Five times musicians detested covers of their songs
It’s supposed to be an honour when an artist covers one of your songs. But as people like Bob Dylan, George Harrison and David Bowie found out, it can often feel like the exact opposite.
When you write music, all you ever really want to do is put something together that moves people. This can happen in multiple different ways, but all in all, so long as the song you write resonates with listeners and moves them on some form of emotional level, that’s a job well done. All the complications that come with songwriting, and the varying ideologies that surround the greats, when it’s all said and done, essentially crumbles down into that single desire.
Sometimes, a song touches another artist so much that it’s not enough for them to merely listen to it. Instead, it’s a case of guitars picked up and mics plugged in as they decide to put their own spin on the track. For the most part, people are flattered when another artist opts to cover their song, but that’s not always the case.
Whether it’s because of the performance being bad, uninspired, or the covering artist making one too many changes to the point the song is unrecognisable, there have been plenty of times when a cover hasn’t quite gone according to plan, and the original writer of the song is happy to let them know. These are five instances when a musician has despised someone else’s cover of their song.
When musicians hate covers of their songs
Guns N’ Roses – ‘Knocking On Heaven’s Door’
Many people have covered Bob Dylan’s music, and can you really blame them? He doesn’t use difficult chords, but his knowledge of rhythm and effortless mastery of lyricism means he’s written some of the greatest music of all time. This combination of something being technically simple but emotionally profound makes Dylan ripe for the covering, so Guns N’ Roses decided to do their own interpretation of ‘Knocking On Heaven’s Door’.
Guns N’ Roses fans are pretty drawn to this heavier version of Dylan’s classic, but Dylan himself was never convinced, alluding to the fact it lacked soul. “Guns N’ Roses is okay, Slash is okay,” he said, “But there’s something about their version of the song that reminds me of the movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers.”
Barbara Streisand – ‘Life On Mars’
David Bowie was already proving himself as a musical genius capable of writing about different themes before he released ‘Life On Mars’, but actually releasing ‘Life On Mars’ was the moment he cemented himself as more than a fad; he was a force in songwriting that wasn’t going anywhere. His combination of abstract lyricism, epic piano runs and stunning vocals made the song an instant hit, and one that people everywhere wanted to put their own spin on.
One of the artists sitting in the wings who was keen on giving her own rendition of ‘Life On Mars’ was Barbara Streisand. She covered the track and included her version of the song on her 1974 album Butterfly. Despite having a great voice, Bowie wasn’t too convinced by her cover, and when asked what he thought about it, the Starman simply said, “Sorry, Barb, but it was atrocious.”
Mötley Crüe – ‘Anarchy In The UK’
The punk movement was one of the most prominent and influential developments in music throughout the UK in the ‘70s. Everything about it, from its angst to its tortured poetry was infectious, and as a result, people everywhere wanted to try and channel it. For many, this meant coming up with their own material, but Mötley Crüe decided to go straight to the source and opted to cover one of the Sex Pistols first ever hits ‘Anarchy In The UK’.
Mötley Crüe changed the words to the song in their interpretation of it, something which might be seen as bold by a few but that wasn’t appreciated by John Lydon. “They peppered it with the wrong words cause they didn’t know the full month,” he said, “I would have quite happily told them what the real words were. They lost the meaning somewhat.”
Maroon 5 – ‘Kiss’
‘Kiss’ is one of Prince’s more upbeat and sexually infused numbers. While you wouldn’t usually associate him with Maroon 5, you would think that of all the Prince songs available, this is the one that Adam Levine and co would have the best chance of doing justice. Well, that’s what the band thought as well, but when Prince heard their rendition of his classic, he was frustrated by how uninspired it was.
“I do pay performance royalties on others’ songs I perform live, but I’m not recording these songs and putting them up for sale,” said Prince, “ Why do we need to hear another cover of a song someone else did? Art is about building a new foundation, not just laying something on top of what’s already there.”
Frank Sinatra – ‘Something’
‘Something’ may well be the greatest Beatles song ever written. It was certainly one of George Harrison’s greatest offerings for the band, which is why he was so frustrated when Frank Sinatra covered it and credited Paul McCartney and John Lennon with the track. “I think Frank Sinatra used to introduce ‘Something’ as his favourite Lennon-McCartney song,” recalled McCartney, “Thanks, Frank.”
As well as getting the songwriters wrong, Harrison also wasn’t a fan of the way that Sinatra sang the track. “When I wrote it, in my mind I heard Ray Charles singing it, and he did do it some years later,” he said, “At the time I wasn’t particularly thrilled that Frank Sinatra did ‘Something’.”
