COVER vs ORIGINAL: ‘I Put A Spell On You’

The song, “I Put A Spell On You”, was originally recorded by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins in 1956

Herb Slotkin and Jalacy ‘Screamin’ Jay’ Hawkins (1929-2000) wrote the song “I Put A Spell On You” which Hawkins recorded in 1956 and featured on his debut album “At Home With Screamin’ Jay Hawkins” in 1958. It did not chart but has gone on to sell over a million copies since then.

Many artists have covered and recorded “I Put A Spell On You”, arguably the best known of these comes from Nina Simone (1933-2003) in 1965. Her version went to No.23 in America and, initially, No.49 in the UK, although when reissued in 1969 it found a new peak of No.28. Simone’s version is often the one heard on television commercials and in films.

Alan Price (b.1942) of The Animals recorded and released the song as a solo artist in 1966 and took it to No.80 in the US and No.35 in Australia. It was also successful on many UK magazine playlist charts where it went to No.1 on pirate radio station Wonderful’s Fab 40. Roxy Music’s Bryan Ferry took the song to No.18 in the UK in 1993 when he recorded it for his covers album “Taxi”. His version was also a top 40 hit across Europe.

British singer Sonia Marina Clarke aka Sonique recorded the song in 1998 and it was released as her second single, although it only found a high of No.36 on the chart at first. Following her number one “It Feels So Good” in 2000, the song was re-released at the end of that year and went to No.8 in the UK. It became her third and, to date, her last top ten hit on home soil.

Annie Lennox recorded “I Put A Spell On You” for her 2014 album “Nostalgia”. It was released as the first single in September that year but did not chart or become successful until 2015 when it was featured in the film ‘Fifty Shades Of Grey’. Then it got to No.63 in the UK, where it has since sold over 200,000 copies, and No.97 in America.

But which version is the best? HAWKINS’ original, SIMONE’s classic, PRICE’s version, FERRY’s cover, SONIQUE’s millennial hit or ANNIE’s nostalgic version?