Boldly going for worst Beatles cover

[Beware Of Darkness]

http://www.btopenworld.com/news/entertainment/0,,csn=649|csr=3744752,00.html

LONDON (Reuters) - Star Trek star William Shatner`s version of "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" has been picked as the worst Beatles cover of all time.

His spoken word massacre of the Beatles classic was chosen as the biggest crime against the Fab Four in a poll conducted by the digital TV channel Music Choice.

Second place went to TV`s singing piglets Pinky and Perky for their unforgettable "All My Loving."

Former Formula One Star Damon Hill made fourth position for his version of "Drive My Car" while Hollywood star Jim Carrey reached number six with his "I Am The Walrus."

""The likes of Damon Hill, Jim Carrey and William Shatner are best advised to stick to the day job," said Simon Bell of Music Choice.

[beatlegirl9977]

The other songs that were in the top 10 on that list were:
Bananarama with French and Saunders--Help!
Wet Wet Wet--With a Little Help from My Friends
Suggs--I'm Only Sleeping
PM Dawn--Norwegian Wood
Candy Flip--Strawberry Fields Forever

(The list happens to be on the back page of my newspaper right next to me...) :smile1:

[beatlewho01-02]

I liked the I am Sam soundtrack. But William Shatner gets :barf3: :barf3: :barf3: for any song he does.

[BrazilianFlag]

Damon Hill's version of "Drive My Car" is a sure hit...straight into a wall!

[onosideboards]

how could ANYONE dis French & Saunders doing a Beatles song??!! :smile1: everything they do is perfection!

i'd say anything from that awful "i am sam" soundtrack should be on that list. ewwwwww what a disappointment that album was.

P.S. Shatner's version of Elton John's "rocket man" is equally as bad, yet worth a laugh if you like Elton

[beatlebangs1964]

The jazz version of "Can't Buy Me Love" :barf4:

The Carpenters' atrocious rendition of "I'm Happy Just to Dance With You" and "Help!" They took two of my favorite songs and their bastardized versions bear little resemblance to the Beatle classics we all know and love. I truly hate the Carpenters' version of Beatle songs. I never liked the Carpenters in the first place (too smaltzy for me), but what they did to Beatle songs was IMHO criminal! :barf2:

I'm not sure, but I think it's Bobby Darrin who does this horrendous cover of "Can't Buy Me Love" and at the end of the song, he throws in "and you know you should be glad" from "She Loves You." He has thus bastardized two stellar Beatle songs! It is a crime what he did to my songs!

Anne Murray messed up IMJTDWY as well. I hate the reggae arrangements of Beatle songs as well and I hate reggae so much I just can't stand it.

Del Shannon's cruel treatment of "She Loves You," which is one of MY favorite songs.

Stars on 45 - their disco versions of a Beatle medley. :thumbd:

Any jazz, new wave/punk, rap or disco version :thumbd:

I don't like Elton's version of "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds."

I never liked Bananarama including that ridiculous name. :thumbd:

[Rellevart]

Originally Posted By beatlebangs1964:
The Carpenters' atrocious rendition of "I'm Happy Just to Dance With You" and "Help!" <font size="2" face="Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif">Oh, I've never heard their version of "IHJTDWY", but yeah, their "Help" is awful and I'm not too thrilled with their "Ticket To Ride" either.

But back to Shatner.....I'm not sure I'd pick his cover as the worst of all time because it's so obviously dreadfully horrible that you can't even take it seriously. I mean, was it made TRYING to be bad, perhaps?

[bitagirl]

I would hope Shatner is NOT taking it seriously...because Good LORD that is one of the most hilarious remakes I have ever heard in my life!

I'm sorry but his singing has my dying of laughter every time!

But I have to agree with the Carpenters, it was grotty!

[Ricky Rickenbacker]

Let's face it gang, that's why most artists shy away from covering Beatle's material....it's virtually impossible to beat the original. It would be interesting to see or hear someone do a good one....but I'm still waiting!

[MissusLennon]

Alanis Morisette did a nice version of Norwegian Wood, IMHO...but yeah, there are very few GOOD covers.

Jim Carrey's I Am The Walrus should be burned, it disturbed me greatly :psycho:

[dovetail]

I would hope Shatner is NOT taking it seriously...because Good LORD that is one of the most hilarious remakes I have ever heard in my life!
<font size="2" face="Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif">Yep, worry not: William Shatner's album was done with tongue planted FIRMLY in cheek. The public didn't realise that at the time & I don't think many people do now, either! :wink1: He really is a Beatles fan, believe it or not.

[sleepybomb]

i'm kinda surprised no one mentioned charles manson's version of 'why don't we do it in the road'. . . it is so bad it's funny. in a spooky way.
there are a few lp's with some of the worst covers, one is called flabby road, which i am gonna avoid altogether!

[monstr66]

Actually the Flabby Road series are dedicated more to songs ABOUT the Beatles not to Beatles covers. Have a look for traclists and have a listen to MP3 cuts here
www.monstr66.narod.ru

[Sally]

Former Formula One Star Damon Hill made fourth position for his version of "Drive My Car" .

Thats a shame, Damon became a really close friend of Georges after George funded his race driving when he first started out, wonder if George helped him on the song, i know he gave Damon help with his guitar playing.

[lennon_legend]

oasis version of "i am the walrus" was well cool,exciting like

[Harbidge]

I think Shatner was trying to vocally recreate the psychedelic aspect of the song, and adding emotion to the voice to add the kind of surprise you'd get if you really did walk around in the world Lennon was describing.

Kind of like a walking dialogue from a man who's seeing it all for the first time.

Doesn't make it any less dreadful though. :-p

[Jongo McHarrison]

William Shatner has said that he was attempting to replicate the trippy, druggy feel of Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds and I have to give him credit for actually doing something original with a Beatles song. I mean, you're never going to top what the Beatles did so why not try something new with it?

I would have loved to have known what John thought of William Shatner's version. He was a fan of Star Trek I know.

[lennonluvr9]

Dude, I thought this was gonna be about album covers! lol! Anywho, I usually dont like any beatle covers. It's kinda rare that I would actually enjoy listening to one...

[twovirgins]

Why did Capt Kirk pee on the top of the Enterprise?





He wanted to boldly go where no man has gone before!!:laugh5: *ducks out of the way of thrown tomatos*

[Maggie Mae]

I've heard some fairly atrocious jazz covers -- one that comes to mind is a jazz version of "Eleanor Rigby". There's a jazz programme on CBC Radio from which I hear a lot of jazzy Beatles tunes (I think the host enjoys them or something) althought most of them are fairly bad. I do like the one jazz piano version of "Imagine" I heard. And Diana Krall's "And I Love Him" is kinda cute too... don't know if that counts as a cover because she does change the words to suit her romantic preference... lol

~Mags

[beatlebangs1964]

I agree, Mags. I hate jazz and reggae versions of Beatle songs. Will Shatner could sport a nice Beatle mop in his day (the McCartney Moptop), but he sure as hell can't sing no Beatle songs! It's a damn crime what he did to my song!

As for Diana Krall, she can't carry a tune in a Dodge pickup truck and what she did to "And I Love Her" was criminal!

At the risk of sounding sexist, I hate it when women do Beatle covers.
It doesn't sound good to me.

[Miss O'Dell]

It is a terrible, terrible version. Oh yes. The video kinda makes up for it though....

http://www.ifilm.com/media/sniffer?stage=getistream&pinfo=pg:800003%7Csid:1%7Cc:true%7Crcid:%7Cprn:%7C cid:1%7Ccr:1%7Cap:-1%7Cpt:8%7Cpop:%7Cctxpg:pl%7Cmt:mov%7Crefsite:%7Cg l2:false%7Cgl1:false%7Cgpt:1%7Cuip:172.186.177.79% 7Ccch:%7Cuh:172.186.177.79%7Cgl3:false%7Cit:1%7Cup :-1%7Cbw:56%7Clid:%7Cipf:ifilm%7Cfid:2656466%7Cipt:i film

that link takes you to the Grey Video - not sure why it wont link right, but scroll down for the ahem, excellent, Lucy...

[Loony_leo]

I have one to add the list:

Ozzy Ozbourne's (sp??) In My Life

Gag me!

[Jongo McHarrison]

Anyone ever hear Eric Idle's rendition of Here Comes the Sun from Saturday Night Live? He introduces it as a song he's recently written, plays a little intro on his guitar which then turns into a note for note perfect recreation of the opening to Here Comes the Sun and then he screams the rest of the words out in a Gumby voice and has to be restrained. Oh, and he also backs himself up by shouting the dumdededumdede bits too.

[Savoy Truffle]

I think George would have got a kick out of it, seeming it came from Eric. He would have known it was just in good fun. And I think of the way George played the intro to My Sweet Lord just before launching into The Pirate Song too.