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ain't got no soul: bad covers of great soul songs

Many a great soul track has suffered some truly egregious desecration. The single example that comes most readily to mind is Huey Lewis's rendering of Smokey Robinson's "Cruisin'". Ouch! Rememeber folks, this question does not depend on any emphemeral concepts such as race. To be sure, I'll take Dusty's version of "Son of a Preacher Man" over Aretha's any day. For that matter, limey whiteboys such as Elvis Costello and Paul Weller display a far more instinctive grasp of soul than does, for example, Bobby Brown. Don't disappoint me, I am sure that you can name some real atrocities.
tweakgeek

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onhwy61
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All time top of the list goes to Pat Boone's rendition of "Tutti Frutti". It says something about American 50s culture that it actually outsold the Little Richard version.

BTW, I like the Huey Lewis version of "Cruisin'". No it's not equal to Smokey's, but if you've seen the film "Duets" you'd gain a better understanding of why it works. The film is about karaoke singers and it also features an amazing gospel acapella version of "Freebird".

And in a shameless attempt to hijack your thread, I nominate Ray Charles doing "Eleanor Rigby" as the best soul cover of a non-soul tune. Can I get a witness?
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