This post… it looks like it’s been jammed!
Happy Monday to you all! Looking for something to put a little life into this typically bland and dreadful day? Well, you’re in luck since the fabulous DJ Scratchy and her Sponky entourage are just about ready to unveil the next super duper refurbished song in The Nest’s Top 30 Cover Songs of All Time countdown! Yank out that earbud and replace it with some totally awesome Sony Walkman headphones so that this truly retro groove can ease all your Monday cares away….
#21. “Lean On Me” – Club Nouveau
I’m sure that you know you know you know you know you know you know you know you know you know you know you know you know you know you know you know you know you know you know you know you know you know you know you know you know you know you know that Bill Withers was a pretty successful singer-songwriter in the early 70’s. Withers escaped the black lung disease of coal mining West Virginia to pen three songs that made it into the Top 3 spots of the Billboard charts. The only one of those songs that made it to the coveted #1 spot was “Lean On Me,” a standing invitation to hit up ol’ Bill if you ever needed anything to borrow.
You need something to keep your papers from blowing off the desk? Here, friend, use this Grammy Award of mine.
While all of Bill’s buddies continued to use him until he was all used up, perhaps Mr. Withers could have done a little leaning of his own about 15 years into the future and called on the one hit wonder act Club Nouveau to make his song just a little peppier.
The others just hang around because they think he’s Lionel Ritchie…
As proof that just about anything can sound better with a dance beat, the Club freshened up Bill Withers’ classic hit and were all the rage in early 1987 when they released this jammin’ cover of “Lean On Me”…
Thanks to Club Nouveau, a new generation of music lovers could learn to call on each other when they needed some brightly colored attire to go hanging out at the mall, or perhaps a little help solving that tricky Rubik’s Cube…
Nerds can always lean on each other to help remove wedgies.
Because Club Nouveau also got their version up to #1 on the charts, “Lean on Me” is one of nine songs in the history of Billboard to have multiple versions each top the pop charts, and the first of five of those songs that will appear in my countdown. Don’t worry, though… we’ll have those mainstream hits all out of the way before we reach the Top 10, as that is the domain of the truly special cover songs that will undoubtedly leave you reaching for the aural barf bag…
No!!!! Please bring back Mecca Muzak Mondays!
And with that, the first third of our cover song countdown in complete! That wasn’t so bad now, was it? We’ll venture into the Top 20 next week…. be sure to bring your own ear Dramamine.
Evil Squirrel's Nest 
I liked this version, it was great to smoke something while headbanging with the 80s intro at 0:26 :o)
I’m sure there were plenty of people to lean on to score that kind of stuff….
Well, I thought it was Lionel Ritchie. I had to look it up on Wiki to confirm that it is not 🙂
There’s certainly a resemblance. Maybe his long lost brother Richie Ritchie….
Nouveau was fine until the robotic drummer pitched in to water torture me to death, Bill. Gack! Too Niche for my 70s ears. Feel like they wanted to use me up. I vote for Old Bill, who needed a massage from Grandma’s Hands until he got that fat royalty check from the new version. 🙂
They say if you really wanna hit it big in the music business… write the hits and let others do the dirty work for you. I’ll bet Bill was jammin’ all the way to the bank when Club Nouveau took his song to #1….
I predict that next week’s song will be more up your alley,,,
Now I gotta see who covers what next week! Yes, big bucks are to be made when you can write songs, that’s for sure, Bill. Blogs are lagging a bit behind, no?
Gulp. I feel like a guppy forced to breathe air. Where do you find this stuff? I’m completely ignorant … and come to think of it, maybe I’m better off that way. I read it, then I say … but who’s Bill? Why don’t I know any of this? What’s wrong with me?
I feel the same way when people talk movies…
ES, you can always lean on me. For anything. But not the Rubik’s Cube solution. ‘Cuz I never did figure that out.
The video for this song is so strange. And I think the guy at the very end really didn’t want anyone to lean on him. Or call him. Or even be his friend. 😛
I figured out the best way to solve the Rubik’s Cube… peel off all the stickers and put them back on where all the colors match up. I liked to think outside of the box….
ES, you are a genius!! An evil genius, but then, those are the best kind. ^.~
As soon as I saw the title of the post I yelled, “Club Nouveau!!”
True story, bro: I was going to tell you what my #1 cover is once you were done, but I couldn’t decide between this one and another. I finally decided that this is second on my list, and here you go beating me to the punch!
I’m almost positive that my #1 will NOT be on your list….
I’m pretty sure it won’t be either. In fact, I’m not sure how many more of the songs in this countdown are going to even be in your YAY files…
I remember this one! I guess brain damage caused by migraines and binge drinking didn’t erase all my memories of the 80’s after all. Phew! I was starting to wonder!
You can’t drink away great 80’s music! It’s just a miracle great 80’s music actually ended up in my countdown…
The boy can “do” the rubiks in 3 mins. That is a better version than original I believe.
I am amazed by that skill! I never committed enough brain power to actually figuring it out… but I’d stay up all night trying to beat a video game!
I have to say, I like the original version much better. Possibly because we sang it in choir at school.
I think it would be cooler to have the choir be jammin! 😉
You had me at Spaceballs. The rest of the post was just icing. 🙂 I haven’t even thought of Club Nouveau in decades. I feel old. Somehow Spaceballs doesn’t make me feel old. It’s timeless.
One of the best movies ever! And from 1987, just like Club Nouveau. The Schwartz was with them….