvet mornings in their time. It's a great cover version.

Hazelwood and Sinatra's original and the Primal Scream cover of Some Velvet Morning (I've opted for the version on their Dirty Hits album) are added to my Everything Flows Cool Cover Versions playlist on Spotify which also features all of the songs listed below. Search for the title or CLICK HERE

Previous covers of the month blogs

13. Hurt
39. ABBA-esque
40. Jumpin' Jack Flash
64. Lola
82. Drop
87. Indian Rope Man + bonus Strawberry Fields Forever + This Wheels On Fire
92. Valerie
101. Shout!


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Thursday, 6 March 2025

Louie Louie

 

Cover version of the month #106
The Kingsmen cover Louie Louie by Richard Berry and The Pharaohs

I recently watched the magnificent 24-Hour Party People film for the first time in ages. Steve Coogan is outstanding as Tony Wilson (with a little dash of Partridge) while the formation of Factory Records, development of Joy Division, Ian Curtis' suicide, opening and mismanagement of the Hacienda, reliance/total piss-take on New Order's money and chaos of the Happy Mondays are portrayed with the right levels of honesty, empathy, bemusement and humour.

In the film, local punk fan Jon the Postman regularly gets up at the end of gigs to sing the evergreen garage band anthem Louie Louie, determined to keep the party going and sing his favourite song. Jon would go on to form a band and often guest with others. This led to him appearing with The Fall on Live 1977 album singing a ramshackle version. 

Louie Louie is a song I most definitely heard for the first time in McChuills. It was, and still is, regularly played by Old Nick in the bar. Probably by most DJ's at some point as well!

Covered by well over 1,000 bands/artists, including The Sonics, Iggy Pop, Motorhead and The Clash, I was convinced that the original was by The Kingsmen, as that was the version referenced by the bands and in the numerous articles I had read over the decades. However, it turns out that a guy called Richard Berry wrote and recorded the song with his band The Pharaohs back in 1955.

I'd never heard the original until I started researching the song for this blog. On first listen, I have to admit to finding it pretty uninspiring. I guess I'm used to the rawness of The Kingsmen and The Sonics, while The Pharaohs version is slower and smoother.

But the laid-back groove did grab me on second listen. It is undeniably catchy, allegedly inspired by Latin rhythms, particularly René Touzet’s El Loco Cha Cha. Berry crafted a story about a sailor longing for his love while stranded on a foreign shore. 

The story of the song, author, rights, publishing and ownership are quite something! There is a book in there for someone! A few google searches will direct you to some cracking articles.

By the mid-80's Berry was living on welfare and then the drinks company California Cooler used the song in a commercial. Despite the fact Berry had sold the rights to the song almost immediately after writing it, he still owned the radio and TV performance rights. He became a millionaire!

Richard Berry & The Pharaohs version

Lets travel back to 1963 though, when a young band from Portland, Oregon, called The Kingsmen took a raw, raucous approach to Louie Louie, generating immediate ripples and recording something so important that it has left a permanent mark on guitar music, stamping their name into rock history. 

This could well be the most important cover version of all-time.

Apparently The Kingsmen played a 90-minute version at a teen club the night before recording. Can you imagine if that was unearthed?! What I find remarkable is how they create such a dirty sound when they look so clean cut! 

Louie Louie by The Kingsmen is gloriously messy—recorded in one take with a distorted, almost unintelligible vocal from singer Jack Ely, who had to stand awkwardly to sing into a microphone hanging from the ceiling (they were essentially recording in a radio studio), resulting in a primal energy that would define garage guitar music for generations. It's so pure and real that it is completely timeless.

Beginning with an organ riff, everything else falls in behind and the energy grabs you immediately as Ely goes straight to the chorus, his words tumbling and stumbling into each other as he flies through the you take me to where you gotta go in double quick time.

Louie, Louie, oh no, you take me to where you gotta go

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah baby

Louie, Louie, take me to where you gotta go

Ely is like the original Julian Casablancas of The Strokes. Sounding like he is making it up as he goes along, a detached cool don't give a f**k attitude. You can just about make out what he is saying, although the lyrics would be the subject of much debate among teenagers in America who would speculate and write their own on pieces of paper and pass them round. Amazingly, and brilliantly, this led to the FBI were investigating the song! Lets just say that the lyrics that kids were passing around were not exactly clean! Rock n roll!

A fine little girl, she waits for me

Me catch a ship across the sea

Me sailed that ship all alone

Me never think I'll make it home

After a second chorus there is an audible shout of fuck from someone somewhere (believed to be the drummer)  on the recording and Ely continues to tell his tale of sailing across the seas to his girl.

Following the second verse and another chorus, Ely screams OK, lets give it to 'em right now leading to an outstanding 30-second guitar solo over the simple and sublime organ riff. It is electrifying! The Kingsmen are in the zone, lost in the moment and no matter how many times you listen, they draw you in with them.

There is a false start before the next verse, beautifully covered with a beautiful roll by drummer Lynn Easton (my wife's name!) and then they go into it for real. This just adds to the cool, raw, unpolished, urgent vibe. The energy. You can't teach this. You can't produce this or arrange it. If you're lucky, you might capture it.

Louie Louie by The Kingsmen got off to a slow start, just 1,000 copies were initially pressed by Jerden Records, then it got picked up by a larger label, Wand Records. Remarkably, things picked up after a DJ played it as his worst record of the week! 

Sometimes, the best songs are the simplest ones, built on passion rather than perfection. The infectious energy created from Louie Louie is still being felt today. It's a classic three-chord wonder that has been covered by everyone from The Sonics to Iggy Pop, The Beach Boys to Otis Redding, The Kinks to The Clash. 

The Richard Berry original and the landmark cover version by The Kingsmen of Louie Louie are added to my Everything Flows Cool Cover Versions playlist on Spotify which also features all of the songs listed below. Search for the title or CLICK HERE

Richard Berry original

The Kingsmen version

Previous covers of the month blogs

13. Hurt
39. ABBA-esque
40. Jumpin' Jack Flash
64. Lola
82. Drop
87. Indian Rope Man + bonus Strawberry Fields Forever + This Wheels On Fire
92. Valerie
101. Shout!



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Saturday, 22 June 2024

Do Your Thing

Cover version of the month #98
BMX Bandits (with The Wellgreen) and Lighships cover Moondog

I had never heard of Moondog until 2022 when I caught Gerard Love playing a string of Autumn shows in and around Glasgow. Gerry introduced a cover of Do Your Thing which had had a slow, dreamy, flowing and gorgeous melody that melted hearts. It seemed to have been written for him!

I found out that Gerry released a version on the b-side to Lightships Sweetness In Her Spark single in 2012. I later learned (quite recently) that BMX Bandits had recorded a version back in 2009 with friends Marco Rea and Stu Kidd (The Wellgreen) that came out on YouTube in 2012.

Moondog's original sets his beautiful melody over some stunning piano and he delivers solid advice for just over 3-minutes over 2 verses, including;

Do your best

And opportunity will do the rest

Don't give in

Capitulation is the greatest sin

And in the second verse;

Learn to wait

And while you're waiting, learn to concentrate

Moondog's voice, melody and words feel and sound effortless. Almost like a hushed and dreamy nursery rhyme. The piano is delightfully playful and I'm guessing that (like me) you'll play this song a few times in a row. 

BMX Bandits with The Wellgreen recorded a loving cover back in 2009 (see below for an interview with Duglas T Stewart) when they had a couple of spare hours in the studio. Duglas, backed by the talent of Marco Rea and Stu Kidd, remain pretty true to the original. The fact that the trio had limited time helps create a very organic feeling, the little keyboard solo sounds beautifully lofi and pure. Stewart's voice works so well with Rea and Kidd doing backing vocals and harmonies. Kidd's military style drumming is a delight and the fact that both Stuart and Marco are exceptionally talented multi-instrumentalists means that a couple of studio hours can be extremely productive. You can hear the love for the song in this recording. I'd been planning a blog on Do Your Thing for some time, but only discovered the BMX Bandits version very recently.

Photo by Mark Gilles

Do Your Thing is already pretty dreamy, but on the Lightships cover, Love and co add a psychedelic sleeping pill to slow it down and stretch it to 5 minutes 35 seconds, replacing the piano with gentle xylophone, guitar, brush strokes on the drums. The melody really suits Gerry's voice and style. This is pure gorgeousness, beautifully hypnotic, you can get lost in the music. If the original is a dreamy nursery rhyme, Lightships version is a psychedelic lullaby. Close your eyes and drift away. The last two minutes are exquisite.

Moondog original 1978 version

BMX Bandits (featuring The Wellgreen) version 

Lightships version

The Moondog original and Lightships cover version are added to my Everything Flows Cool Cover Versions playlist on Spotify which also features all of the songs listed below an interview with Duglas T Stewart. Search for the title or CLICK HERE

You can download the BMX Bandits version from Bandcamp

Thanks to Duglas for answering a few questions about Moondog and creating a playlist.

1. How did you discover Moondog? Did someone introduce you to his music, or did you stumble across it yourself? 

I discovered Moondog's in Japan in the early 1990s while in Tokyo with BMX Bandits. My girlfriend at the time, later my wife, Midori introduced me to lots of incredible music and she recommended that I should buy a CD that featured two of his albums, Moondog (1969) and Moondog 2 (1979). 

John Hogarty, who was playing guitar with us at that time also bought a copy. I had never heard anything like his music before. The rhythmic patterns with so quirky and brilliant. Some of it was like jazz, some of it was more like orchestral soundtrack music and then there were almost nursery rhyme like vocal rounds and songs with simple truths at the heart of them sung by Moondog and his daughter. Although I am making some comparisons there it still felt totally unique. It sounded as though it was created by an original thinker. 

2. What attracted you to cover 'Do Your Thing'? How important were The Wellgreen to the recording?

We recorded our version of Do Your Thing in just a couple of hours on June 1st 2009. I had thought for a long time that I could imagine it as a BMX Bandits track. The melody sounded like it would suit BMX bandits and I had an idea of how I wanted to approach it, a bit like a School House Rock song meets BMX Bandits (School House Rock was an American educational animated series that featured cool songs with an educational twist. Two of the most famous examples are 3 is the Magic Number and Unpack Your Adjectives). 

Marco & Stu from back in the day.

I was at Marco Rea from the Wellgreen's studio with Stuart Kidd, who was the other half of The Wellgreen at that time, and Brian McEwan, who was one of BMX Bandits then. We were recording another song for a tribute album that was never released. I suggested since we had recorded the other track so quickly that we should have a go at Do Your Thing. I explained my concept for it and I really wanted to utilise the magical vocal blend Marco and Stuart have together. 

The original Wellgreen vocal blend and Stuart and Marco's incredible ability to work really quickly and instinctively was key to how the track turned out.

3. Are there any other songs by Moondog that you are fond of?

Moondog is a major musical figure for me and for a number of my musician friends. Bill Wells is a major Moondog fan and was meant to be collaborating with Moondog and then sadly Moondog died before it could happen. Norman from Teenage Fanclub is a fan and recorded a version of another Moondog Song (My Tiny Butterfly) with Bill Wells. The first V-Twin single, a collaboration with Bill Wells, used a sample of a Moondog rhythm as its backbone. David Scott of The Pearlfishers is also a major fan. 

David and I organised a tribute concert to Moondog featuring a set of versions of some of our favourite pieces written by him. I think The Trashcan Sinatras have covered a Moondog song in the past and Gerry Love's band Lightships also recorded a version of Do Your Thing. Gerry took the song in quite a different direction from us and it is really effective, testament to the strength of the original song. The Pastels are also Moondog fans. 

I helped put together a reissue of an album that Moondog made in 1957 with Julie Andrews. He is a unique musical figure. He was blind and lived and performed on the streets of New York dressed like a Viking playing music on his own home made instruments but found an audience for his unique music and in later life he moved to Europe. I am going to make a playlist of some of my favourite Moondog music to go along with this piece.

A taster of Moondog for your ears - by Duglas T Stewart

4. BMX Bandits have covered a number of songs over the years. Do any (apart from this one) stand out for you?

There's too many to mention but one of my personal favourites is a cover version of a song by a Hong Kong duo My Little Airport called You Don't Wanna Be My Girlfriend, Phoebe. It is such an incredible song, our version's arrangement/ instrumentation is very different from the original. It was recorded by Stuart Kidd, James McEwan and me, again  very quickly and it was also recorded in 2009. I'd like to play it live sometime. 

5. My own favourite cover version is probably Richie Havens cover of Lamont Doziers Going Back To My Roots. Could you choose a favourite (or a few if you can't narrow it down)? 

The obvious choice for me is one that you have featured on here, Harpers Bizarre's version of Jim Pepper's song Witchi Tai To (Duglas kindly answered some questions on this incredible song HERE) but I will give you another one, which is an album of cover versions by Laura Nyro and LaBelle called Gonna Take a Miracle. I know that your sister also loves that album. I think I recommended it to her. When I first saw the tracklisting of the album I thought it was crazy. It features all of these versions of classic songs that I thought had untouchable original versions . I couldn't understand anyone having the audacity to cover these classics but I decided to buy it because I was curious as well as outraged. When I listened I couldn't believe what I was hearing, it is so incredible, so life affirming from start to finish and it remains one of my ultimate favourite albums to this day.

6. Lastly, if you could choose someone to cover one of your songs, who would it be, why and what song would you like them to sing and play?

My favourite new artist to emerge this Century is a singer, songwriter, multi instrumentalist and arranging talent called Sofie Royer. Please check out her incredible album Harlequin if you don't already know it. Well, of course I would love for her to cover one of my songs and I would be delighted for her to make her own choice of any of my songs that I have written or co-written. That would be such a thrill but she has enough great songs of her own so that's just an idle dream. 

I love recording and playing live cover versions of songs that I love by other artists because I am a fan and also it's a great way to learn new ways of doing things that you can bring to your own music in the future.

UPDATE - on Friday 21st June Duglas watched The Cords and said; "The Cords were fantastic at the Glasgow launch for Grant McPhee's Postcards from Scotland book. I loved their whole set, which they finished with a beautiful cover of BMX Bandits I Wanna Fall In Love. I had tears in my eyes."

Previous covers of the month blogs

13. Hurt
39. ABBA-esque
40. Jumpin' Jack Flash
64. Lola
82. Drop
87. Indian Rope Man + bonus Strawberry Fields Forever + This Wheels On Fire
92. Valerie
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