Obscure Cover Tunes That Work [Archive]

SvenHock

11-15-2008, 10:22 AM

What are some obscure cover tunes that work in clubs? When I mean work I mean the tunes that get the ladies out on the floor. I am not concerned with dudes as they will come if the ladies do. I would also like to add that these tunes should be able to be performed with one or two guitarists, no keyboards, horns, etc. I'm more than likely going to be involved in a group that appears to be a bit different than your typical Skynyrd type stuff. I dig Skynyrd but would prefer to "shake things up" a bit. Suggestions fellas?

JSeth

11-15-2008, 11:35 AM

The Shape I'm In - the Band
What's Goin' On? - Marvin Gaye
What's So Funny 'Bout Peace Love and Understanding - Elvis Costello
Heartfull of Soul - the Yardbirds
Baby, Please Don't Go - Them (Big Bill Broonzy)
Who Do You Love? - Bo Diddley (Ellis MacDaniel) - Quicksilver (NOT G. Thorogood!)
Domino - Van Morrison
Tupelo Honey - Van Morrison (slow)

and stuff like that there!!! Almost any cherry old blues tune can be "segued" into another tune if the keys fit - just change the groove to fit the extended version.

kingsxman

11-15-2008, 11:36 AM

Hot Child in the city: Nick Gilder

SvenHock

11-15-2008, 12:05 PM

Good suggestions so far! Keep em comin!

shredtrash

11-15-2008, 01:07 PM

"Electric Avenue" by Eddie Grant, "Word Up" by Cameo and "Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield! I don't consider these songs "obscure" even though many bands shy away from them but they've never failed to pack a dance floor with women for me. The girls love this stuff!

doublee

11-15-2008, 01:16 PM

Badge by Cream.

rdamato

11-15-2008, 01:23 PM

These sre some that we play:
A Town Called Malice
Lookin for a Love
Pump it Up
Holiday

DøøG

11-15-2008, 01:25 PM

Really, Badge? People dance to that one? Not for us! Maybe our version sucks, lol.....

Ok, 2 gtrs bass n drums in our cover band, we do Pick up the Pieces (Average White Band), that gets em out. Sometimes Peg (Steely Dan) gets em dancing. James Brown's "I Feel Good" is a good one. And boy, I hate to say it, but it gets requested a lot, f'n Mustang Sally....jeeeez.......

A buddy of mine plays with a mostly Motown material cover band, you really can't go wrong with those tunes, girls or women LOVE that stuff! Up n dancin for most of the night.....

WAH-WAH MCFUZZ

11-15-2008, 01:33 PM

Perfectly Good Guitar by John Hiatt
Cortez the Killer by Neill Young
Muddy Jesus by Ian Moore
.32 Blues by Chris Duarte

TwoTubMan

11-15-2008, 01:49 PM

"Pumping For Jill" by Iggy

Strat

11-15-2008, 01:52 PM

Perfectly Good Guitar by John Hiatt
Cortez the Killer by Neill Young
Muddy Jesus by Ian Moore
.32 Blues by Chris Duarte

dancing not allowed at your shows?

Gas-man

11-15-2008, 01:53 PM

Really, Badge? People dance to that one?

I'm sure it kills at nursing homes. :knitting

But in current clubs, no chick knows that song.

:)

Sweetfinger

11-15-2008, 03:33 PM

Sweet Caroline, the Neil Diamond does it every time!

pcutt

11-15-2008, 04:07 PM

How about some Paul Revere and the Raiders? Where the Action Is. Kicks. Hungry.

Archie Bell and the Drells - Tighten Up

King Crimson - Sleepless

How about a medley: Sugar Sugar by the Archies + I Want Candy by Bow Wow Wow

Romeo Void - Never Say Never

HoboMan

11-15-2008, 04:16 PM

Billy Idol - Dancing With Myself
The Vapors - Turning Japanese
Tommy James & The Shondells - Mony Mony

zzmoore

11-15-2008, 04:54 PM

Shake It All Over - The Guess Who

SRVTWO

11-15-2008, 04:54 PM

Had 2000+ dancing (well maybe bouncing) to John Lee Hookers' Hug you, Kiss you, Squeeze you....SRVs' version of course.....Blew my mind.
Mike

Blues Lyne

11-15-2008, 05:41 PM

I Don't Know What It Is, But It Sure Is Funky - Ripple

Who Do You Love? - Bo Diddley (Ellis MacDaniel) - Quicksilver (NOT G. Thorogood!)

The power of one chord and the Bo Diddley beat to fill a dance floor never ceases to amaze me. And, never fails to work.

Willie Johnson

11-15-2008, 05:53 PM

Some of these don't make me very happy to admit (especially in print!) but in my experience, they never fail. And, I always hated playing some of them but you can't argue with results.

Run Around Sue (I know but it really does work)
Amy (I vowed never to play this agian, sometime in the early eighties)
Guess Who's Back in Town (The Boys are Back)
Brown Sugar
Sympathy for the Devil
Take Me to the River
Oh Atlanta
Gimme Three Steps (I know)
Sharp Dressed Man
Money for Nothing

I could go on but now I've got a headache!

TwoTubMan

11-15-2008, 06:35 PM

Hmmm. "Obscure" must have some new, hip definition that I'm not aware of.

:confused:

SvenHock

11-15-2008, 06:37 PM

Hmmm. "Obscure" must have some new, hip definition that I'm not aware of.

:confused:

I know but the intentions are good. :)

somedude

11-15-2008, 06:47 PM

The Kinks. ZZTop. Almost anything off the Grease soundtrack.

If you want obscure, try Bleak House Rainbow Warrior. I haven't tried it yet, but the beat seems like something that people could/would dance to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zowid7KAmnM

Lucidology

11-15-2008, 06:54 PM

Be Yourself ~ Cameo

Just knocks a dance audience out ... they go nuts over the groove ...
Takes a hell of a bass player though ...(that's probably why a lot of folk don't do it ...)

amoodymule

11-16-2008, 11:42 AM

Love Rears It's Ugly Head ...Living Color

Ugly ...Sass Jordan

...they work well for our band, they even dance :messedup

RanaldoNecro

11-16-2008, 11:45 AM

The Smashing Pumpkins version of "Set the Controls to the Heart of the Sun"

by Pink Floyd

Live 2008

http://ia310821.us.archive.org/3/items/tsp2008-11-04.smashing0.flac16/tsp2008-11-04t27_vbr.mp3

kingsxman

11-16-2008, 12:01 PM

Hmmm. "Obscure" must have some new, hip definition that I'm not aware of.

:confused:

LOL. My feelings exactly.

backalleyblues

11-16-2008, 12:17 PM

Wine Wine Wine-the Radiators version, great second-line groove that never fails...

Almost ANY Ventures tune (they're old enough now that a lot of people don't know them) great set openers-Hawaii-Five-o theme would be a good example...

Sexy and 17 (Stray Cats) don't hear many bands playing Stray Cats, other than Rock This Town and SC Strut... great Rockabilly that gets girls moving...

Just a few ideas-we like to play lots of obscure stuff, but it's more blues now, so it's all obscure! Just make sure whatever you play has a good beat, and your rhythm section is locked in and knows how to lay down a groove... the girls will pickup on that...

Franc Robert
Delta Aces

BigJamesyBoy

11-17-2008, 01:45 AM

Well, I think the important part is to catch them off guard! I'm in a band that plays a lot of urban, soul, r&b, funk, and rock. So when we play a song like "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears, people go bananas, and the girls dance like nobodies business!

mcgriff420

11-17-2008, 01:57 AM

We do a few from 'The Four Horsemen' (not the metallica song..)

Hot Head,
Homesick Blues,

StompBoxBlues

11-17-2008, 03:39 AM

pcutt

11-17-2008, 09:52 AM

The Motors - Dancing the Night Away

Not exactly obscure, but a forgotten gem that used to absolutely pack the dance floor: Modern English - I Melt With You

Prof KM

11-17-2008, 09:56 AM

I'm struggling with "Obscure", but songs that never fail for me:

Tush by ZZ Top
These Boots are Made for Walking (my rock \m/ version though!)
Gay Bar by Electric Six

:)

GAT

11-17-2008, 10:29 AM

Shakey Ground - Delbert

drjoel

11-17-2008, 01:09 PM

pink cadillac :dude

Hooper

11-17-2008, 01:14 PM

Straight On by Heart

neastguy

11-17-2008, 01:21 PM

some of these songs.. I just dont believe they will get the party started..IMO.. if you want peeps on the floor.. just play "sweet home alabama" give the peeps what they want.... we played it on a whim on saturday, and next thing you know, there was peeps dancing everywhere.. it was weird... we vowed for a long time not to play that song.. not anymore... give em what they want.... I even played pride and joy on a les paul.. it was blasphemy... but the peeps were yelling it out.. and I didnt bring a strat with me... I got a standing ovation and I played it real bad bad bad...loL... but I did my best John Mayer face....

LavaMan

11-17-2008, 02:07 PM

I Touch Myself - Devinyls

Love Shack - B-52's

Sanctuary - The Cult

shngn7

11-17-2008, 10:41 PM

"Stop" - James Gang

This one should get people going for sure! Awesome jam too.

DF1

11-18-2008, 08:23 AM

Sunspot Baby - Bob Seger
Shape I'm In - Arc Angels
Steppin Stone - Monkees

Tenacious E

11-18-2008, 08:28 AM

If you play rock or pop rock it always works to pull out an '80s classic. We do "99 Balloons" from Nena and "Died In Your Arms" from Cutting Crew. I have some friends that do "Don't You Forget About Me" from ??? - it's on the Breakfast Club soundtrack. "Don't Dream It's Over" from Crowded House and "Tempted" from Squeeze are always goodies too. And my band (and most of my friend's bands) are primarily modern pop/rock cover bands doing 311, Incubus, Foo Fighters, etc. I agree with an earlier poster who said "sometimes you just gotta give the people what they want". We just like to give them what they forgot they wanted!;)

Whiskeyrebel

11-18-2008, 10:26 AM

Ace Frehley's version of New York Groove is a combination of disco beat and Bo Diddley riff. And the asses shall sway to it.

Could you pull off This Beat Goes On / Switchin to Glide without keys or is that a lost cause?

I haven't tested my theory yet but I have a strong feeling that if you could pull off a cover of "My Eyes Don't Cry" by Stevie Wonder you would have the floor packed. But maybe that is strictly a MI thing.

More cult than obscure, but a medley of "Hot Patootie' and "Time Warp" from Rocky Horror would probably get the get the ladies moving as well.

Phil M

11-18-2008, 10:29 AM

Molly's Chambers by Kings of Leon
Ring of Fire (the Social Distortion version)

Phil M

11-18-2008, 10:30 AM

I Touch Myself - Devinyls

Love Shack - B-52's

Sanctuary - The Cult

These are great suggestions, Mark!

ReflectionsBurn

11-18-2008, 10:43 AM

Love Shack is an obvious one
when i sang for a classic rock cover band we did the Korn version of 'word up' little bit harder that always got gals up...and def lepard 'pour some sugar on me', that one always did it as well...seems the later the night went on and more booze consumed the more the dancing came out!!

TNJ

11-18-2008, 11:41 AM

Play that Funky Music White Boy!!!

Gawd,the dancefloor goes nuts on that one.

Oh...and Shooting Star by Bad Company.

I figured that one would never work.

I figured wrong.

S.
j

SoCalGuy

11-18-2008, 11:47 AM

Basically, girls wanna' dance. Only your own girlfriend will say she loves those Gregorian death chant confessionals. And she's probably lying. Up tempo. Fun stuff as opposed to "deep."

Speaking of Badge, has Cream written any lyrics that makes sense?

And yes, it does kill at nursing homes, you whipper-snapper.

SoCalGuy

11-18-2008, 11:49 AM

Basically, girls wanna' dance. Only your own girlfriend will say she loves those Gregorian death chant confessionals. And she's probably lying. Up tempo. Fun stuff as opposed to "deep."

Speaking of Badge, has Cream written any lyrics that make sense?

And yes, it does kill at nursing homes, you whipper-snapper

TNJ

11-18-2008, 12:03 PM

You're getting a little monotonous, SoCal... :D

(eh, just ribbing you)

S.
j

icarusi

11-18-2008, 12:06 PM

Suggestions fellas?

Don't know about dancing but Maroon 5 'This Love' has everyone singing along to the 'wo wo wo' line

Ain't Their Fight by Man
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_(band)
Good but obscure

Track 5 Disc 1 of the 'Back into the Future' album. Unfortunately no soundclip at Amazon.

fender tele

11-18-2008, 12:26 PM

A pleasant surprise for us has been "Centerfold" by J. Geils Band.

Nick67

11-18-2008, 02:01 PM

Do we mean "Obscure" as in the true sense of the words or 'obscure" for commercial bar band/coverband standards?
Let My Love Open the door-Pete Townshend
hand me down world-guess who
tuesday afternoon-moody blues
story in your eyes-moody blues
Give me love-george harrrison
Kinks-who'll be the next in line
A really obscure one that has worked for me is "Bad Days" by Adrian Belew

Lt_Core

11-18-2008, 02:16 PM

Ring of Fire (the Social Distortion version)

We play that version...works every time. We just started playing Goldfinger's version of "99 Red Balloons". So far so good...crowd loves that 80's nostalgic stuff.

Lt_Core

11-18-2008, 02:17 PM

A pleasant surprise for us has been "Centerfold" by J. Geils Band.

We've done that for years and the ladies love that song. Not sure why but we don't complain :)

SvenHock

11-18-2008, 02:28 PM

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obscure

dets1

11-18-2008, 02:50 PM

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obscure
:rotflmao

rustneversleeps

11-19-2008, 06:27 PM

Don't know if these fall under the category of obscure:

Any 70's era Kiss -
"I was made for lovin you"
"Calling Dr. Love"
Any Van Halen radio hits -
"Dance the Night Away"
"Love Walks In"
"Dreams"
Rod Stewart -
"Young Turks"
"Do ya think I'm sexy?"

And I know these are NOT obscure because they're current:
Pink
"You and your hand"
Katy Perry
"Hot and Cold"