A song murdered by someone.

Great point, @Larryi, about the legitimacy and appropriateness of disparate interpretations of great songs. And the version of "Unchained Melody" by Sam Cooke is indeed very nice IMO.

FWIW, while I recognize and respect the fact that the version by the Righteous Brothers is to many people the standard bearer, the main reasons I prefer Al Hibbler’s version to it are two-fold:

1) To me, the Righteous Brothers’ recording comes across as excessively "mannered," defined in this context as "overelaborate in delivery." While many people may interpret that as contributing to soul, to me it just detracts from the beauty of the song. For that song, at least, I prefer a more straightforward and unembellished interpretation.

2) To me, Al Hibbler has a better and more appealing voice than Bobby Hatfield.

In any event, as N80 aptly said earlier, "... its music. People like what they like."

Best regards,
-- Al

Larry, in general I too dislike operatic covers of popular songs, and like you I don't think I've listened to the couple of Dame Kiri's crossover albums I have more than once or twice. 

There are exceptions, though.  One that I'd particularly recommend would be a 1985 album by Julia Migenes (then known as Julia Migenes-Johnson) entitled "In Love," in which she wonderfully performs a dozen or so classic Broadway show tunes.  Of course, it's not entirely coincidental that in addition to opera she has a substantial background in the theatre.

Speaking of Dame Kiri, one of the most fantastic concerts I've been to was a recital of purely classical material that she gave in New Haven, Connecticut, about three decades ago.  When she was in her element she was certainly a very special talent.

Best regards,
-- Al 

P.S: The Yardbirds' recording of "Stroll On":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adbGT8Rg9OE

Best regards,
-- Al 

Eric (bdp24), as we’ve discussed in past threads I too very much like the Rock and Roll Trio/Johnny Burnette Trio’s version of "Train Kept A-Rollin’," and thanks for calling it to our attention here in the past.

Regarding the Yardbirds’ version, I actually prefer the variation of it they did, with similar music but completely different lyrics, that was entitled "Stroll On." I believe they wrote the different lyrics to circumvent copyright issues that would otherwise have arisen when they performed the song in the great but enigmatic 1966 film "Blow-Up," directed by Michelangelo Antonioni . As our foremost resident rock historian here you probably know more about that than I do. The clip from "Blow-Up," in which Jeff Beck has a problem with his guitar amplifier, with interesting consequences:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqh03zFRx2w&list=RDjqh03zFRx2w

Best regards,
-- Al

That’s an easy one for me. I would have to say that the worst cover, and one of the worst recordings I have ever heard, was the 1963 cover by the one hit non-wonder Vito & The Salutations which utterly destroyed the beautiful song "Unchained Melody."

And I say that as one who actually enjoys more than a few so-called "doo wop" recordings.

For those having strong stomachs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHwDeGDkEFk

My favorite version, among the relatively few I am familiar with (according to Wikipedia the song has been recorded more than 1500 times by more than 670 artists, in multiple languages), was one of the earliest, the 1955 recording by Al Hibbler:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qto6cY0Fsw4&list=RDMMqto6cY0Fsw4

I for one greatly prefer that version to the better known recording that was done in the 1960s by the Righteous Brothers.

Regards,
-- Al