#924. Lineage of Song: "Hey, Hey What Can I Do"

 

My brother is a big fan of Led Zeppelin, and joined the Hootie backlash early on, so when Darius Rucker said "Hey, Hey What Can I Do" was the only song that he could reasonably tackle from Robert Plant's range, he somehow took it to mean Plant had more range or some other permutation of a better voice.  I disagree with that assessment.

#923. Lineage of Song: "Blue Suede Shoes"

Of the songs from other artists Elvis covered, the earliest and most famous is undoubtedly "Blue Suede Shoes." Also tossed in for good measure are versions from Buddy Holly and John Lennon.

#922. Lineage of Song: "Can't Help Falling in Love"

UB40

Elvis

Twenty One Pilots

Elvis was known primarily for singing, and not so much for songwriting, so the bulk of his material was either written for him or outright cover material, even if his singing made it instantly identifiable as "his," making his songs all the more interesting when someone later came up with their own versions, as UB40 did with "Can't Help Falling in Love." Included also is a more recent version from Twenty One Pilots, one of my favorite active bands.

This is a version of the song “Can’t Help” borrowed its melody from, “Plaisir d’amour,” from the 18th century, including one by Paul Robeson.

#921. Lineage of Song: "Unchained Melody"

 

Todd Duncan

Les Baxter

Righteous Brothers

Elvis, as depicted in Elvis

Another astonishing cover in pop culture lore would be Elvis covering "Unchained Melody."

The trailer for Elvis chose to spotlight “Melody” rather than many other songs more closely associated with Presley, and for that reason, for me anyway, it got me thinking about what he accomplished singing it, showcasing his range, and that he wasn’t just a novelty talent famous for being famous. 

The song itself was in wide circulation a decade before the Righteous Brothers popularized it, originating in a film actually called Unchained, and performed by Todd Duncan. Les Baxter was among those who jumped at the chance at covering it. Among others U2 eventually did a version, too.

#920. Lineage of Song "I Will Always Love You"

I figured I could continue this series with arguably one of the most important covers in the history of pop music, Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You." There are crazy people who still think Dolly Parton’s is the best. Houston’s is as perfect a vocal recording as I’ve ever heard.