Friday, July 19, 2024

Ten Bold Cover Tunes, Part XIV: Summertime Blues Edition

As Robert Plant might say, it's been a long time, been a long time, been a long lonely lonely lonely lonely lonely time since I've done one of these ten bold cover tunes posts. Yes it has. 

Why another right now? 

Well, so far it has not been the greatest of summers. Our country seems to be devolving into political turmoil the likes of which we have not seen since 1968, and with Hulk Hogan's appearance at the RNC we seemed to move into full blown Idiocracy mode. On a personal level, the death of Christina Moodie, one of my all time greatest students, has been very difficult. 

In musical terms, we really are living the Summertime Blues. Eddie Cochran's classic has been helping stressed out humans navigate tough summer seasons for more than 60 years. 

Sometimes I wonder
What I'm-a gonna do
But there ain't no cure
For the summertime blues


Here are my favorite covers of Eddie's classic: 

#10:  Dick Dale's Surf Version.  One of the greatest guitar players of all time (huge influence on Jimi Hendrix), Dick Dale performed Summertime Blues in his set list for pretty much his entire career. 
#9: Blue Cheer's Acid Rock Version. Released in 1968, Blue Cheer's version is a great example of the kind of distorted guitar madness that Jimi Hendrix had inspired at the time. It's almost funny now. 


#8: Johnny Chester's Australian Rock Version. If you remember Johnny Chester, you are officially old. The Australian country/pop/rock star and his band the Chessmen had a hit with a respectable version of Summertime Blues in 1962. A few years later he actually was the opening act for the Beatles on their 1964 swing through Australia. 

#7: Rush's Ultimate Metal Version. Released in 2004, Canadian trio Rush rocked out in their Summertime Blues cover in a way that called to mind their first album in 1974. This version solidified Alex Lifeson's reputation as one of great Guitar Gods in rock history; the cover even throws in a Hendrix-like Foxey Lady intro as if to emphasize that point. 
#6: Joan Jett's Punk Rock Version. The iconic Joan Jett went full-on Ramones style in her cover. Love it! 
#5: The Hep Stars' Swedish Rock Version. Released in 1965, this rockin' version of Summertime Blues holds up remarkably well. The Hep Stars were one of the most successful Swedish bands ever, but might be best known as the launching pad for Benny Andersson, who went on to have great success with ABBA. 
#4: Johnny Hallyday's French Version. Hey, the French get the summertime blues too, oui? Johnny Hallyday's version, called "la fille de l'été dernier," is nothing if not fun! 
#3: Brian Setzer's Rockabilly Version. Nobody honors and treasures 1950's rock and roll as much as the great Brian Setzer. No surprise that his is a kick-ass cover of Summertime Blues. 
#2: Alan Jackson's Country Version. When I heard Alan Jackson's version in 1994, I immediately loved it. In fact I bet that if Eddie Cochran had lived, this would have been HIS favorite version as it comes closest to the playful spirit of the original. 
#1: The Who Live At Leeds Version. Like many men my age, I consider The Who's Live at Leeds (released 1970) to be instrumental (pardon the pun) in my adolescent development. The passion in Roger Daltrey's voice, the raw power of Pete Townshend's guitar, the controlled chaos of John Entwhistle's bass, and Keith Moon's insane drumming felt--to this teenage boy anyway--like it gave him permission to think of "FUCK YOU" as the appropriate response to everything and everyone pissing him off. I still get a charge out of that album all these years later. Their cover of Summertime Blues will always be my favorite. 

Prior Posts in The Ten Bold Cover Tunes Series:
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