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Quiz about Who Recorded the Original Version

Who Recorded the Original Version? Quiz

From well established artists to one hit wonders, many acts have recorded cover versions of their favorite songs. This quiz will ask who recorded the original versions.

A multiple-choice quiz by hm3buzz. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
hm3buzz

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
373,668

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
470

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. In 1982 Van Halen recorded '(Oh) Pretty Woman' for their 'Diver Down' album. It was their second Top 20 hit and peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Charts. Who recorded the original version? Hint

Johnny Rivers

Roy Orbison

Frank Sinatra

Gerry and the Pacemakers

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Question 2 of 10

2. 'Baby, Please Don't Go' has been a blues staples for years, but who first put it down on record? Hint

John Lee Hooker

Big Joe Williams

Lightnin' Hopkins

Little Walter

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Question 3 of 10

3. Marilyn Manson covered the song 'Tainted Love' in 2001. Who recorded the original version? Hint

Soft Cell

The Four Preps

The Supremes

Gloria Jones

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Question 4 of 10

4. A Classic Rock radio staple for years, 'Blinded by the Light' is also one of those songs where the lyrics are always butchered by karaoke singers. Which artist was the first to bring this to vinyl? Hint

Bruce Springsteen

Santana

Manfred Mann's Earth Band

Boz Scaggs

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Question 5 of 10

5. The song 'Crazy' has been around for decades and is listed on Rolling Stone Magazine's list "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time." Who recorded the original? Hint

Lee Ann Rimes

Patsy Cline

Willie Nelson

Aerosmith

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Question 6 of 10

6. As the British invaded America, the Rolling Stones had a hit with 'Time Is On My Side' but people don't know that this was a cover version. Who did the original? Hint

Kai Winding and his Orchestra

Cissy Houston

Irma Thomas

Dionne Warwick

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Question 7 of 10

7. The late great Jimi Hendrix has sung a cover or two in his time. One song that you may not know is a cover version, 'Hey Joe,' is about a man who is on the run for shooting his adulterous wife. Who recorded the original? Hint

The Byrds

The Standells

The Safaris

The Leaves

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Question 8 of 10

8. While we're talking about Jimi, he did an excellent cover version of 'All Along the Watchtower' for his 'Electric Ladyland' album. Who wrote and recorded the original? Hint

The Mamas and the Papas

Crosby, Stills, and Nash

Bob Dylan

Neil Young

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Question 9 of 10

9. Bow Wow Wow had a hit in 1982 with the tune 'I Want Candy' from their record 'The Last of the Mohicans.' The original was released almost two decades before by this band. Hint

The Archies

The Strangeloves

1910 Fruitgum Company

Moby Grape

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Question 10 of 10

10. Joan Jett is no stranger to cover songs, recording such gems as 'Crimson and Clover,' 'Love Hurts,' and many others. But did you know that her hit 'I Love Rock and Roll' is also a cover song? Who did it first? Hint

The Arrows

Deep Purple

Strawberry Alarm Clock

Cliff Richard

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In 1982 Van Halen recorded '(Oh) Pretty Woman' for their 'Diver Down' album. It was their second Top 20 hit and peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Charts. Who recorded the original version?

Answer: Roy Orbison

Released in 1964, it went to Number One on the charts for Roy Orbison and has been covered by several other artists as well, including Johnny Rivers, Al Green, and John Mellencamp.

2. 'Baby, Please Don't Go' has been a blues staples for years, but who first put it down on record?

Answer: Big Joe Williams

Big Joe Williams recorded "Baby, Please Don't Go" in October 1935 in Chicago for Lester Melrose and Bluebird Records. Due to its success, several other blues artists recorded it in the following decades. In fact there have been several cover versions recorded in each decade since it was first released.

3. Marilyn Manson covered the song 'Tainted Love' in 2001. Who recorded the original version?

Answer: Gloria Jones

Many people think Soft Cell recorded this originally in 1981, but it was originally a B-side recording for Gloria Jones' single 'My Bad Boy's Comin' Home' and released in May of 1965. A British DJ popularized it in the club scene in the early '70s, and Jones even re-recorded it in 1976, but it failed to chart.

Answer: Bruce Springsteen

Originally appearing on 'Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ' in 1973, Manfred Mann's Earth Band went on to release it in 1977, with minor changes to some lyrics thus causing confusion for many listeners who heard the song and said 'did he just say what I think he said?'.

5. The song 'Crazy' has been around for decades and is listed on Rolling Stone Magazine's list "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time." Who recorded the original?

Answer: Willie Nelson

In the early 1960s Willie Nelson was not yet known as a performer. He had written this tune for country artist Billy Walker who turned it down because he felt it was "a girl's song." Willie recorded it and it helped get him established as a performer as well as a song writer. Patsy Cline's version didn't get released until a few months after the Willie Nelson track.

6. As the British invaded America, the Rolling Stones had a hit with 'Time Is On My Side' but people don't know that this was a cover version. Who did the original?

Answer: Kai Winding and his Orchestra

Originally recorded by jazz trombonist Kai Winding and his Orchestra in 1963, Irma Thomas recorded a gospel version and released it in early 1964, about half a year before the Stones did it.

Answer: The Leaves

Originally labeled as a folk music staple by some, versions of this song had been circulating around the Los Angeles music scene in the late 1950s and early 1960s, but the garage band The Leaves is the first to record and release it.

8. While we're talking about Jimi, he did an excellent cover version of 'All Along the Watchtower' for his 'Electric Ladyland' album. Who wrote and recorded the original?

Answer: Bob Dylan

The song initially on the album 'John Wesley Harding' in 1967. Jimi recorded it in 1968 and it moved Dylan so much that he has been quoted as saying "I liked Jimi Hendrix's record of this and ever since he died I've been doing it that way... Strange how when I sing it, I always feel it's a tribute to him in some kind of way."

9. Bow Wow Wow had a hit in 1982 with the tune 'I Want Candy' from their record 'The Last of the Mohicans.' The original was released almost two decades before by this band.

Answer: The Strangeloves

Recorded and released in 1965, it got as high as number eleven on the charts in the US and has been covered by various artists including Bow Wow Wow and Aaron Carter.

Answer: The Arrows

Originally recorded and released in 1975 in the UK. Joan first heard the song while on tour with The Runaways. She recorded and released it on Vertigo records in 1979 as a b-side. She redid it in 1981 for release with her album 'Joan Jett and the Blackhearts' where it shot up to number one on the Billboard Top 100, where it stayed for seven weeks.

Source: Author hm3buzz

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