When it comes to covers, it just doesn't get any more frightening or terrible than this. Not frightening in a bad or scary way-probably more of a 'what the hell were you thinking' kind of way. Being Sid, I'll go with 'not really thinking because he was shooting heroin.
In 1967, Paul Anka acquired the publishing rights to a French song entitled 'Comme d'habitude' by Claude Francois. By 1969, he had rewritten the tune and the lyrics and came up with 'My Way. but Paul did not want the song for himself. He wrote this song specifically for Frank Sinatra.
In 1969, Sinatra released the album 'My Way' and released the title song as a single. It performed respectably in the US, reaching 27 on the Billboard Hot 100, and did quite well on the Adult Contemporary charts, where it peaked at number 2.
The single reached number 5 on the UK Singles Chart and became the year's best-selling single-a much better performance than in the mainstream US chart. Amazingly, it reentered the UK chart six times until 1971, becoming the single with the most total weeks on the UK charts at 124.
The song, while considered a signature song of Frank's throughout his career, was not one of his personal favourites. He described the song as 'self-serving and self-indulgent'.
In 1979, Sex Pistols 'bass player' Sid Vicious released a cover that managed to reach number 6 on the UK Singles chart. This version was notable not only for the sped up arrangement, but also for the changed and improvised lyrics. The improvisations were because Vicious did not know the words, and threw in some barbs at former band mate John Lydon (Johnny Rotten).
It was one of only three singles Vicious released on his own, and his death would follow soon after in early 1979.
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