Five of the Worst Cover Versions Ever Recorded

In the world of music, cover versions of classic songs seem to crop up quite regularly. Most often they are left as album tracks instead of being released into the charts, though occasionally some of the better ones make it into the mainstream. However, not all cover versions are good. In fact, many are downright awful. Whether it is due to a genre changeover or exceptionally bad singing, some cover versions should never have been allowed to reach people's ears. Here is a guide to five of the worst cover versions ever recorded.

Five of the Worst Cover Versions Ever Recorded

1. The Streets - Your Song

The Streets are best known for such songs as "Dry Your Eyes" and "Fit But You Know It". Front man Mike Skinner however, is not a singer. Their music is mainly comprised of Skinner talking over backing music - rather like Cockney poetry. They took a huge leap by recording Elton John's "Your Song" for Radio One's Established 1967 album. With Mike Skinner having limited vocal skill, the song is half sang, half spoken throughout and it loses every single ounce of the tenderness of the original making it one of the worst cover versions in history.

2. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds - William Shatner

William Shatner is a fine actor, something few people would argue. But his career in music hasn't been quite as successful. On an album released in 1968 named "The Transformed Man", William Shatner covered a Beatles classic. Popular opinion suggests that trying to cover any Beatles track is a bad idea, but when the song is so iconic - the cover had better be amazing. Shatner failed miserably with "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds". Although the intro makes it seem as if it will be similar to the original, what follows is a dramatic reading of the lyrics. Words can't possibly explain how bad it really is, so have a listen for yourself.

3. Roxanne - George Michael

Originally performed by The Police, "Roxanne" was covered by George Michael on his album "Songs From The Last Century". George Michael's attempt at this song isn't one of the worst cover versions due to his poor singing, more because of the change in style of the music. It has quite a jazzy vibe to it which makes it sound less edgy. Michael's smooth tones just don't compare to Sting's rougher vocal.

4. These Boots Are Made For Walkin' - Jessica Simpson

There are so many reasons why this is one of the worst cover versions, it's hard to know where to begin in pointing out the flaws. Nancy Sinatra released the original back in 1966 but Jessica Simpson recorded it in 2005 for the "Dukes of Hazzard movie soundtrack. The lyrics to the song were almost all changed to fit a "sexier" image about a girl being pulled over by a policeman and using her body to keep her out of trouble. The vocal is almost purred in the style of an adult movie star which is unfortunate as Simpson has a sensational voice. While the song definitely suited the purpose for which it was recorded, it is an enormous failure in terms of being a good cover song.

5. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Paul Anka

Everyone is familiar with Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit". It became the teen anthem of its time and while it is still fascinating to some that a song with indecipherable lyrics became so well known, it is a song that will probably be heard for many generations to come. However, nobody could ever have predicted rock 'n' roll era singer Paul Anka would cover it one day! On an album entitled "Rock Does Swing", Anka took the Nirvana classic and turned it into a very mellow swing number! While it definitely falls into the category of worst cover versions, it actually exceeds that and is so very bad, it's almost good. But not quite.

Honourable mentions for worst cover versions go to Ronan Keating and Maire Brennan's "Fairytale of New York", Sugababes vs. Girls Aloud's "Walk This Way" and "My Prerogative" by Britney Spears. With today's musical offerings, it will be very interesting to see how cover versions of the future will sound.