UPDATE, August 25, 2022: LOL as the kids say--every video I linked to was removed or blocked. I may try to find alternate sources someday, but for now, marvel over what you might have seen! SECOND UPDATE: Ah hell, I went and found all of them again. No need to thank me!
When I was the operator of the Locarno Beach concession from 1996-98, I often chatted with the lifeguards there. The head lifeguard happened to be the brother of Terry Jacks, famous Canadian songsmith and he was mentioned from time to time, as his lifeguard brother Craig was also musically inclined and was known to pull out the acoustic guitar on occasion, adding a little extra color to the sandy shores.
Terry Jacks’ most famous recording is probably “Seasons in the Sun” which the wikipedia link reveals was originally meant to be a Beach Boys song. That might have been interesting. Instead, Jacks recorded the song himself and earned a place in the hall of fame for schmaltziest songs ever recorded. I’m pretty sure there is an embedded hidden message imploring the listener to parody the song.
The Irish “boy” band (in quotes because they are all pushing 30, it seems) Westlife did a cover of the song and after stumbling across it, I felt compelled to watch to see if they could one-up Mr. Jacks. I believe they have. I present below the new, even schmaltzier version of “Seasons in the Sun”. By the way, if you’ve never heard of Westlife, that’s okay, as they appear to have had little success in North America while over in the UK they’d sold something like 10 billion albums. Different strokes and all that.
Bonus time! A little more searching and I discovered that Nirvana also recorded “Seasons in the Sun” with, uh…alternative lyrics. Featuring Kurt Cobain on drums:
Ah, what the hell. Here is Jacks himself singing (well, lip-syncing) the song back in 1974. Dig the ‘burns and leather pants.
Okay, so apparently the Beach Boys did record the song and their version is the peppiest but it also adds a verse about a cheating wife and lovers, giving the song a distinctly creepy vibe. The video is a montage of still images. I’m also beginning to think there was a cottage industry in covering this song that I’ve somehow managed to miss for the last 36 years.