Cover Versions! – Gary

(Just as a way of introduction, I am including a new member in our little music exchange, Drew Martin.  Drew resides in Lynnwood Washington and is an avid music & photography fan, like you Paul.)

Over the years I have found some cover versions of songs that I think are as good as the originals, and possibly better.  You be the judge.

Here’s a huge hit originally done by The Kingsmen in 1963 called “Louie Louie“.  Now, I have a vinyl album called “Here they come Paul Revere and the Raiders“, a group out of Boise Idaho, and they did a great cover of “Louie Louie“.

Paul Revere & The Raiders – Louie Louie

I was a big fan, and still am a fan, of a group called The Fireballs.  Their original release was a song called “Torquay“, an instrumental. There was another group in 1961 called The String-a-longs who had a hit, which my dad loved, called “Wheels“.  Now, these two tunes do sound similar, because they where both produced by Norman Petty in Clovis New Mexico.  Here’s a great cover of “Torquay“.

String-A-Longs – Torquay

Now, this third piece that got covered is a 1957 Doo Wop recording by The Edsels called “Rama Lama Ding Dong“.  In 1978 a group from England, Rocky Sharpe & the Replays, made what I consider a great cover version.

Rocky Sharpe & The Replays – Rama Lama Ding Dong

- Gary