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Growing up in the '80s, I probably heard 75% of those remakes before I heard the original ("Venus" for example). Prior to that, it was standard practice for record companies to release a few different versions of songs before one finally stuck to the charts and radio.
Tommy Edwards' 1958 hit "It's All in the Game" was a cover of his own recording of the same song in 1951. To make it salable in the Rock Era, they had to remix it laying in drums and doo-wop singers, which were not in the original:
I think for most people that have listened to a lot of popular music over the years, an exhaustive list would be impossible, but some big ones that spring to mind:
Every song by other artists The Beatles covered. In fact, to this day, there are several songs that I still haven't heard the original versions of (all three of the Larry Williams songs they covered, Til There Was You, Mr. Moonlight, etc.).
On the flip side, I heard Motley Crue's version of Helter Skelter before I heard the Beatles' original.
I heard Joan Baez's The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down before I heard The Band's.
I heard Soft Cell's Tainted Love before Gloria Jones'.
Quiet Riot's Come on Feel the Noise (or however it's spelled) before Slade's.
The entire La Bamba film soundtrack with the exception of Eddie Cochran's Summertime Blues, but I heard Blue Cheer's version of that first.
Elvis Presley's Hound Dog before Big Mama Thornton's. And, Elvis' Your Cheating Heart before Hank Williams'. Most Elvis songs he covered by other artists basically, with only a couple of exceptions.
Hank Williams Jr.'s Kaw-Liga before his dad's. I know Hank Sr. didn't write it, but it's clearly the version Jr. was remaking.
BR549's Cherokee Boogie (I've never heard Moon Mullican's original, but I've heard Johnny Horton's version).
Alan Jackson's Tall Tall Trees before Roger Miller's.
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts' I love Rock 'n' Roll and Do You Wanna Touch before Gary Glitter's. And Joan Jett's Crimson and Clover before Tommy James and the Shondells.
The first version of "The Train Kept A'Rollin' " that I heard was by The Yardbirds. I found out that it had been done previously by The Rock&Roll Trio, but the next version that I heard was by Aerosmith. Finally got a copy of that Rock&Roll Trio album on SolidSmoke and heard their version.
Wasn't until years later that I found out that the original was by Tiny Bradshaw and finally heard it on a local oldies radio show.
Back in the mid-60's in the NYC area this cover of "You Didn't Have To Be So Nice" by the Boston Crab was on the radio before the DJ's realized the Loving Spoonful did the original version. There was a vote and listeners requested the original.
Any of the covers from the Aerosmith album Honkin' On Bobo. I think all but The Grind or You Gotta Move was a cover...
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