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Five Times the Ladies Sang It So Much Better Than the Guys
A cover versions Rate-A-Record
It’s time again for my weekly Rate-A-Record installment (known by some as “the series that refuses to die”), and this week’s edition came to me while I was laboring away on the newest Mayberry Chronicles story. You might expect that this means more country music, but it doesn’t. I was not listening to George Strait while furiously scribbling notes, but rather The Queen of Covers herself, Joan Jett.
I’ve written several stories about cover versions of songs, including a personal favorite about covers of The Greatest Song Ever. While listening to Joan belt out ZZ Top’s “Tush,” I thought about the countless times that female singers covered songs originally sung by men and did it far better. Joan’s performance of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” with Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, and Pat Smear at Nirvana’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was (for me at least) better than the original, as was Annie Clark of St. Vincent’s cover of “Lithium.” Sorry, Kurt.
Below are five covers of classic songs first sung by guys that the ladies made even better.
“Everyday is Like Sunday” — 10,000 Maniacs (original by Morrissey)
