One of my all-time favorite songs is the timeless recording of the Land of a Thousand Dances. Which version? Well, mostly all of 'em. This is the Top 10 Versions of the single Land of a Thousand Dances. (How many versions of the song exist online? 50 or so. Yeah, I'm not kidding.)
10. Land of a Thousand Dances (1965) Cannibal and the Headhunters
Not the original, but in my mind, it's the original.
9. Land of a Thousand Dances (1967) Tom Jones
The Sexy Version.
8. Land of a Thousand Dances (1987) Tina Turner
The Ike & Tina 1969 version may be the one that most fans remember, but I don't even like the sight of Ike. He was a bad, bad man.
'
7. Land of a Thousand Dances (2015) Jello Biafra and the Raunch and Soul All-Stars
I don't know who the Raunch and Soul All-Stars are, but I'm not used to Biafra being accompanied by a saxophone, piano, and horn section.
6. Land of a Thousand Dances (2003) Jimmy Barnes
The band is a little thin, but listen to Barnes' voice.
,,,And how do I know Jimmy Barnes? Cause my little sister watched the Lost Boys Movie nearly 4 thousands times. I remember Barnes singing about Boney Maroney in my sleep.
5. Land of a Thousand Dances (1972) Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison has that silky smooth delivery accented with, like, 20 musicians.
4. Land of a Thousand Dances (1977?) Sha Na Na
The video antics may be a bit cheesy, but if you just listen to it, it sounds great.
....And talking about cheesy, there was the time that the Ramones were on the Sha Na Na Show
...Singing Rock 'n' Roll High School?
3. Land of a Thousand Dances (1982) J Geils Band
Peter Wolf and the rest of the guys nailed it!
2. Land of a Thousand Dances (1985) The WWF Wrestlers
How do you not love this video? Your favorite wrestlers of the 80's? Meatloaf? Cyndi Lauper?
All having more fun than you can shake a stick at.
1. Land of a Thousand Dances (1966) Wilson Pickett
"What is soul, Ringo? Nothin' but a feelin'."
And the 5 worst versions
5. Land of a Thousand Dances (1983) Joan Baez
I expected to hate it when I heard it. And then it was worse than I expected.
4. Land of a Thousand Dances (1966) Walker Brothers
IT'S NOT la la-la-la-la la-la-la-la la-la la-la-la.....
What's Scott Walker up to today? You would never guess, not in a million years.
From 2012's solo album Bish Bosh,
Epizootics! is the EXACT OPPOSITE of Land of a Thousand Dances.
3. Land of a Thousand Dances (1992) Guy (From the Ferngully Soundtrack)
"I know what music is, and that's not music."
2. Land of a Thousand Dances (1962) Chris Kenner
Not bad per say, but here's my best analogy. Go to McDonalds and order a Coke and Drink it. That Coke is the Wilson Pickett version. Now go to the Dollar Store, take home a Coke and open it. DON'T DRINK IT. Let it sit in your refrigerator for 2 weeks. THEN drink it. That Fridge Coke is the Chris Kenner Version. (Yes, I know it's the real original version.)
1. Land of a Thousand Dances (1981) Ted Nugent
This version makes my ears bleed.
You think I'm kidding? They're bleeding now.
Updated July 2019:
I would definitely put this in the good column.