40 Years of Harry Chapin's "Cat's In The Cradle": Music Times Ranks Covers by Johnny Cash, Tori Amos, Ugly Kid Joe and More

Another day, another big anniversary for a song that's become part of the American rock canon. On this day during 1974, Harry Chapin released what would easily become his biggest song of all time: "Cat's In The Cradle," a folk music tale of a father too busy with his work to watch his son grow up, and the impact that has on the child's life. It's a narrative that made thousands of fathers swear that they wouldn't make the same mistake as the single's narrator. As usual with songs as moving and memorable as "Cat's In The Cradle," a number of covers have appeared over the years. Music Times ranks some of the versions from well-known performers:

05) Johnny Cash (1990)

Consider us surprised as well. Cash has become known for his ability to lift up even already great songs, most notably his famed take on Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt." His take on Chapin's classic doesn't land on the mark however. The problem is that Cash and company rely on his class shuffling country sound, which moves at a pace too jovial for "Cat's In The Cradle." Although vocalists performing the song shouldn't feel pressured to sound morose, the gentle acoustic backing typical of the song allows the emotional impact of the lyrics to sink in better. Cash needs to let it breathe a bit more.

04) Ricky Skaggs (1995)

We're just not feeling much love for the country renditions of "Cat's In The Cradle" today. Although we may have dinged Cash for straying too far from the original formula, Skaggs sticks a little close close to it. Nothing much to differentiate the two songs except that the country performer has more of a twang in his vocals.

03) Ugly Kid Joe (1992)

If we had to guess which one of these cover artists would end up landing their version of "Cat's In The Cradle" on the charts, we probably wouldn't have picked hard rockers Ugly Kid Joe first. Nonetheless the group managed to get its cover to gold status, the same ranking that the original achieved, Of course they used a formula employed often by hard rock bands to land hits: Make a song that's more balladic than your typical fare. They stick with the acoustic guitars but bring the whole band in for the iconic hook, making this sound like a Bon Jovi effort than that of a smaller band. Oh, plus the rising electric guitar bridge/conclusion was probably meant to come in handy if they ever got a gig playing at an arena.

02) Celtic Thunder (2012)

The acoustic nature of Celtic music might make covering country and folk songs an obvious way to make some money but it's not that obvious. For example, Celtic Thunder couldn't make "Friends in Low Places" work on its 2012 cover album Voyage. However, the Eastern tone brought to the original single by Chapin's sitar touches help the band find a way to tie into this song. The band uses a dulcimer instead, creating that same "exotic" vibe without confusing too many listeners.

01) Tori Amos (2014)

We're sticking our neck out with this one because Tori Amos never recorded the song and we can only find evidence of hear playing it during a show once in 2014. As part of her "Lizard Lounge" concert sequence, the performer plays the song on two pianos while singing as well. One element that definitely makes this different than the rest: Amos is a female. Our only complaint is that we wish she would have changed the genders accordingly, or at least the gender of the narrator so it seems more like a first-person narrative (as it was intended). However her instrumental approach gives the song the subtle treatment it requires.

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Johnny Cash, Tori Amos