Raised by Radio

Raised by Radio: The Greatest Remake of All Time (In My Opinion)

I’ve written before about remakes—some that soar, some that stumble, and some that make you run for the skip button. I’m sure I’ll come back to the topic again. But today, I want to zero in on just one song.

Because if you ask me what the greatest remake of all time is, I don’t even have to think twice.

“Can’t Help Falling in Love” – UB40

Originally recorded by Elvis Presley in 1961, the song is sacred ground. One of those untouchables. Gentle. Romantic. Timeless. The kind of song that feels like it already arrived fully formed.

So when UB40 decided to remake it in the early ’90s, it could’ve gone sideways fast.

Instead?
They did the impossible.

Same Heart. Whole New Soul.

UB40 didn’t try to out-Elvis Elvis. That would’ve been a fool’s errand. Instead, they slowed it down even more, wrapped it in reggae warmth, and let the song breathe in a completely new way.

That rolling bass line.
That laid-back groove.
Ali Campbell’s restrained, almost conversational vocal.

It doesn’t demand your attention—it draws you in.

Suddenly, a song written for a velvet-curtained Vegas stage feels just as at home drifting out of car windows on a summer night.

A Radio Memory

I remember hearing this version on the radio and doing a double take. You knew the song instantly—but you also knew something was different. It felt familiar and fresh, which is the hardest trick any remake can pull off.

And then it just… stuck.

Weddings. Slow dances. Late-night dedications. That song became part of the ’90s emotional soundtrack without ever losing its connection to the past.

Why It Works (When So Many Don’t)

Most remakes fail because they either:

• Copy the original too closely, or
• Change it so much they forget why the song mattered in the first place

UB40 found the sweet spot.

They honored the melody.
They respected the lyrics.
And they trusted their own sound enough to let it carry the emotion differently.

That’s not a remake.
That’s a reinterpretation.

The Verdict

Elvis gave us a classic.
UB40 gave us a new way to fall in love with it.

And for me?
That makes “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by UB40 the greatest remake of all time.

🎶 Raised by Radio—where the past never stops playing.

That’s my pick for the greatest remake of all time—but I know better than to think that debate ends here. Radio gave us plenty of covers that took big swings, changed genres, and made us argue in the car on the way home. And yes… we’ll be revisiting them.