Song #61 on the Popdose Top 100 Covers list is “You Can Leave Your Hat On”, originally by Randy Newman and covered by Joe Cocker. Here’s the original:
What a great songwriter Newman is. As the Popdose writer notes, Newman often writes from the perspective of a loser (his Big Hat, No Cattle is another good example of that). To say the least, it gives his rendition of this song a very different feel than Joe Cocker’s version does.
Yeah, that’s a different point of view. I would have sworn it was this version that was featured in the final scene of the movie “The Full Monty”, but according to Wikipedia that was a Tom Jones recording. I guess if anyone can out-Joe Cocker Joe Cocker, it would be Tom Jones. What’s your favorite version of this song?
The Tom Jones version is the best. Saw him perform it live. He had lots on ladies lingerie on stage with him when he finished. Etta James also did a nice cover of this song.