Tune du Jour: “I’m Your Puppet” – Dan Penn
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes: Kelly Hogan & The Drive-By Truckers vs. The Box Tops vs. Rock*A*Teens
VOTE, COMMENT, then DO SOMETHING NICE FOR YOURSELF
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These wonderful lyrics were written by Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham in Nov. 1965.
The Original
Dan Penn (Nov. 1965):
Most Popular Cover
James and Bobby Purify (Sept. 1966):
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
Kelly Hogan and The Drive-By Truckers vs. The Box Tops vs. Rock*A*Teens
Kelly Hogan and The Drive-By Truckers:
The Box Tops:
Rock*A*Teens:
Kelly Hogan returns with this former Atlanta-based somewhat experimental mash-up. Kind of a crime to have Kelly on-stage and not doing lead vocals but, as I said, I think it was an experiment gone …
SPACE
Oh the disharmony! Much like Harlan County there are no neutrals here. It is your solemn responsibility to decide which cover song prevails. In other words … Which Side Are You On!??!
Disclaimer: Votes cast from Florida may or may not be counted.
cover me impressed 
Rock A Teens version sounds a bit sloppy… and I like that for this song. It fits nicely.
The live versions were very loose, perhaps excessively so. One wonders how much rehearsal took place, if any. They were also hampered by poor sound.
The Box Tops win by default. My favorite versions were those by Dan Penn and James & Bobby Purify.
Yes, it is criminal that I didn’t include Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s terrific version (and what of Donnie Osmond’s blockbuster cover?)
Beautiful song and Kelly certainly sounds wonderful with The Drive-By Truckers. Yet, somehow, I am partial to the mess that the Rock*A*Teens made of it.
I used to see The Rock*A*Teens regularly in the basement of The Clairemont Lounge. Good times …
I voted for the live rendition. I like Kelly Hogan and I like Patterson Hood and I could hear the song. I didn’t hear The Box Tops version because someone kept ringing the doorbell so I was in and out of the room. The Rock A Teens version is the soundtrack to buying drugs at a Tennessee truck stop then wind up line dancing at 4 am by a lake and you’re glad it’s too dark to see who you’re with.
“So I confess that I only ever heard the version by James and Bobby Purify (Sept. 1966) as it was on a collection I had of standout songs from 1966. I did not know it was NOT the original, so nice to hear the early first recording by Dan Penn. I did a little research and see (as noted above) this was also covered by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrll. Elton John and Paul Young also did a brilliant cover in the 90’s. Obviously, a song loved by some superstars. There is also a brilliant live version I found by Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham (who co-wrote it.) I read that Dan and Spooner wrote it when they were at Muscle Shoals, that mythical magical place in the middle of American nowhere ( . . . so says a jaded New Yorker!”) The gifted white musicians at Muscle Shoals helped power many soul hits by stars like Wilson Pickett, Percy Sledge, etc., so they definitely knew their craft. I also love it when so-called “white” groups out “soul” the originators of soul, so The Box Tops really killed their version. The Young Rascals were another group that could also pull off that soul sound crossover which I think accounts for their being the first white group signed to Atlantic Records (I am pretty sure of that but maybe worth a fact check?) These other versions here are all great as it is such a sweet song, but I have to stick with James and Bobby’s version, produced at Fame Studio in Alabama by talented R&B black soul artists hitting a home run with a song written by two southern white guys. Maybe there is still hope for America?”