Tune du Jour: “Shaft” – Isaac Hayes
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes: Dread Zeppelin vs. Sammy Davis Jr. vs. The Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britian
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The Original
Isaac Hayes:
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
Dread Zeppelin vs. Sammy Davis Jr. vs. The Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain
Dread Zeppelin:
Sammy Davis Jr.:
The Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain:
You can thank (blame?) Zaner for this one …
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 
Gotta love a group of ukulele players in formal attire with serious facial expressions. I never doubted their expertise on their instruments, but the vocalist exceeded expectations, as did the performance as a whole.
Dread Zeppelin is always worth a listen, and they didn’t disappoint here.
Had to go with Sammy on this one. This is right up his alley, and I remember this from the radio from years ago. The backing instrumentation was on point.
I always found this to be such a ponderous, annoying song …
Dread Zeppelin … very disappointing … brought nothing to the table here.
Sammy’s moves and antics are first-rate but the song still does nothing for me.
The Ukelele gang nailed it with their satirical, yet masterful, interpretation of the song.
It’s hard to listen to this song and not be transported back to my youth in Brooklyn. It’s a such a cultural touchstone. Not a big fan of soul music, but I make an exception for this one. It just so iconic.
I loved the Dread Zeppelin version, I must say.
Sammy was quite the entertainer. The band sounds great, and those dance moves are killer, but that voice is just not right for this song.
Hard to know how to rank the Ukelele version, when you have two serious version and one jokey version. The ukulele version is hilarious and enjoyable, but when push comes to shove, Dread Zeppelin wins it today.
That was more fun than guzzling ouzo out of the bottle with Fouts at an outdoor party! How about the moxie of Sammy! Here’s a lyric sheet Mr. Davis. Fuck that, just read me the first two lines. I wonder if he could dance even better if he could see out of both eyes. Serious charisma but no one was more fun than the Ukulele Orchestra. That was a cover among covers. Caught everyone by surprise.
OMG! This is my all-time favorite entry in Cover Me Impressed history. Three great cover versions of a great song that perfectly captures the tone and tenor of the time..
I’ve never heard Dread Zeppelin do a bad cover. And I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Watching SDjr strut across that stage is absolutely fantastic. But seeing 7 white Brits strumming ukes and deadpanning this song is priceless. I can’t help but crackup every time I here this English gentleman in a tux delivering the ultimate black patois “vocals”.
I went with the Ukes. But this is really a 3-way tie for 1st! Great job, Dubbs. Who was the genius who suggested this song?!