Which one is your favorite? - XXI -

This week we go back to the 50s and try to find the best covers of a Screamin' Jay Hawkins song that was written in 1956 and was selected as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. It is also ranked No. 313 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Here is the song for this week;

"I Put A Spell On You"

Hawkins had originally intended to record "I Put a Spell on You" as "a refined love song, a blues ballad". However, the producer (Arnold Maxin) "brought in ribs and chicken and got everybody drunk, and we came out with this weird version ... I don't even remember making the record. Before, I was just a normal blues singer. I was just Jay Hawkins. It all sort of just fell in place. I found out I could do more destroying a song and screaming it to death." as he said in an interview...

Hawkins first recorded "I Put a Spell on You" as a ballad during his stint with Grand Records in late 1955. However, that version was not released at the time (it has since been reissued on Hawkins' UK Rev-Ola CD The Whamee 1953–55). The following year, Hawkins re-recorded the song for Columbia's Okeh Records – the notorious screaming version, which was released in October 1956. However, this version was banned from most radio programming for its outrageous 'cannibalistic' style. A truncated version was later released omitting the grunts and moans from the ending of the song, but the ban generally remained. Despite the restriction, the record still sold over a million copies.

And just for this week I have 11 versions for you; I am telling you, you have some homework to do :)

• Nina Simone - "I Put A Spell On You"

• Bryan Ferry - "I Put A Spell On You"

• Natacha Atlas- "I Put a Spell On You"

• IZA - "I Put a Spell On You"

• Annie Lennox - "I Put A Spell On You"

• Diamanda Galas - "I Put A Spell On You"

• Nick Cave & The Cavemen - "I Put A Spell On You"

• Chaka Khan - "I Put A Spell On You"

• Creedence Clearwater Revival - "I Put A Spell On You"

• Jeff Beck & Joss Stone - "I Put a Spell On You"

• She and Him - "I Put a Spell on You"

Now the floor is yours, go ahead and make your comments (here, Instagram, Facebook wherever you feel like...).

nb. Please note that I intentionally do not include the original versions of the songs as it would be a little unfair to the artists covering the songs, and I am sure that sometimes you will be surprised to see that the songs you thought were the originals are just covers.