Iconic Band HATED Cover Song SO MUCH…They Purposely BOTCHED IT…Made it a CLASSIC!--Professor of Rock

0:00 today we're going to rewind more Unforgettable sounds of the 80s as we count down the top cover songs of a decade full of them from unexpected twist onong Classics the fresh takes it out shown the originals these songs left an indelible mark on the music world including one where a girl band transformed a folk song into a driving rocker and another where the Wailing banshe from Rock's heaviest band of the 70s had a smash hit by cring a 50s tune that to this day most people have no clue it's him and another that became one of the funniest misheard lyrics of the decade and yet another that's the first Spanish song the hit number one in the Rock here we break down the Stories Behind These iconic covers the magic they brought to the table and how they became monster Hits in their own right

0:45 the countdowns coming up next on professor of rock hey music junkies professor of rock always here to celebrate the greatest artist and the greatest songs of all time today's going to be fun you know if you remember this [Music] commercial you're gonna dig this channel of deep musical Nostalgia make sure to subscribe below right now click the white button and click the notification Bell so you know when our stuff comes out also go to Professor rock.com we got some cool live streams coming up special guests and other exclusives check it out you're going to have a blast with this countdown of the top six covers of the 80s even though one of the songs on the list is related to one of the saddest days of the rock era keep in mind the six covers that I've chosen are remakes

1:32 of hit Originals in other words uh the first version and the cover had to make the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 to qualify for the countdown or be truly famous before uh you know the song became a hit so we got something to compare it to all right let's go coming at number six on the countdown is the Bengals reimagining of a Simon and Garfunkle tune the song hayy shade of winner shade Winer a Hazy Shade of Winter Paul Simon composed a Hazy Shade of Winter as a poetic reflection on the passage of time and the shifting seasons of Life song captures the transition from fall to winter both in nature and in The Human Experience really a metaphor for the

2:18 inevitable changes and challenges that we all face and that they fac back in the 60s it's lyrics weave together themes of searching longing and haunting realization that time is slipping away now with each verse Simon explores the yearning for meaning and connection and the quiet urgency that comes with recognizing life's truly fleeting [Music] Moments Love the imagery in the lyrics of this song you know the imagery of barren branches and fading leaves it really paints a vivid picture of life cycles serving as a poignant reminder to cherish the present even as we search for what's next [Music] now 1987 the Bengals put out their own version Let spin on the classic they

3:05 recorded the cover for the soundtrack of less than zero do you remember that movie it had Andrew McCarthy Jamie Gertz and Robert Downey Jr one of his first check me out I'm going to make a serious comeback great less than zero their version with his gritty guitars and driving beat soared up the charts reaching number two that was a significant leap from what Simon and Garfunkle did they hit number 13 when they put out their version [Music] this next part is really funny before the opportunity to do their version for the movie Lesson Zero the Bengals had already connected with Simon and gar Fun's original in fact by 1983 the band had made this song a staple in their set list it electrified audiences with their raw energetic take on the folk classic

3:52 uh a lot of people thought it was an original including Susanna Hoffs just kidding around actually Susanna Hoffs when she heard it the connection was immediate she said and I quote I was alone in this dark room just the radio and me and a Hazy Shade of Winter came on and it hit me like a bolt of lightning I thought I was a Simon and gar funcle Super Fan but somehow I'd missed this badass folk rock song of theirs when she heard it the Revelation couldn't wait she said that she ran to Band Rehearsal that very night she said to the band we got to cover this song and from that moment on a Hazy Shade of Winter became a signature part of the Bengals live repertoire its infectious energy weaves seamlessly into their sound and it just captivated their fans for years to come

4:39 I love this song I love how they covered it when director Maric Kiva set out to create less than zero you know a film Loosely inspired by Brett Easton Ellis's 1985 novel he needed the Perfect soundtrack to capture its edgy Vibe and that's where the Bengals came in the was approach to contribute to track and before they knew it they were in the studio with legendary producer Rick Rubin a lot of people don't know Rick Rubin did this song and they reimagined Simon and Garfunkle song with a Bold Rock driven intensity that would leave its mark on the film and on the charts alike what do you think I think it's better than Simon and garfinkle that's pretty tough to [Applause] do okay at number five on the countdown

5:25 of the top five covers of the 80s top six it's the Soulful remake of every every time you go away by Paul Young love this [Music] song go every time you go away was pinned by Daryl Hall and first recorded in 1980 by darl Hall and John Oats it wasn't released as a single the song did find its way into the hearts of fans and musicians alike though years later Paul Young turned it into a global pop hit you know bringing the track to uh new wave of recognition here's what Paul Young told me about the song what are you saying there I've always wondered because you we didn't have lyrics the take it or you know that's exactly what that's what I thought you were saying

6:11 because he's played the Riff once and I'm saying do it [Music] again it was something that I did on one of the first vocal takes and they really liked it so they left it in and it's funny because as a kid when I first heard I like this is a great song but why is he saying every time he go away you take a piece of meat with you you take a piece of me yeah you you mishar songs like that happens all the time like Excuse me while I kiss this guy instead of kiss this guy that kind of thing there's a book of misquotes like a coffee table it was such a such a great song and hearkened back to emotional vocal too I mean you really just you tapped into something there that was was tremendous

6:56 we've got everything going on and on oh do you remember what you were thinking when you recorded the vocal cuz just just a little bit different than than anything you recorded yeah I was just putting myself into it like an actor would when when he's got a part to play so I'm putting myself in the role of of uh feeling that sort of pain every time someone goes away and there's always that little hint of they going away you know what if they meet somebody else and all those kind of things that slightly worries that you have you know when a partner goes off and you're not [Music] there all in all it became one of the most famous Mish her lyrics ever I mean everybody was wondering why every time

7:43 the narrator's lover went away she took a piece of meat with her sounds like a adult film take of it sorted to number one of the Billboard Hot 100 two weeks after a Live Aid and it also hit number one W on the AC chart and it won video of the year at the 1986 Brit Awards with a lot of competition and I love how they used it in the last scene of plains Trains and Automobiles all right back to the countdown at number four is a song that was released in the 1950s it became a hit in the 60s and then it was a huge cover hit in the 80s by the frontman of the golden gods of rock from the 70s it's Sea of Love by the Robert Plant FR

8:29 group The honey drippers of of Love Now Sea of Love is a Timeless ballad written by John Philip Baptist better known as Phil Phillips and George Cory also helped write it song Mark Phil Soul Venture into the top 40 and he he never recorded another hit at the time Phil was working as a bell boy in Lake Charles Louisiana when he panned the song as a heartfelt tribute to a love interest and little did he know that his romantic inspiration would lead to a track that would endure for Generations the story of Sea of Love took a dramatic term when a gas meter reader gas meter reader no no joke he overheard John Philip Baptist a practicing the song

9:16 this man was blown away by what he heard so he actually went in the suggested Philip visit record producer George Cory who he knew I love you Cory not only helped him record the track but also convinced him to adopt the stage named Phil Phillips released on Cory's independent label the song became a local sensation in Louisiana catching the attention of mercury records they took it nationwide and it became a massive hit but success didn't come with a big payday this is kind of interesting Philips claimed he only earned $6,800 from the song overall and to top it off he didn't even win over the girl who inspired it still he had no regrets he actually would say that he married the right one that's pretty cool so here's a fun tidbit about the original recording of SE love the

10:02 beautiful Harmony vocals that made the song So memorable they weren't performed by season professionals at all they were performed by a group of friends that Phil Phillips brought into the studio none of them had any formal experience so Phillips had to teach them the parts himself and they had to do it in a hurry because they had no money so it's a testament to the raw heartfelt charm that makes this song so special it's really cool it was certainly that kind of charm that attracted Robert Plant to the song and it was his desire to record a cover with his band The Honey drippers now if you're not familiar with the honey drippers uh they were an English band born in the early 80s a passion project formed by Robert Plant in 1981 to fulfill his dream of leading

10:48 a band rooted in rhythm and blues he'd always want to do that legendary record executive amond Igan envisioned a project that captured the vibe of the classic covers the honey drippers per formed during their laidback 1981 tour actually reached out to Robert Plant with the idea and plant was on board agreeing to record a five song mini album under the honey drippers name the result was a nostalgic tribute to the rhythm and blues roots that had long inspired plant's musical Journey before he joined Led Zeppelin way [Music] before by 1984 the group included a stellar lineup featuring Jimmy pige and Jeff Beck and released an EP titled the honey drippers volume one now it was on that record that the honey drippers

11:34 released Sea of Love That was the aside and then rocking after midnight was the bside great single midnight so radio gravitated much more to Sea of Love and this made Robert Plant really nervous because he was afraid he was going to be labeled a kuner after being a golden god of rock most people still have no idea that this is Robert PL I mean just listen to him wailing like a rock and roll bandan Immigrant Song and then out pruning Tony Bennett with this [Music] one plant was so worried about it after the song's success he jumped right back

12:20 into his own rock and roll work to get right back to it Robert planton the honey dripper rendition of Steve love is a heartfelt passionate reimagining of this classic it's really cool Robert's vocal performance is nothing short of stunning capturing the Deep respect and affection he clearly held for the song and that JRE of music it's a beautiful homage that breathes new life into this Timeless [Music] tune so Phil Phillips original sell the number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the billboard R&B chart in 59 into 60 and the Honey drippers cover came very close to achieving that same success uh theirs one to number three on the Billboard Hot 100 but it did reach number one on the billboard AC chart and it went to number one in Canada pretty

13:05 cool Robert Plant the [Music] croner coming in at number three on the countdown is an otherworldly collaboration the accidentally invented wrap metal and the biggest comeback of the decade covered this a couple weeks ago but I got some new stories for you here so stay with it AOS Smith Triumph and comeback Walk This Way by Run DMC and AOS Smith this way to Walk This Way Walk This Way first dropped as a single from Errol Smith's Toys in the Attic from 1975 Stephen Tyler wrote the lyrics Joe Perry came up with the music it wasn't an instant chart topper if you remember but by early 77 it had climbed into the top 10 becoming one of many hits that solidified the band's place in rock history during the

13:52 [Music] 70s fast forward to the 80s and walk this got a whole new lease on life when Run DMC covered it in 1986 the team up with arrol Smith on the track of course was a game changer and the idea came about while they were working on their raising hell album Rick Ruben second time we're going to mention him here uh he was producing it of course and he pulled out AOL Smith's Toys in the Attic album and he played the song for Rand DMC at their shows uh Rand DMC had been freestyling over the first few seconds of the track looping it without ever hearing the rest of the song or even knowing the [Music] lyrics at that time Joseph Simmons run and Daryl McDaniel's DMC had no idea who

14:39 Errol Smith even was they weren't sold on the idea of even covering the song they actually thought the lyrics sounded like hillbilly gibberish their words but Jam Master Jay was more open to it and Rick Rubin pushed to make it happen so they decided to remake the song with Tyler and Perry coming in uh to the studio to re-record their parts now initially Run DMC were going to try to mimic Tyler's vocal style but Jam Master J convinced him to flow more naturally with their rap style instead for the Bass track the studio didn't have one so a beasty boy who happened to be hanging around ran home and brought his base for uh Perry to use result a classic that would Bridge Rock and

15:25 Hip-Hop like never before under to my dadd even after recording with Steven Tyler and Joe Perry rund DMC didn't expect Walk This Way to be released even as a single they were actually shocked when it started getting airplane on both Urban and rock radio stations Rick Rubin admitted saying I never even thought Walk This Way would be a single not that I didn't like it but I didn't think of it in those terms but it turned out to be history making DMC later called it a beautiful thing even though they didn't agree with it at first song went on to chart higher on the Billboard Hot 100 than the original I pinked at number four became run dmc's biggest hit and made history as the first hip-hop single to break into the top five a lot of people forget

16:12 [Music] that moving right along on our countdown of the top six covers of the 80s I've got the biggest hit from the very first heavy metal album to go to number one right in the middle of the reign of Michael Jackson's Thriller it's come on feel the noise by Quiet Riot at number two [Applause] here even Van Halen couldn't top MJ but Quiet Riot did it come on feel the noise as a rock anthem that started as a glamrock Anthem before becoming a hair metal classic it was originally recorded by British band Slade and the band you know showcase her signature style loud anthemic energy paired with flamboyant costumes Dramatic Makeup and a stage presence that embodied the spirit of glamrock

16:59 [Music] the the genre of glamrock was huge in the UK during the mid-70s of course and this track became one of its defining hits written by slayes Jim Leah and naughty holder naughty holder one of the underrated singers out there produced by Chaz Chandler who previously had managed Jimmy Hendricks actually song made history when entered the UK charts at number one the first song to do that since the Beatles get back in ' 69 it became Slade's fourth UK chart topper in also hit number one in Ireland solidifying his place as glamrock [Applause] [Music] classic most Americans don't know much about Slade and recognize come on feel the noise from quiet rides 1983 cover which SED did number five on the charts and you like I mentioned earlier helped

17:46 this album metal health their album make history is the first metal album to hit number one on the billboard [Applause] 200 now the idea to cover this song came from their producer Spencer profer he believed it could be a Smash in the US just as it had been in the UK for Slade he actually made the band do it if they wanted to record the album quiet rid's lead singer Kevin Duo he said he would rather have stuck ice picks in his eyes than do this song Kevin's determined for the band to write every track on the album and he wasn't a fan of slay to begin with frustrated with the suggestion the band hatched a plan to intentionally botch the recording hoping the label would reject it now much to the their surprise maybe even their dismay their raw rebellious take turned

18:32 into a massive hit solidifying quiet rides place in rock history late Quiet Riot drummer frankco Bali once shared the amusing story behind the recording of the song he said and I quote we were supposed to rehearse the song before recording it and the producer kept calling the rehearsal Studio asking are you working on come on feel the noise we tell them yeah sounds great but the truth was we never even played it when the day arrived to record the track Bali decided to come clean I got to the studio early and told the engineer what was going on I said you might as well record this just for laughs and [Applause] Giggles with no real plan and no intro even worked out tensions Rose as the

19:19 band argued about how to start the song but when balii noticed the engineer was rolling tape he just improvised I just started playing what became the intro and Rudy Saro joined in on base and Carlos Kazo he followed on guitar Kevin was sitting in the corner of the studio just laughing giggling waiting for this massive train wreck problem is the train wreck it never happened instead they captured the energy and the spontaneity that made this track [Applause] undeniable Kevin nailed the vocal because he didn't want be the one to screw up so the plan to botch the song actually made it a classic I love

20:05 [Music] that quiet riots version of come on F the noise skyrocketed in popularity thanks in large part to its heavily played video on MTV I mean at the time pop radio was dominated by artists like Michael Jackson the police and Madonna acts far removed from the world of heavy metal or hard rock but MTV was hungry for American rock bands to feature and this track Hit The Sweet Spot form the video was tailor made for MTV's young male audience featuring a teenager experiencing a chaotic metal assault in his bedroom as the band's energy bursts through the [Music] screen H we're counting down the top six covers of the 80s and we've arrived to the big finish the one that I picked it

20:51 actually also came from a movie it's uh all of it's in a foreign language every 80s kid know knows every lyric of this though I'm telling you my choice for the number one cover song of the 80s is Los Lobos and their spirited rendition of [Music] labamba labomba is a traditional Mexican folk song from the state of Eric Cruz also known as labomba bomb is in B MB became widely popular when Richie Balin recorded his version in 58 it became the top 40 hit in the us his rendition of the song is also ranked number 345 on Rolling Stones list of the 500 Greatest Songs of all time it's actually the only song on the list that's not sung or

21:37 written in [Music] English the song is a prime example of the son heroo musical style which blends Spanish indigenous afrom Mexican and afro Caribbean musical influences obamaa likely dates back to the late 17th century originating in 1683 during a slave Uprising known as the bomb ARA over the years labomba has been covered by numerous artists with his most famous version coming from Los Lobos their rendition was featured as the title track of the 1987 film labomba biopic about Richie B's life and career that did very well at the box office Richie Val first learned labamba as a child from his cousin Dicky Kota in 19580 recorded a rock and roll version

22:24 of the song with a talented group of session musicians there's buddy Clark on string base Ernie Freeman on piano Carol K was on acoustic rhythm guitar a lot of people don't know that Renee holl on Dan Electro six string baritone guitar and Earl Palmer on drums and claves originally laboma was released as the bside to Donna which was Valen heartfelt song about his high school sweetheart Donna ludvig uh whom he dated until his untimely [Music] death Richie Val life was tragically cut short on the day the music died February 2nd 1959 after performing in Clear Lake Iowa he boarded a small plane with Buddy Holly JP the Big Bopper Richardson and

23:09 pilot Roger Peterson Holly had charted the plane and valin only got a seat on the flight after winning a coin toss with Holly's backup guitarist Tommy alsa Bob hell a local disc jockey flipped the coin backstage just before the musicians headed to the airport balons is famously said to have remarked that's the first time I've ever won anything in my life meanwhile whan Jennings Holly's basis gave up his seat on the plane for Richardson who was sick with the flu at around 12:55 a.m. on February 3rd the beach crap Bonanza took off for Fargo North Dakota just minutes after the departure of the plane crashed due to Pilot Air Roger Peterson was not trained for the harsh weather conditions uh he lost control of the plane and it crashed all four men were killed instantly like Buddy Holly and JP Richardson Richie Val

23:55 suffered fatal head injuries and blunt force trauma at just 17 years of age he was the youngest victim of the crash Richie valon's original version of laboma peaked at number 32 in France number 13 in Belgium and number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 here but it climbed all the way to number one in Canada the Lobos they did the song Justice with a rousing rendition for the movie about Richie's life and his tragic death founded by High School buddies David hadalo on vocals and guitar and Louis Perez on drums Los Lobos was formed in East Los Angeles back in 73 the group were big fans of Richie Valance they wanted to pay tribute to Richie who is a Mexican hero as The Godfather Cho Rock so they recorded a version of labamba even before the

24:45 movie Richie valon's family was so moved by the band's rendition they personally requested that Los Loos be the one to contribute to the soundtrack for the movie uh the soundtrack included eight L Lobos cover of Bon songs such as come on let's go and Bon's iconic hit [Music] Donna but it was the lead single Obama that became a massive hit in 1987 now the song maintained the verac Cruz inspired sanha Roo's folk style of the original but also added a contemporary touch that resonated with new generations of listeners the L Lobos cover of lab bomo was a run away smash it went to number one in 20 countries

25:31 including the UK Zimbabwe Spain and here are the Billboard Hot [Music] 100 well there you have it the professor of rock countdown of the top six cover songs of the 80s so many cool covers in the 80s that bring back some great memories what are your memories of these songs and what are your top covers of the 80s if you like our content we invite you to subscribe make sure to go to Professor rock.com to sign up for our live streams and all of our other exclusives there let have a spirited discussion below about the cover songs what would you like to see next the 70s or the 60s even the '90s until next time three chords and the truth my friends [Music]