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Covered by Rockers - Original R&B Versions of Some Classics

© Barney Quick

Many pieces of music have ingrained themselves into our collective cultural psyche. The renditions with which we’re familiar, however, aren’t always the first to be done, or in some cases, the best. Several demographic factors have made this so, including race, age and location.

Once again, we can see from the list below that rhythm and blues has provided the basic building blocks for much of Western popular music in the last fifty years. Often a performer with appeal beyond the r&b market will benefit from a song’s immortality, while its originator languishes in obscurity and gets by on meager means. At this late date, acknowledging the r&b stylists’ contributions and playing their versions is sometimes as close as we can come to giving them their due.

Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On – Big Maybelle, Okeh, 1955

This powerhouse blues shouter had a growl that could be traced back to Bessie Smith. She was at the top of her game here, having finally secured a recording contract and series of bookings that allowed her to build momentum. (She had previously been signed to King, with only sporadic success.) Alas, she was inclined to succumb to the same lurid temptation – narcotics – that felled many a jazz and r&b great. But her place in history is secured by a record that ignited the soul of a Memphis piano banger named Jerry Lee Lewis.

Time Is On My Side – Irma Thomas, Imperial, 1964

The Soul Queen of New Orleans had recently left Allen Toussaint’s Minit label and was looking forward to national distribution. Actually, this song was the flip side of “Anyone Who Knows What Love Is,” a fine tune, but one that has been overshadowed in the past few decades. She did experience somewhat greater success as a result of this outing, but it was fleeting. She label-hopped for a few more years, then took a hiatus before signing with Rounder and assuming her rightful place as a legend. Meanwhile, the former house band at London’s Crawdaddy Club ensured its role as the second mightiest force in the British Invasion with a guitar-based version of this splendid ballad.

Piece Of My Heart – Erma Franklin, Okeh, 1967

Aretha is the one among Reverend C.L. Franklin’s daughters who has achieved the most fame, but her siblings match her in soulfulness. The characteristic Franklin whoops and harmonies are here, and the piano is straight out of Sunday service at New Bethel Baptist. The song's cowriter is Bert Berns, who also has "Hang On Sloopy" and "Cry To Me" among his credentials. A year later, a unit from the San Francisco Bay Area’s hippie-band scene would embellish it with a minor-key intro and a vocal that stands as a singular work of art.

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