Papa Was A Rollin' Stone - Notable Covers and Remixes

Notable Covers and Remixes

A number of notable covers of "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" have been recorded:

  • The Pioneers made a rocksteady cover of this song on a 1973 single produced by Joe Gibbs.
  • Bill "Wolf" Wolfer created an electronic cover of the number for his 1982 debut album, Wolf; Michael Jackson provided backing vocals.
  • The group Was (Not Was) covered the song on their 1990 album Are You Okay?, and their version reached number twelve in the UK.
  • A 1993 version by George Michael was released on the EP Five Live where it was blended with the Adamski hit "Killer". This arrangement was also performed by Seal.
  • In the "Battle of the Groups" segment of the TV special Motown Returns to the Apollo in 1985 the Four Tops sang the coda, much to the (feigned) outrage of the Temptations. Levi Stubbs, leader of the Tops, responded, "I know this is your song, Temps, but get on out the way because we're going to sing it. So get on out the way." As soon as they finished, the Temptations responded by singing the Tops' hit, "Baby I Need Your Loving"
  • David Lindley and his band El Rayo-X covered the song on their 1988 album Very Greasy.
  • The song was covered by Los Lobos in 1999 on DET Live! Vol. 1 Exclusive Live Performances from the Studios of WDET-FM.
  • Lisa Fischer recorded the song and the version was featured on A Twist of Motown in 2003.
  • Rockapella performed the song on their concert album Live in Japan (2004); it is a staple at their live shows. George Baldi III, the current bass for Rockapella, sings lead.
  • Lee Ritenour, Chris Botti, Kenya Hathaway, Grady Harrell, and Taylor Dayne recorded the song and the version on the album Overtime in 2005.
  • Phil Collins' 2010 Motown-covers album Going Back includes a cover of the song.
  • Craig David recorded a version on his 2010 cover album Signed Sealed Delivered.
  • The song was covered by David Hernandez on American Idol (2008) during the Top 10 males week and by Allison Iraheta in 2009 during Motown week.
  • Sublime's song "Same in the End" references the song: "Daddy was a rolling rolling stone, he rolled away one day and he never came home."

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