Original Artists Influenced by Covers?

Subject: RE: Original Artists Influenced by Covers?
From: meself
Date: 04 Jul 14 - 11:41 AM

Helen Creighton relates an anecdote having to do with the traditional song Farewell to Nova Scotia, which she had recorded from a fisherman, and published in print. It was picked up and made a minor hit by a singer named Catherine MacKinnon. When Helen Creighton went back after a couple of years to visit the fisherman, and had him sing the song again, she found he repeated the final line of the song, which he had not done previously. When she asked him why he did this, he said, "That's how the lady who sings it on the radio does it - and I like it that way!"

Subject: RE: Original Artists Influenced by Covers?
From: PHJim
Date: 04 Jul 14 - 10:25 AM

Pete Seeger wrote Where Have All The Flowers Gone and recorded it on his Rainbow Quest album. Joe Hickerson sang it, adding a couple of verses to make it a circular song. Pete started singing Joe's verses as well.

Peter, Paul & Mary recorded it with a variation to the tune which Pete also started singing.

Subject: RE: Original Artists Influenced by Covers?
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Jul 14 - 09:19 AM

IIRC Joseph Taylor started singing the additional verse put in by Grainger.

Subject: RE: Original Artists Influenced by Covers?
From: Sir Roger de Beverley
Date: 03 Jul 14 - 01:23 PM

Dylan's "all along the watchtower" live now sound much more like the Jimi Hendrix cover.

R

Subject: Original Artists Influenced by Covers?
From: GUEST
Date: 03 Jul 14 - 01:19 PM

It's interesting that a song's original artist - in most cases songwriters - may sometimes in turn get influenced by "cover" versions. I can remember a few:

Otis Redding sang the "R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me" section in shows and concerts after Aretha Franklin's cover version got onto the charts - apparently he "learned" it from Aretha.

Tom Paxton once said in a concert that he learned how to sing his own song "Jimmy Newman" after hearing John Denver's version. It's true - in Tom's original recording, the last line "And you've only to open your eyes" was only sung once. But since the 80's, that line was repeated twice, and the song would end up with "My God, Jimmy, open your eyes" - same as John Denver did in his cover versions.

Do anyone recall any more examples?