Battle of the covers: When you Say Nothing At All

Yup...its monday again!!  I have been sick so I am going with something pretty easy for me.  I have got lots of leads on cover songs, over 100 in fact, but I just gotta take some time to do some research.  I am discovering that a lot of songs that I think of as a signature song for some artists, is in fact them doing a cover song! 

As usual.....please remember that this is just for fun!  Please remember to play nice with the other kids! Please listen to all the songs and let us know what you think. There are no right or wrong answers as music is subjective. Have fun! Enjoy! :)

Today we are going with When You Say Nothing At All which is less than 20 years old, has been recorded 9 different times, and was a hit for 3 different artists.

The song was orginally written as a country song by Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz. 

Keith Whitley was the first to record the song in 1988 and it went to #1 on the Billboard country charts in December 1988, 5 months before his death.

When You Say Nothing At All (KW)

Keith Whitley

Alison Krauss recorded the song in 1994 for a tribute album to Keith Whitley.  It became so popular that it got released as a single in 1995. The song reached #3 and #2 on Billboard country charts.  The song also won Alison a 1995 CMA award for single of the year.

When You Say Nothing At All (AK)

Alison Krauss/Union Station

Ronan Keating recorded the song in 1999 for the sountrack to the movie Notting Hill. His single, of the song, reached number one on the charts in many countries.

When You Say Nothing At All (RK)

Ronan Keating

In 2001, the Hawaiian girl group Keahiwai recorded the song.

When you say nothing at all (K)

Keahiwai

In 2003, Ronan Keating re-recorded the song as a duet with Mexican singer, Paulina Rubio, which was released in Mexico and Latin America to promote a hits compilation.

When you say nothing at all (PRRK)

Paulina Rubio & Ronan Keating

In 2003, 2 other recordings were apparently done of the song but I cannot find any recordings of them. Steven McLachlan, a Scottish singer I am not familiar with, recorded the song and it became #1 on the Australian charts.  Ryan & Rachel O'Donnell, whom I am not familiar with either, also recorded the song.

In 2004, a group called The Nervous Rex, also apparently recorded the song, but I was unable to find a recording of this one either.

Lastly, in 2006, Kathy Phillips recorded a techno version of the song.

When You Say Nothing At All (KP)

Kathy Phillips