10 Musicians Who Ruined Their Careers With One Horrific Cover Song
Duran Duran
“911 Is a Joke” (1995)
No list of totally pointless and bizarre covers would be complete without a mention for Duran Duran’s attempt at Public Enemy’s “911 Is a Joke.” Yes, you heard that correctly. For some strange reason, Duran Duran—who were known for chart-topping synth-pop—decided to try to emulate one of hip-hop’s most socially conscious groups. The end result was a cover that baffled listeners to no end. Duran Duran released the cover as part of an entire album made up of homages to other artists’ songs. And while some of their choices are actually pretty good, hearing Simon Le Bon trying to emulate Chuck D’s delivery left us all wondering what the heck the point was. A totally tone-deaf move, in our book.
Happy Mondays
“The Boys Are Back in Town” (1999)
Hard-rocking Irish band Thin Lizzy brought innovative twin guitar leads to the masses with their 1976 hit “The Boys Are Back in Town.” As for what the Happy Mondays’ cover brought us? We’re still trying to figure that out. Shaun Ryder’s vocal delivery sounds like it's coming straight out of a karaoke bar at 2am on a Saturday night. And as for the rest of the band’s performance? They sapped all of the gutsy energy of the original and replaced it with a gritty mess that brings absolutely nothing interesting to the table. By the time this 1999 release came, the band were clearly past their peak… and this cover proved it beyond any doubt.
Nickelback & Kid Rock
“Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)” (2003)
Elton John’s “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting” is a glam-rock masterpiece—easily one of his punchiest numbers of the ‘70s. It’s an upbeat track that never loses its danceability. As for the “Saturday” refrain? Genius! And so, when Nickelback decided to enlist Kid Rock to cover it for the soundtrack to “Charlie's Angels,” updating it for a new generation probably seemed like a good idea, right? Well, unfortunately, all of the groove and fun that defined the original was nowhere to be found. Chad Kroeger and Kid Rock simply couldn’t hold a candle to Elton John’s loose and charismatic vocals, and the backing band’s performance wasn’t any better. Nickelback hadn’t quite hit the meme-status they reached in the 2010s, but they were getting there.
Train
“Light My Fire” (2000)
Train might know how to deliver a soft-rock, folkish anthem for a post-2000 world better than anyone. But turning their hands to the drug-fueled poetry of Jim Morrison and The Doors was simply never going to work. Train’s version deviated pretty heavily from the original, sure. But to say that they misunderstood the source material would be an understatement. The song’s darkness and eerie charm are utterly lost in Pat Monahan’s vocal delivery. Sure, they would later hit it big with smash singles like “Drops Of Jupiter” and “Hey, Soul Sister,” but this attempt at “Light My Fire” sounded totally out of touch.
Guns N' Roses
“Sympathy for the Devil” (1994)
When Slash famously described this cover as the “sound of a band breaking up,” he wasn’t lying. Somehow, some way, Guns N’ Roses succeeded in making one of the most exciting songs of the 1960s a total bore. “Sympathy for the Devil,” when performed by the Rolling Stones, turns all of the groove-dials right up to the max. Mick Jagger sounds like he’s genuinely been possessed by an otherworldly being, and the rest of the band’s performance rises to meet him. Axl Rose and co. never truly got out of second gear with their version. It would be the last song GNR recorded for another 14 years.
Paris Hilton
“Da Ya Think I'm Sexy” (2006)
Rod Stewart’s “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy” was a tongue-in-cheek turn to disco that never took itself too seriously. Paris Hilton’s brutal cover of the track is the total opposite. Unlike Stewart, who is almost poking fun at himself with his performance, Hilton is very seriously asking the title’s question to her listeners. And sure, that could work—with the right performance. But Paris Hilton was definitely not up to the task. It should come as no surprise that Hilton turned her focus away from music once again after this trainwreck, waiting seven years for her next single release, and 18 before her next album. This one was truly dead on arrival.
Hilary Duff
“My Generation” (2004)
When Roger Daltrey and The Who told the world they hope that they die before they got old back in the ‘60s, it actually meant something. Hilary Duff, on the other hand, deviated from her sugary-sweet teen-pop roots and made a move towards hard-rockin’ legitimacy. The problem? Well, firstly, she changed the most famous line in the song to say “hope I don’t die before I get old,” which completely destroys the overarching message of the original’s lyrics. On top of that, the cover just doesn’t lend itself well to her, her band, or the production. The song was released as a bonus track on her 2004 self-titled album—but even without this cover, the critical reception was poor, to say the least.
William Shatner
“Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” (1968)
This one is either a stroke of absolute comedy genius or one of the god-awful serious covers of all-time. When the fun side of William Shatner’s spoken word music hit, it tended to work pretty well. But when Captain Kirk decided to take a psychedelic left turn and cover The Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds,” the end result was truly bizarre. The chorus hook plays things understandably safe, but when Shatner comes into the fray for the verse, things get weird. The album it comes from, “The Transformed Man,” is regularly cited as one of the worst albums ever made.
Jessica Simpson
“These Boots Are Made for Walkin’” (2003)
Nancy Sinatra’s classic hit “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’” is one of those songs that is pretty much unsurpassable for cover artists. But that didn’t stop Jessica Simpson from having a go. Her cover, which featured on the “Dukes of Hazzard” soundtrack, takes all of the defiant energy of the original and throws it in the trash. The result is a totally unoriginal attempt that comes off as seedy and try-hard. Simpson was known more for her appearances on reality TV than her work on the mic, and this cover proves it. Needless to say, there was no Grammy nomination in store for this one.
Puddle of Mudd
“About a Girl” (2020)
Who knows what went wrong when Puddle of Mudd decided to cover Nirvana’s “About a Girl?” Maybe it was simply the wrong song choice. Perhaps it was the wrong key. Could vocalist Wes Scantlin simply have been having an off-day? The probable answer is all three. But that didn’t excuse this musical disaster. The instrumentalists actually do a decent job. But Scantlin’s shrieking delivery sealed his place in meme history more and more with each note he failed to hit. The band had already had a successful run in the 2000s, but if you ask most people about Puddle of Mudd now, this SiriusXM performance may be the first thing that springs to mind.
Are there any other terrible covers that spring to mind? Let us know in the comments below.