Beatles Greatest Hits BOTB series: Help! Showdown
Help! I need somebody. Help! Not just anybody! I need your help to decide the winner in my newest Battle of the Bands. The Beatles hit featured in this showdown is the Billboard 1965 number one ranking song, Help! (music vid reference only).
According to a popular site source (secondhandsongs) Help! has been covered 325 artists. With classics as this, it’s difficult for most singers to deviate from the original. It doesn’t make their covers bad, it’s just when I’m looking for a “cover” I want it to stand a part from others.
I might be shooting myself in the foot with today’s battle. I didn’t find two covers but six that I liked to put to the test. The thing is, do I dare put them all in one installment? Alright, I’m gonna just do it. Take your time, no rush here. I broke the contenders into sets the way my brain interrupted the artists pairing. For anyone who’d rather not have to click the below videos, I created the Help! BOTB playlist with all six artists listed in order as they appear in this post and if that doesn’t matter, then continue as you were. 😉
The first set I have the late Tina Turner and teen pop idol (1967-1979) the British-born Australian singer, John Farnham. Both artists slowed the tempo down from the original which makes the words translate more a real plea for Help! Listen and then tell me which one you like the best!
In set 2, battling it out I have the English rock band Deep Purple the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock and Swiss metal band Krokus. These bands you’d expect to have an edgier sound but surprisingly I really liked both. The instrumental arrangement of the first might be my favorite. Please listen to pick your favorite between the two groups!
In my final set, I’ve matched Amanda Castro Band the LA premiere jazz band whose entertainment speciality is in Gatsby, Old Hollywood, Swing and Vintage Jazz which is really cool against a 1970s Holland band (according to the YT descriptions) known as Honest Men. I found a band bearing the same name but they aren’t the same. You’re welcome to add any info on this little known to me group. Please listen to name your pick!
Okay, there you have it in a nutshell (the size of my brain). I hope you enjoyed covers. 🙂
Now comes the fun part! Who do you like best in set 1: Tina Turner or John Farnham? Which band did you prefer in set 2: Deep Purple or Krokus? Who’s your favorite in set 3: Amanda Castro Band or Honest Men? And, finally, do you feel like one of the six contenders trumped them all?
Polls close at noon (ET) on Aug. 7th!
You can follow the tally in this battle in comments. I’ll report the progress throughout the voting period. I suspect some are growing weary catching the outcome post. That being said, I will try to include the results in my Mondays’ Music Moves Me on Sunday edition, Aug. 13th.
There are more battles underway. Check out my fellow BOTBers listed in my side menu, just below the banner. 😉
This is CAAC signing off, have a bandtastic day!
X💋X💋, Cathy
34 Comments
John Holton
Tina Turner v. John Farnham: They sounded kind of alike, so I’ll go with Tina
Deep Purple v. Krokus: Krokus would have beaten both Tina and John in the previous battle. I’ll go with Deep Purple.
Amanda Castro v. Honest Men: Honest Men would have beaten Deep Purple in the previous battle. Amanda Castro was fantastic. She wins this one.
The way I see it, Krokus would have beaten Tina and John, Honest Men would have beaten Deep Purple, and Amanda Castro would have beaten all of them.
Cathy Kennedy
John,
So, happy you were able join me in this battle round. Your votes are now official! 😉
Tina Turner – 5
VS John Farnham – 4
Deep Purple – 6
VS Krokus – 4
Amanada Castro Band – 7
VS Honest Men – 5
Stine Writing and Miniatures
Tina Turner
Krokus
Amanda Castro Band
Those are my votes
Cathy Kennedy
Christine,
Thanks for the return visit, my dear. I have your votes set. 😉
Tina Turner – 4
VS John Farnham – 4
Deep Purple – 5
VS Krokus – 4
Amanada Castro Band – 6
VS Honest Men – 5
Michael Todd
John Farnham.
Deep Purple.
Amanda Castro Band
Cathy Kennedy
Hey Myke,
I’m happy to see you! I have your favorites logged. Have a bandtastic weekend!!
Tina Turner – 3
VS John Farnham – 4
Deep Purple – 5
VS Krokus – 3
Amanada Castro Band – 5
VS Honest Men – 5
Eugi
Here’s mine, Cathy –
John Farnham.
Deep Purple.
Amanda Castro Band.
❤️
Cathy Kennedy
Excellent, Eugi! I have your votes recorded. Thanks for taking part, my friend!!
Tina Turner – 2
VS John Farnham – 3
Deep Purple – 3
VS Krokus – 3
Amanada Castro Band – 3
VS Honest Men – 5
Mary B
Hiya Cathy
This is a bit much for my brain to handle at the moment. I’ll make note to come back later to try again.
Cathy Kennedy
Okay, Mary, that’s fine. I got carried away with things and this is a bit too much for anyone. I don’t think I’ll do this sort of thing again. 😉
Brian
I liked Honest Men but beyond that not so much!
Cathy Kennedy
Brian,
I have your vote recorded, my furriend!
Tina Turner – 2
VS John Farnham – 2
Deep Purple – 2
VS Krokus – 3
Amanada Castro Band – 2
VS Honest Men – 5
Debbie D.
What a fabulous marathon battle, Cathy! And, I love the guitar paragraph separators! 🙂 I’ll take Tina over John – her voice has more character. For the next set, it’s Krokus over Deep Purple. Better vocals and more emotion! Last, I choose Honest Men over Amanda Castro, for their unique rendition. Found some info here:
https://www.discogs.com/artist/1047572-Honest-Men
Overall favourite? KROKUS! (But Honest Men was a close second.)
Cathy Kennedy
Debbie,
Thanks for sharing the brief bio on Honest Men. They certainly did not have along run at it, did they? I appreciate you taking part in this weird probably once in a lifetime showdown. It’s getting hairy for me to keep from making mistakes with marking the results. lol I hope I don’t mess up. 🙂
Tina Turner – 2
VS John Farnham – 2
Deep Purple – 2
VS Krokus – 3
Amanada Castro Band – 2
VS Honest Men – 4
Arlee Bird
Honest Men get my vote over all. They were more original and more enjoyable to listen to.
Did not care for any of the slow versions but in spirit of the contest I’ll give my bored votes to John Farnham and Deep Purple just for no reason in particular.
But the Honest Men are the absolute best here. They have the kind of sound I like.
Lee
Cathy Kennedy
Lee,
I gather from your message that you only preferred Honest Men in this round, is that right? Thanks for taking part in this long battle!
Tina Turner – 1
VS John Farnham – 2
Deep Purple – 2
VS Krokus – 2
Amanada Castro Band – 2
VS Honest Men – 3
Sandee
Set one: John Farnham.
Set two: Deep Purple.
Set three: Amanda Castro Band.
Loved the funny. I linked this post to Happy Tuesday.
Have a fabulous day and week, Cathy. ♥
Cathy Kennedy
Hey Sandee,
Thanks for joining the battle fun. I have your votes logged! 😉
Vote count:
Tina Turner – 1
VS John Farnham – 2
Deep Purple – 2
VS Krokus – 2
Amanada Castro Band – 2
VS Honest Men – 2
Stephen T. McCarthy
CATHY ~
I don’t know why my comment posted so strangely. Apparently your system interprets some symbols in a formatting way that my system doesn’t.
I saved the comment. So if you want to delete the first one, I can resubmit it without any “asterisks” and “arrows” and see if that fixes the problem.
~ D-FensDogG
Stephen T. McCarthy
CAThy! HELP!!
*JOHN FARNHAM was, to my ears, a little bit less irritating. Not much better (essentially more of the same), but a wee bit mo’ better.
*KROKUS: OK, now we’re talking. Now the song is becoming stronger and more appealing.
Honest Men were… OK. A bit “heavy”, which of course is what they were going for. Not bad, not great, just OK.
I felt that the AMANDA CASTRO BAND had by far the most original and most entertaining approach to the song. It may have been too light and breezy sounding for what the lyrics are expressing but… I don’t care. I still liked it the best of the 6.
~ D-FensDogG
Cathy Kennedy
Stephen,
No need to resubmit your entry. I think this is fine. I think you and I are on the same page with your picks and like you, Amanda made this song the most unique and interesting making her the top dogette in this showdown. I like her jazz version a lot!
Tina Turner – 1
VS John Farnham – 1
Deep Purple – 1
VS Krokus – 2
Amanada Castro Band – 1
VS Honest Men – 2
Stephen T. McCarthy
10-4, CAThy.
I’ll make sure not to use those fancy symbols in future comments. (Note-To-Self: No fancy keystrokes, punk!)
~ D-FensDogG
Cathy Kennedy
Not a problem, Stephen! 🙂
diedre
Wow! Interesting battle, my dear. I wonder now just how many covers Deep Purple did over the years.
For the duo category my vote goes to Tina Turner and John Farnham. For single band/artist, it’s Lady T (again) for me.
Cathy Kennedy
Diedre,
I have my battle divided into three sets. Tina Turner Vs John Farnham, Deep Purple Vs Krokus, and Amanda Castro Band Vs Honest Men. For clarity, do you mind telling me which you prefer in each set or none at all? I’m sorry if my wording was confusing. Thanks! 😘
diedre
Oops. Let’s see…
Tina Turner
Deep Purple
Amanda Castro
How’s that? Sorry for the confusion.
Cathy Kennedy
Diedre,
No confusion here, you laid your picks out just fine. The numbers for each set of pairs have tightened up. How interesting! Thanks for taking the time to tend to my lengthy battle. 🙂
Tina Turner – 3
VS John Farnham – 3
Deep Purple – 4
VS Krokus – 3
Amanada Castro Band – 4
VS Honest Men – 5
Birgit Bedesky
Well, this is a big one! Ok the first set, even though I love Tina, I prefer Farnham and her(??) Vocals because she emotes more to me.
The 2nd…Deep Purple o er Krokus because Krokus started sou ding repetitive.
The 3rd..Honest Men over Amanda. I just didn’t care for the arrangement Amanda created.
Breaking it further down…it’s between Farnham and Deep Purple for me but, I think, I shall go with Deep Purple because of the musical styling they created. Ask me late and I might pick Farnham…lol
Cathy Kennedy
Thank you Birgit for participating in this longer than usual battle!
The tally continues….
Tina Turner – 1
VS John Farnham – 0
Deep Purple – 1
VS Krokus – 1
Amanada Castro Band – 0
VS Honest Men – 2
willowdot21
Well kudos finding all these covers … Okay to business. I honestly couldn’t tell the difference between John Farnham and Tina Turner so a draw there.
Deep Purple and Krokus, definitely Krokus
I wasn’t keen on the last two but if I had to choose it would be Honest Men 😜😜😜
And here’s one for the mix 💜
https://youtu.be/Ez0hP2nnmPA
Cathy Kennedy
Willow,
I’m glad you came by to lend your voice in my latest battle showdown. I remember coming across the young street busker, Allie Sherlock. She’s talented. I didn’t use her because it wasn’t really what I was looking for when pairing the contenders that made it to the playoff. I appreciate you tossing her vid this way, though.
You were the first vote.
Tina Turner – 0
VS John Farnham – 0 tied, didn’t vote either way
Deep Purple – 0
VS Krokus – 1
Amanada Castro Band- 0
VS Honest Men -1
willowdot21
Yes indeed I shall vote more clearly next time! I should have looked for two buskers shouldn’t of I 💜💜💜
Cathy Kennedy
It’s alright. This one is complicated. I just couldn’t decide on who to put in this showdown but since I found the right pair ups then I just did something a little different. I probably won’t do this again because it is really time consuming for battle participation. 🙂
willowdot21
Yes I bet so well done you 💜