ORIGINAL VERSUS COVER: PART EIGHT, FEVER

Little Willie John:

Here is my next post in the series in which I'll argue that the cover is better than the original version of the song. This time I'm going to compare Little Willie John's original version and The Cramps' cover version of the song, Fever.

Written by Eddie Cooley and Otis Blackwell, Fever was first recorded by Little Willie John, an American R 'n' B singer, for his debut album in 1956. When the song was released as a single, it became a hit in America.

Little Willie John's Fever:

There's a stellar cast of musical artists who have covered the Fever song. Elvis Presley, Helen Shapiro, James Brown, Rita Coolidge, Suzi Quatro, Boney M., Sylvester, Christina Aguilera, Madonna, Michael Bublé, Beyoncé and Dua Lipa have all covered the song, and many of them had hits with their cover versions of the song. But Peggy Lee's 1958 rendition is often held up to be the song's signature cover. So out of fairness, I'm uploading her cover version (sorry Elvis!) so people can compare - the lyrics were changed for Peggy Lee's cover as for many subsequent covers of the original version of the song.

Peggy Lee's Fever:

The Cramps were an American punk psychobilly rock band that were active from the mid-1970s to the late-2000s. Husband and wife, Lux Interior and Poison Ivy, were the mainstays of the band.

The Cramps' Fever:

Now Peggy Lee's cover of the Fever song is very good and much better than Little Willie John's original recorded version. But The Cramps' cover is even better than Peggy Lee's. It's the haunted and even menacing feel of The Cramps' version that makes it the best rendition of the song, in my opinion.

Which version of Fever do you like best, Little Willie John's, Peggy Lee's or The Cramps'?

Given the Fever song was written in the mid-1950s and has been played and covered up to the mid-2020s, lasting 70 years as a popular song is quite an achievement. Take a bow, Eddie Cooley, Otis Blackwell and even Little Willie John.

Below are links to my other blog posts in this 'original versus cover' series:

1. Hotel California - https://bowandarrowman.blogspot.com/2024/05/original-versus-cover-part-one-hotel.html

2. The Sound of Silence - https://bowandarrowman.blogspot.com/2024/05/original-versus-cover-part-two-sound-of.html

3. Valerie - https://bowandarrowman.blogspot.com/2024/05/original-versus-cover-part-three-valerie.html

4. Walk This Way - https://bowandarrowman.blogspot.com/2024/06/original-versus-cover-part-four-walk.html?zx=232139f80a4dd24

5. Knock on Wood - https://bowandarrowman.blogspot.com/2024/06/original-versus-cover-part-five-knock.html

6. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - https://bowandarrowman.blogspot.com/2024/06/original-versus-cover-part-six-first.html

7. Jealous Guy - https://bowandarrowman.blogspot.com/2024/06/original-versus-cover-part-seven.html

The Cramps: