5 Worst Song Performances

Friday Feature, Music, The Worst

The song might have been a good one, but the rendition left a lot to be desired. In ascending order of tunelessness (and no links because projectile vomiting):

  • Whiskey In The Jar — Metallica
  • Danke Schön — Wayne Newton
  • Yesterday — every single person except Paul McCartney who ever tried to sing it
  • Tutti Frutti — Pat Boone

…and OMG, in its own special Hall Of Shame For One:

  • My Way — Frank Sinatra

Look up the performances at your own peril.

 

15 comments

  2. MacArthur Park (Especially the Donna Summer version, really you took a crappy song and set it to DISCO?)

    Imagine by John Lenin, er, Lennon. Honestly, an multi-millionaire singing about no possessions….

  4. I kind of like Metallica’s version of Whiskey In The Jar actually, but then I was unaware of another, so there is that. It can be hard to hear a new version of a song that you like because it sounds wrong. (For instance, I have one version of the Four Seasons that I like, it is the version I listened to growing up.)

    There are so many bad covers out there, even by major names, this could be a long list.

    Iron Maiden’s version of Cross-Eyed Mary would be high on the list.
    Metallica’s version of Turn the Page
    David Bowie’s version of See Emily Play
    Stevie Ray Vaughan’s version of Little Wing (or anything else, I cannot stand his style)

    1. Metallica’s covers are invariably marked by the fact it’s, well, Metallica. It’s all gonna be lots of guitars and drums.

      I didn’t think Turn the Page was -terrible-, but I’ve heard Garage Inc. was hands down their weakest album until St. Anger hit.

  5. -Green Day’s cover of “Behind Blue Eyes”. Covers of the Who tend to suck, because most musicians can’t begin to attempt to approach Keith Moon’s drum parts or John Entwhistle’s bass lines.

    -Madonna’s painful “American Pie”.

    1. Limp Bizkit’s cover of ‘Behind Blue Eyes’ isn’t terrible, but it’s painfully obvious they’re out of their usual genre.

      1. I always get Limp Bizkit, Green Day, and Linkin Park mixed up.
        I will say that Elton John’s cover of “Pinball Wizard” was pretty good- and the Who’s version of “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” works better than the original.

        1. Er, how? Green Day has the pseudo-British guy. I can kinda see getting Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit mixed up, though.

          Of course, if you wanna talk GOOD covers, Johnny Cash’s rendition of ‘Hurt’ still holds the title. And an honorable mention to Disturbed’s ‘The Sound of Silence’.

  6. From what I’ve heard, even Sinatra himself didn’t like “My Way”. He sang it because the audience wanted it, but he personally loathed the song.

  7. None of these are even close to the all-time worst cover: William Shatner (yes, Captain Kirk) kinda-sorta singing (not really) “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”.

  8. Nonpoint, ‘In The Air Tonight’. An irritating rock butchery of a haunting Phil Collins tune. Thanks for nothing.

  9. The Rolling Stones’ version of ‘Bob Wills is still the King’. Yeesh, that was horrible.

    And to flip the genres around, there’s Willie Nelson’s version of ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’. Perhaps not quite as bad, just really unusual for him.

  10. I must take exception with “Yesterday”. Before he died, Brad Delp of Boston had a side project called BeatleJuice, which as you might surmise specialized in covering Beatles tunes. His versions of “All My Lovin’” and, yes, “Yesterday” are magnificent. They were on YouTube some years ago; I have no idea if they are but I encourage you all to look them up.

  11. Metallica’s “Whiskey in the jar” was Metallica. Which, to paraphrase Tam on visiting the zoo, “either you’re happy to see the giraffes again or you’re not”

    A proper Whiskey in the Jar from my favorite Renn Faire.
    https://youtu.be/88CKbScovI0

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