Just do it

I guess you could say this was the first cover song I recognized as being a cover song...even though it's that in a very loose sense (re-adaptation is probably a better way of describing it). I'd seen the movie 'Can-Can'--my parents were huge Shirley MacLaine fans, and whenever any of her movies were shown on Sunday afternoons or at a revival of some sort, you could bet we'd be watching it--so I was familiar with the tune. I admit, I was a little, perturbed, I suppose, that someone could take a song and just change it like that to suit their needs. It didn't seem... right. Granted, I had nothing against the product being touted, but it just seemed such an odd thing to me, doing that to a perfectly good song.

Can't Resist Them (Cadbury's Creme Eggs Advert) - based on Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love)



Let's Do It )Let's Fall In Love) (cover) - Frank Sinatra and Shirley Maclaine (from the movie 'Can-Can')
(Song starts at 2:20)



It wasn't until the magic of the internets that I figured out Cole Porter had written this song long before the movie (and that, in fact, the song was not part of the original musical play Can-Can, but a completely different musical of his). That's also when I became aware of the lyrics that had been replaced from the original by the line "Birds do it, bees do it" in most of the later versions (you can pick out one or two that still made it to the Can-Can version). Interestingly, the more I heard this song as a cover, the more variations and liberties I heard taken with the lyrics--I suppose that's because, with it's witty double entendre, there is a lot of flexibility in adapting (there you go) it.

Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love) (cover, with original lyrics) - B.A. Rolfe And Palais D'Or Orchestra



There's been a lot of covers of this song, but as a standalone song (i.e. not tied in to a movie or anything), this is my favorite one:

Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love) (cover) - Eartha Kitt



But I really do prefer the covers that are from the movies, however. And, no, I don't mean the one by Kim Basinger from 'The Marrying Man'.

Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love) (cover) - Alanis Morissette (from the movie 'De-Lovely')
Makes sense, no?



But, hands down, this is the best one. How can you not love Tank Girl and Cole Porter together?

Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love) (cover) - Lori Petty and Ann Magnuson (from the movie 'Tank Girl)



Which brings me to my all time favorite cover, from the soundtrack of the best in-movie cover. What's not to love? Just do it.

Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love) (cover) - Joan Jett and Paul Westerberg