The 25 best cover songs of all time, ranked
Johnny Cash, The Beatles, and Sinead O'Connor are among the artists who reinvented songs that rival, and in some cases, even outshine the originals
Music Lists Rock ballads
There is no platonic definition of a good cover version of a well-loved song. A good cover can be an enthusiastic celebration of the original, a rendition that highlights the very things that stir passion in an artist. A good cover can reinvent a beloved standard, revealing new quirks in the song or shining a spotlight on the cleverness of the interpreter. Sometimes, a cover song can completely eclipse the original, becoming the version that is lodged in the subconscious at large.
The list of songs that follows contains covers that belong to all three categories. At 25 songs, this list can’t possibly be comprehensive; covers have been part of the vernacular of popular music since the beginning of recorded music. So we’ve chosen to focus on pop and rock covers from the last 50 or so years, songs that remain part of the collective soundtrack, either in the original version or, usually, in these particular incarnations, which somehow managed to supplant the originals in one way or another.
334 Comments
these are also good:and
Honestly appalled that Disturbed’s cover of The Sound of Silence wasn’t on here. The vocals alone make you shiver.
Both of these are harder rock/metal style music and there is a definite bias against that genre of music.
Well, against the shitty stuff anyway.
The vocals alone make you shiver.
Yeah… that shiver I get as I’m about to dry-heave.
I think you deserve the king of idiots crown for today. Long live the king!
I’ll consider that a compliment, coming from the Grand Duchess of Shitty Taste.
Dude, I’m with you. That cover is a fucking crime. I can’t believe anyone is in her defending it unironically (and, by proxy, admitting to liking Disturbed in TYOOL 2023)
No, it is trash. They put it on the correct list.
It was like #9 on the “worst covers” list, ha. I’m not a Disturbed fan, but I think the cover is fine, as is their “Land of Confusion.” Not bad enough to be “worst,” anyway.
It was on the earlier worst covers of all time list.
I’d replace Bad Wolves with Chris Cornell’s cover of Nothing Compares 2 U.
also a fantastic cover.
Oooh, I’d never heard of or heard that Sound of Silence cover, so thank you. It’s great. At first I was skeptical thinking it wouldn’t connect without the harmonizing (that’s the point!), but taking that element out definitely ended up fueling this rock opera take in a very satisfying way.
The Disturbed cover is on their worst covers list, where it belongs, with the rest of Disturbed’s catalog. “Thin Blue Linecore” sucks ass.
“Thin Blue Linecore” — Thanks, I’m stealing this.
Neither of those is good. Disturbed’s is where it belongs, on the worst covers list. The Bad Wolves one sounds like a try-hard attempt to do a Creed version of that song.
the story behind Bad Wolves’ cover is heartbreaking
While Whitney Houston’s cover of “I Will Always Love You” is fantastic, it isn’t even the best cover of that song.The best cover is Dolly Parton’s 1982 version, which is also the exception to the rule that an artist can’t cover their own song.
Hard to quibble with this list. It’s missing one of my favorite covers, so I’ll drop that here:Funny story about “Superman” – a friend of mine went to see R.E.M. right around the time Out of Time came out and at some point near the end of the show, there was a chant in the crowd of “We want Superman!” or something along those lines. Between songs, Stipe addressed the crowd: “One, I don’t do requests, and two, I hate that fucking song.” Then back to playing whatever was up next.
Funny, my favorite is their another Sabbath cover:
Stipe wasn’t fond of the song even when they recorded it originally. That’s why Mike Mills sings lead on the song. It definitely feels like a Mike & Bill song.
Yeah, I’ve read other things since that time, and it seems like Stipe is or was kind of excessively bitter about that tune for some reason.
I don’t know if “overly bitter” is accurate. That’s more Peter Buck’s line (dude DESPISES “Catapult”). After being a fan of the band for 30+ years, one thing I’ve learned is never to take Stipe too seriously, especially when he’s creating narratives about the band’s work. It’s always been clear he likes to mythologize things, only to contradict them later. Not that he didn’t dislike “Superman”, but it’s definitely possible he fed that particular beast for his own amusement.
I like this list.
I’d like to suggest one of my favorite covers. The Cure’s Close to Me by The Get Up Kids.
Check out All along the watchtower cover by XTC. Bob Dylan didn’t like it but appreciated their take on it. I think it rocks.
Should probably be on the list there…
Don’t forget:
I put Cyndi’s cover of ‘I Drove All Night’ on many a love song mix tape.
Also
Mano Negra does a way awesomer version of ‘I Fought the Law’:My favorite cover is probably String Cheese Incident doing ‘Land’s End’:
Another great cover (that many don’t realize is a cover), “Istanbul Not Constantinople” by They Might Be Giants (cover of The 4 Lads).Also for worst covers I expect to see the entirety of Weezer’s cover album.
Also for worst covers I expect to see the entirety of Weezer’s cover album.(minus blue album, pinkerton and maladroit)
I’m very surprised that nothing from Laibach or Me First and The Gimme Gimmes made it to the list. Cover songs are their thing.
The entire album is brilliant.
Laibach’s “Jesus Christ Superstar” is also amazing.
Some big omissions here, such as Roxy Music’s Jealous Guy, and although it’s not quite at the level of the original, I’m a big fan of Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s version of Born to Run.With respect to Beatles covers, Stevie’s We Can Work it Out is good, but the best are Earth, Wind & Fire’s Got to Get You Into My Life, and Siouxsie & the Banshees’ Dear Prudence.
Siouxsie’s take on “The Passenger” is pretty good, although I dunno if I’d have put it on this list because I don’t think it particularly elevates or offers a new spin on the original.
Simply a badass song, then someone had the sense to have a different badass sing each verse.
My all-time favorite will always be Better Midler’s cover of “Do You Wanna Dance.”The original (by the Beach Boys) is a fun little party song… but the Divine Miss M remakes it into a soaring romantic ballad. It’s awesome.
With you on Bette’s version (sublime) but Bobby Freeman wrote and recorded it in 1958.
For real? Now I gotta look that one up!
Before his 18th birthday!
Pretty decent list although the Joplin cover is SO overplayed and karaoked that I hate it with a passion. Since everyone is adding their favorite covers, I’ll add my favorite band playing a great cover. Said band would get drunk and play a lot of covers, some good and some not so good…
I can keep going forever.
I do think Pearl Jam’s cover of Love Reign O’er Me is a bit better, if only because we’ve rarely hear Eddie Vedder really cut loose and scream in a song. It’s fantastic.
Vedder’s slightly raspy voice is tailor-made for Who covers. Their Baba O’Reilly is up there with the original.
If we’re including live covers then Alice In Chains with Gretchen Wilson, covering Barracuda needs to be here. Also, Nancy Wilson playing with Jerry Cantrell is amazing.
Can’t believe this one didn’t make the list:I’d list Cocker’s version among a handful of times where someone bested the Beatles covering one of their original songs.And does this one count?
Joe Cocker is an almost ludicrious omission considering some of the crap that made the list. Devo? Amy Winehouse? FFS.
You’re actually citing Devo as someone who shouldn’t be on the list? For one of the greatest-ever cover versions? I can have no respect for any further opinion you may shit out. Fuck Cocker, man.
Yeah, Devo’s “Satisfaction” is brilliant. It deconstructs the original and puts it back together as this nervous spasmodic timebomb of a song that somehow seems cleave a lot closer to the theme of the song.
AMEN
Counterpoint: Joe Cocker sucks and this version also sucks.
Honestly, I was kind of dreading its inevitable appearance, and was actually inwardly gleeful not to come across it.
Whatever your hardon for Cocker is about, there’s a reason his cover is a staple on lists like this. There aren’t 25 better covers out there yet, so he still belongs, however much that may trigger you.
Bye, Ronnie. Dismissed.
I was thinking how many of these turned into a ‘signature’ song for the performing artist. Maybe Whitney Houston could be considered, but she has a deep catalogue.This is definitively the top Joe Cocker song.
Cocker’s version of With A Little Help From My Friends is shit. Always has been, always will be. Ringo’s is just perfect as is.
But his version of “She Came in Through the Bathroom Window” bangs and should be on the list.
No “Song to the Siren” by This Mortal Coil?
Welp, this list is useless.
I don’t think I understand how I Will Always Love You is only 23.
I was thinking the same thing. Maybe it’s this part below, where the writer thinks Whitney’s overdid it and took some of the air out of the song’s meaning. But even if you feel that way, it’s still gotta be top 10, right? Houston converted the hushed statement of devotion into a melodramatic showstopper, an epic of perseverance through heartbreak, a recording where the song gets overshadowed by a monumental performance.
At least top 10. 1) It’s a song by the great Ms. Dolly. 3) The absolutely undeniable powerhouse vocal by Ms. Whitney, without which no one who didn’t watch the Porter Waggoner Show would ever have heard it. 4) The cultural impact! This song was humongous.“Melodramatic” sounds like haterade to me.
I honestly can’t stand to hear Whitney’s overblown melismania on Dolly’s song. It’s like listening to somebody sing a Yngwie Malmsteen solo.
Then you would listen to Dolly’s song and you wouldn’t put Whitney’s version on a list called “The 25 best cover songs of all time, ranked” in the first place, so that’s pretty irrelevant to its ranking on this list since great singing in the R&B style is not something you enjoy anyway.I don’t know what a Yngwie Malmsteen solo is, so gesundheit, I guess.
I love R&B. Just not modern R&B. I have the same problem with modern Gospel. Sometime after the 70s, tasteful singing became vocal gymnastics. Technically impressive. Give me a singer like Aretha, Solomon Burke, or Mavis Staples over Whitney any day. She’s very talented, but that doesn’t mean I want to listen to her.
Thank you! It’s so good to know I’m not alone in my loathing of that song!
OK, I legit chuckled at “sing a Yngvie Malmsteen solo.”
I just realized I skipped number 2. Clearly I was passionate about this beyond reason. lol
It’s of a kind with most of the post-Cale/Buckley “Hallelujah” covers. Both are originally songs of regret. Blowing them up into triumphant showstoppers doesn’t do them justice. Also, it’s time for me to note that the second best version of “I Will Always Love You” is the one John Doe (X) sings in the “Bodyguard” movie when Kevin Costner takes Whitney to the cowboy bar and they dance.
Funny, the Buckley version they linked to isn’t even the best Buckey version.
John Owen Jones, a Welsh singer whom I generally love, did a version of “Anthem” from Chess that turns it into an upbeat, patriotic number that seems to entirely miss the point. It’s almost jingoistic starting at around 1:35.
Yeah it’s one of Houston’s signature songs, a standout all these years later in a career of huge hits. Definitely should be further up the list. Certainly ahead of Girl You’ll Be a Woman Soon (not that I don’t love that song).
It’s a super divisive song. For many, it’s up there with that Titanic song as examples of overproduced excess.
Probably wasn’t popular enough to make this list (never thought I’d say that about an AVC music list):
I showed up to the article too late for anyone to read my comment, I’m sure, but my favorite cover of Kate Bush is the Futureheads’ take on “Hounds of Love.”
Lake of Fire, On a Plain, Man Who Sold The World, WhereDid You Sleep Last Night? All from the same band, all great and omitted.
Try this on…
Blues almost shouldn’t count since those guys all covered each other on a constant loop.
Yeah, but this is a cover of a Lovin’ Spoonful tune.
The problem (only problem) with the Run-DMC cover of Walk This Way is that it’s responsible for 90’s and 2000’s era Aerosmith.
Instead of bitching about what was or wasn’t included in this list, I’ll add some interesting trivia.
“Louie, Louie” was *this* close to becoming the official state song of Washington in the mid-80’s, all to promote a tiny little television show out of Seattle. The show went on to become the nationally syndicated “Almost Live”, and the host Ross Shafer went on to a career in network television.
https://mynorthwest.com/2100161/when-louie-louie-almost-became-washingtons-state-song/
Um…
No. But that’s damning art because the artist is a trash person.
This is a better cover of Satisfaction:and this should be somewhere on the list:
In the obscure category, Scars cover of Assimilate (Skinny Puppy) is amazing and provides a very different approach to the song. Love both versions.
Wow nothing from Nirvana Unplugged in NY. Where did you Sleep Last Night or Man Who Sold the World seem like obviously choices.
Totally agree. Both of those could have made the list. Also those Meat Puppets covers.
I like all of those, but Nirvana’s covers of the Vaselines’ “Son of a Gun” and “Molly’s Lips” are, in my opinion, better. Also, they’re the only reason anybody outside of Glasgow knows who the heck the Vaselines are.
Ace Frehley, “New York Groove”
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts “I Love Rock and Roll”
My favourite obscure Prince cover, courtesy of The Goo Goo Dolls, with the Incredible Lance Diamond on vocals:
Somehow I heard the Lance Diamond version before I heard Prince’s original. I still think it’s miles better than the original.
I absolutely love Prince’s version, but I think I agree with you – the GGD/Diamond version has so much spirit to it.
I understand how this could happen when hearing a cover before the original and it’s a subjective thing, but as a long time Prince fan, “miles better”…
Yeah, I know. I’m a Prince fan as well but the Lance Diamond cover rocks harder than Prince’s. Also, for some reason Lance sounds insanely pleased about never being able to take the place of her man which always cracks me up.
Oh man, seeing the Goo Goo Dolls in Buffalo clubs back in the day. Amazing high energy live show and then Lance would often come out for a Down On The Corner, My Girl, and Never Take the Place of Your Man.
Sounds awesome – I would have loved to see them back then. I saw them open for Bush in ‘96 and had a meet and greet. Asked Johnny why they hadn’t played any songs of Hold Me Up, and he said they just weren’t doing that album on that tour. Total bummer.
That’s my understanding is they do very little from the albums before A Boy Named Goo, Color me as someone who was happy they finally made it (A Boy Named Goo was their fifth album and they were stay working at other jobs in Buffalo and in massive debt to WB), but making it on Name and Iris was disappointing. They were a great punk influenced power pop band.
Bite your tongue. Buckley and Cale straight-up murdered Hallelujah. Cohen wrote a dirge. It was supposed to be dark, depressing, and mournful; a search for meaning. When he hits the word Hallelujah, he was hitting the highs of finding meaning. What Cale and Buckley created was a sappy pop song that completely missed the point. If you’re going to pick a Hallelujah cover, pick KD Lang’s version. It’s much closer to the mournful tone Cohen envisioned. Also, the KD Lang cover of Neil Young’s Helpless is a work of brilliance and absolutely should have been on this list.
When Hallelujah comes up, I can’t help but to keep saying this:
I just keep waiting for some singer to give it some thought and take a
deep dive into Cohen’s catalog and make some obscure song into the next
Hallelujah. The guy was a brilliant songwriter who left a pretty vast
trove of songs just waiting for a more… widely palatable voice to make
it their own and possibly a hit, instead of just being the newest in a
long line of endless covers of the same song.
Jennifer Warnes has a great album of Cohen covers https://www.allmusic.com/album/famous-blue-raincoat-the-songs-of-leonard-cohen-mw0000192376
Jennifer Warnes made something of a career out of doing that. Her Famous Blue Raincoat: The Songs of Leonard Cohen record is very good, and she released “First We Take Manhattan” before he did.
Can I vote for Closing Time? It’s my favorite Cohen song, but the synths are so cheesy sounding. I could only imagine what Tom Waits could do with it.
My favorite anecdote about that song:I was at a physical therapy appointment in early December last year, and the location had Christmas music playing from some satellite or internet source. After a regular Christmas standard, the Buckley version of Hallelujah comes on. The therapist and I just looked at each other like, “this is clearly not a Christmas song.”
It’s also not a funeral song; see Stephen Page at Jack Layton’s funeral.
Let’s split the difference. It’s not a great song, and none of the renditions are great.
Don’t forget this OTHER blistering Hendrix take on a Dylan classic:
I get why it’s not on the list, but I’ve always loved Jason and the Scorchers early Cowpunk classic cover of Dylan’s Absolutely Sweet Marie.
Don’t hide your light, AVC. Some of us still remember AV Undercover:
Now how bout you guys straighten out the rights issues so we can watch the actual vids again?
That Low cover of Africa by Toto is a banger.
There were about 20 that could be on this list.
Dum Dum Girls’ cover of “September Gurls” might be my favorite Undercover piece:
So many great covers that introduced me to so many great bands and songs. I miss that series.
that
Some of us still remember AV Undercover
Indeed we do.I bloody love this.
This was the best thing that came out of AVC before they were gutted and given a budget of about whatever loose change could be found in the sofas of Spanfeller’s vacation home.
Whenever I need cheering up, I watch TMBG’s cover of Tubthumping, or The Wedding Present’s 19th Nervous Breakdown.
Some great covers. Gwar’s cover of People Who Died
C’mon man.
The drum fills alone make this cover so damned catchy.
I thought this was going to be a stealth relaunch of AV Undercover. Because TMBG’s “Tubthumping”, Superchunk’s “In Between Days” and Flock of Dimes/Sylvan Esso’s “Don’t Dream It’s Over” belong on this list. Oh, that’s right, they’ve all been removed.
Lambchop’s “Best Ever Death Metal Band Out of Denton” too. And every time GWAR was on.
Any popular song that feels like the definitive version of the song should appear on this list. Case in point:
Which is why I Fought the Law should be top 5 for sure. It is 100% the definitive take.
I also love her take on Crimson & Clover.
Can I get a little love for Soft Cell’s version of “Tainted Love”?
No.
Lol, it’s the greatest cover of all time. So ubiquitous, most people don’t even know it’s a cover, including the author of this piece.
I would still say that Cash’s “Hurt” is the all-time great, but Soft Cell’s cover is 100% better than any other entry on this peculiar list.
Even better:Dig that transition!
No. Take your things and go.
You can also add Coil’s cover of “Tainted Love.”
Wild that it wasn’t on here. I suspect, as someone else commented, that it’s so ubiquitous the author might not have even realized it was a cover.
No love for Sabaton covering 1916 by Motorhead? That is a moving video and tribute to Lemy?
Leaving Joe Cocker off this list is just dumb. His cover is a transcendent reimagining of a dud song on a classic (critically uneven) album. Sure, it’s overplayed and, for some of us, permanently colored by its use as a popular 90’s TV theme song. But it’s great and it permanently reinvented the general concept of a cover song. Leaving it off the list and including so many obscure songs and songs not primarily known as covers subverts the purpose of the listicle as a format.
Genuinely surprised not to see this here, overplayed to death though it is. If I hear it One Time! more I’ll puke
I’m perfectly okay with hearing this again so long as it’s not at a bar. (Ditto “Sweet Caroline”.)
The Fugee’s version isn’t even the best cover of that song, let alone one of the best covers of all time.
Missing from this list and in some cases, could replace some of the selections that were included:Blackbird – Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. They took Paul’s song and added the CSNY harmonies to make it sing.Sounds of Silence – Disturbed. All the sweetness of the Simon and Garfunkel original is gone; replaced by haunting darkness, guttural vocals. It feels much more like you’re crawling out of the darkness in this version.That’s Entertainment – Billy Bragg. The Jam is one of my all-time favourite bands. However, Billy Bragg really tapped into the down-class London vibe that The Jam were writing about. One guitar, spare notes, no percussion and Bragg’s rough lilt make this a standout. Rainbow Connection – Willie Nelson. As someone who grew up with Kermit the Frog this song is part of my consciousness. Willie Nelson is an integral part of my musical-self. I grew up with the Stardust album in the ‘70s. I wept when I heard Willie’s version.
I always thought this was a song that a 15 yr old girl singing in a mall would write. Turns out it was grown men originally.
Essentially every pop song ever recorded by a teenage girl was written by adult men
The Tiffany version is the one everybody knows, but I don’t think it really brings much new to the table. The original holds up very well. See also Tommy James and the Shondells’ “Crimson and Clover”.
I see your “I Think We’re Alone Now”, and raise you THIS “I Think We’re Alone Now”.. The remake of the remake.
Put me down for Isaac Hayes’ “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” Cheer-Accident’s “Theme From Shaft” and Pop-O-Pies’ “Truckin” and “I Am the Walrus.”
Great list, but I don’t bother paying attention to the order of these things anymore.
I mean it’s probably the era I grew up in but I’m partial to Smashing Pumpkin’s Landslide and Pearl Jam’s Last Kiss.
I’ll always stump for Cibo Matto’s “The Candy Man.”
Prince’s stunning cover of Joni Mitchell’s “A Case Of You”.
As a Gen X early 00’s club rat, I feel the need to call out one of my fave fluffy dance tracks. Still blast it in the car.
You should hear the cover of The Ides of March song by Traffic, done by Leonid & Friends, among other covers they do. It’s so good, the group Traffic posted they thought it was as good or better than the original.
The fact that The Sound of Silence by Disturbed isn’t even on this list is a grave misjustice.
Amazing cover. So good, Robert Smith starting playing it this way.
“Robert Smith starting playing it this way.”Really loud? 😉
hands down The Meters recoded the best version of Glen Campbell’s “Wichita Lineman”and speaking of Glen, he took Alan Toussaint’s “Southern Nights’ and made it his own ( Love both versions )
So here’s a question that needs asking. If a famous song is NOT written by an artist, is that not actually a cover? I ask this as Glen Campbell sang a number of songs written by Jimmy Webb, including ‘’Wichita Lineman’’. So Glen was covering Webb’s original demo of the song. My point being, should not The Meters great version be a cover of Jimmy Webb, not Glen?
Really great list…a couple I didn’t know! And obviously there are others we all love that didn’t make the list…”Blinded by the Light” by Manfred Mann is better than the original Springsteen honestly…Tori Amos’ “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is such an amazing reimagining of that song…Gary Jules takes a great Tears for Fears’ “Mad World” and makes it his own haunting version. And so many great punk and New Wave bands that regularly did their own covers…Bauhaus’ “Ziggy Stardust” is amazing, and Siouxsie and the Banshee’s “Passenger” or “Dear Prudence” are so good. THAT’S really what I like…is when a band puts their spin on a song.
Yes, I was just going to offer up an honorable mention to Bauhaus’s Ziggy Stardust, an absolute favorite!
I never agreed with that opinion on Blinded by the Light. It’s really not a great song anyway. Springsteen hadn’t really figured his talents out yet. But his version keeps a shaggy dog vibe that to me works better given how all over the place the song is. Manfred Mann’s version is too polished. I wouldnt go as far as saying polishing a turd but definitely washing out some of the bizarreness of the song.
Gary Jules takes a great Tears for Fears’ “Mad World” and makes it his own haunting version.I liked it when it came up in Donnie Darko, but generally I have to agree with the criticism of completely earnest covers of songs. The original song is nowhere near as dour.
I’m mostly annoyed that after Donnie Darko came out so many people didn’t even know the original was Tears For Fears.
That’s how I felt with Cash’s version of Hurt.
Hah, I don’t think I ever encountered that. Maybe it’s because the original “Hurt” was a bigger hit. Or I’m of the right age where people knew Nine Inch Nails well, but not Tears For Fears beyond their few biggest hits.
The rare listicle that I don’t really have a quibble with except MAAAAYBE Joplin’s “Bobby McGee,” a song I wish had never been recorded, and that I would be thrilled to never hear again.
I’ll just add to the obligatory litany of “But what about”s by adding that Siouxsie & The Banshee’s “Dear Prudence” and pretty much all of Through the Looking Glass are textbook examples of covers done right.
Frankly, though, I don’t need any covers to feel that way about Bobby McGee in general, regardless of version.
Missing “The Sound of Silence” covered by Disturbed.
Missed, or correctly overlooked, because that cover is fucking godawful?
What’s so godawful about it?
Everything, but the biggest thing is the vocals and how unbelievably seriously angsty it is.
The vocals are awful? Uh, okay, cool story bro.
Its widely regarded as one of the most amazing vocalist performances, especially the live performance. I think your taste just sucks.
There was also the 1980s punk/alt-rock band “The Coolies” which had a hilarious but awesome album “dig..?” in 1986 that consisted of Simon & Garfunkel covers done in punk style, with them screaming “BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATERS” and the like.
It’s not missing, it’s on the “worst covers” list where it belongs. Disturbed is fake metal for cops.
Edgy take. We’re all very impressed.
I don’t care how the person who likes copcore feels tbh.
And yet you reply.
I don’t think it belongs on either list, but Believe is a great album.
I’d ban you from further commenting here if I could. Your take on that is as atrocious as Disturbed’s cover, rightly on AVClub’s “25 Worst Covers” list.
Wow, sorry for having a different opinion. Maybe you should take a nap.
Did. And you’re still way fucking wrong. I’m guessing you’re in your late teens-to-mid-twenties with little in the way of music diversity and music history knowledge. Even if not: still way fucking wrong.
My, you’re a treat.
Might want to consider therapy to overcome your need to belittle other people’s opinions and be right about everything. It’s not healthy.
And, yet, everybody else said the same thing about your “choice.” How about this:You don’t know shit about shit, so fuck off.
Ah, the internet, where ‘everybody’ consists of “me and two other randos.”Fucking off as suggested. Enjoy your petty little judgemental life.
I don’t know if these constitute the “best”, but Deftones have some done some awesome covers – particularly of Duran Duran’s The Chauffeur, Depeche Mode’s To Have and To Hold and Sade’s No Ordinary Love.
Just putting in 2 covers I like a lot:The Pixies cover of Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Head On” is amazing and gets the heart up to like 300 bpm.Hindu Love Gods cover of Prince’s “Raspberry Beret” is cool and if I remember right, one of the few covers Prince actually didn’t hate.
Take out Whitney Houston’s murder of a great Dolly Parton song, and replace it with Otis Redding’s cover of Satisfaction!
A bunch of others I thought of have already been listed in the comments, so I’ll throw in a personal favorite of mine with No Doubt’s cover of It’s My Life.
“Goo Goo Muck” by Ronnie Cook and the Gaylads (1962) as covered by The Cramps (1981).
Heh, heard that on the 1st Wave station for their Halloween playlist, great version.
The Warning’s cover of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” is great. It appeared on Metallica’s “Blacklist” album, a various artists tribute album featuring covers of every track from Metallica’s 1991 self-titled album. Metallica loved the cover so much, they placed it as the first song on the album.
I’m surprised that Nirvana didn’t make the list. They’ve done some surprisingly great cover songs from a range of artists.
I still don’t know how to post YouTube videos here, but I have to mention an awesome cover by the band Drop Nineteens of one of Madonna’s early songs, “Angel”. They turned it into a shoegaze gem.
If you just drop the YouTube link in here it should embed automatically.
A couple of personal favorites:Cowboy Junkies, Sweet JaneHey Jude, Wilson Pickett with a young Duane Allmay laying down the guitar solo. An incredibly powerful take on the original
Both should definitely be here, with some others here being eliminated, like Mark Ronson with Amy Winehouse ‘’Valerie” by The Zutons. Never even heard of that at all, even as I know The Zutons. Urge Overkill “Girl, You’’ll Be A Woman Soon”? Even though I’ve seen “Pulp Fiction” a number of times, I do that remember that somg at all. Couldn’t really be THAT memorable.As for ‘’Take Me To The River’’, the version by Bryan Ferry is a lot better than the Talking Heads version. They were released in the same year. I have both versions, and enjoy both, but sometimes David Byrne’s quirkiness gets a tad overblown.As For The Beatles, while ‘’Twist and Shout’’ is great, I think ‘’You Really Got A Hold On Me’’ is better. Originally done by (Smokey Robinson and) The Miracles, it shows off the differing vocals in The Beatles, in the way that The Miracles version did with Smokey doing co-lead vocals, and the other 3 Miracles doing backing vocals.
Lou Reed is on record saying that that Cowboy Junkies cover is his favorite Velvets cover ever. Now that’s saying something.
They just completely made it their own. It’s like a different song altogether. I love Reed’s power chord live versions, while the Junkies make it a lush experience that gradually builds. Favorite Reed version live with the extended intro.
No “Down in the Park” by Foo Fighters.No “Dancing Days” by STPNo “Cats in the Cradle” by Ugly Kid Joe.BOOOO.
I will say Jimi being #1 with that cover is right on, though. Also my favorite of his catalogue.
and Down in the Park was on the same album as another amazing cover: William S Burroughs replacing Michael Stipe for a spoken-word version of Star Me Kitten.
Also, I’ll go on record—- I don’t like that Johnny Cash cover at all. I can’t stand his voice on it, emotive or not.Much, MUCH prefer the original.And yes, I know nobody agrees with me. But I never liked it.
Strongly disagree with Blondie’s cover of Hangin on The Telephone, they made it tame and boring.
No love for “Alien Ant Farm – Smooth Criminal” and “The Ataris – Boys of Summer”? As a high-schooler in 2003, those were bangers.
I considered throwing in the Ataris, but ooooh, that song was an easy target. Good job on replacing “Grateful Dead sticker” with “Black Flag sticker,” though.
Excellent list – can’t disagree with any of the choices, and especially happy to see Blondie’s version of Hanging on the Telephone.
Of course, no one gets all their faves, so my vote (not that they’re necessarily deserving of top 25), is Paul Anka’s (!) Black Hole Sun (maybe Honorable Mention for Most Unexpected), and this from Material Issue’s underrated Freak City Soundtrack:
Material Issue – Kim The Waitress – YouTube
No way this would make it to a top 25… or 500 probably, but Carpathian Forest’s cover of The Cure’s A Forest is a personal favorites.Oh, and Land of 1000 Dances by Wilson Pickett.
Heartbeats by The Knife, covered by Jose Gonzalez.Both amazing to be honest.
I once heard a version of Heartbeats performed by an a capella boys choir. It was gorgeous.
Ooh, great call. Man, this list has a lot of omissions.
Just going to make this a War Pigs centric post:
Running Up That Hill by Placebo is another great one
Duran Duran’s cover of Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day” deserves to be on this list. Reed supposedly heard it and said something along the lines of “this was exactly what I had in mind when I wrote it.”
Sinead O’Connor’s cover of Peter Tosh’s “Downpressor Man” is a personal fave. For those who like Irish music, Christy Moore’s covers of the Pogues’ “Fairy Tale of New York” and “A Pair of Brown Eyes” are gorgeous. Thin Lizzy’s version of “Whiskey in the Jar” is phenomenal.
My personal favorite cover is TV on the Radio’s version of Mr. Grieves (The Pixies). They turn it into an a capella doo-wop spiritual. It’s so good.Other faves:
William S. Burroughs – Star Me Kitten (REM) – it’s a pseudo-cover—he took the song’s master tapes and replaced Stipe’s voice with his own. Hearing an old man growl “fuck me kitten, you’re wiiiiild” is something else.Sufjan Stevens – You Are the Blood (The Castanets) – He changes one chord and it makes such a difference. Be sure to listen to the original first. (If there’s one issue with Sufjan’s version, it’s that it devolves into Age of Adz-era overproduced silliness.)And as good as Johnny Cash’s cover of Hurt is, I much prefer his take on Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds’ “The Mercy Seat”. As much as I love Cave, the original sounds so bad.
Regarding Elvis Costello and The Attractions cover of Nick Lowe’s ‘’Peace, Love and Understanding”, as a long time fan of the latter, I have the original 1974 single by Brinsley Schwarz the band (and all the Brinsleys’ albums), and when it was done by them, in the middle of the song Nick speaks these words… “we must have peace, peace and love, if only for the children of a new generation’’. It is sincere, but also a little humorous.I have wished that Elvis would add that at some point live, but even better would be those shows where Nick has opened for Elvis. Elvis could just do the song as normal, and then at the part the middle, Nick could just walk out, say those lines, and then just walk back stage. It would be wonderful.Also it is worth nothing that Nick and the Brinsleys first met when a young Declan Macmanus (EC) was a roadie for Brinsley Schwarz.
Dickies “Eve of Destruction”
More trivia, #19 “I Fought the Law” was originally written by Sonny Curtis, who also wrote “Love is All Around” (A.K.A the theme from the Mary Tyler Moore show), once covered by Husker Dü and if you look real hard you’ll find it referenced in the graphic shown in #25.
Where is “No More I Love You’s” by Annie Lennox (originally by The Lover Speaks)?
Arctic Monkeys – You know I’m no good, Jessica Lea Mayfield – Lounge Act, Jane’s Addiction – Ripple
Hard to argue with No.1. Nobody really talks about Jimi as much as they used to but he reallly was a visionary who couldn’t be contained in any genre. That solo alone had a slide section, a wawa pedal section behind a folky rhythm and not only did nothing seem out of place, it built up to a soaring crescendo.
What? No songs from Me First And The Gimme Gimmes? Or Reel Big Fish? Then this list is incomplete!!
I should preface this by saying that I think Kirsty Maccoll was an all time great singer/songwriter who deserves and continues to deserve more recognition. That having been taken care of, I think I like Tracey Ullman’s version of “They Don’t Know” more than the original. Tracey’s vocals are fine but what really makes it is the souped-up production which goes for the full 60s girl group sound (whereas the original was kind of that by way of punk/pub rock?) Also since I mentioned it earlier I really enjoy what Devo did with Jimi Hendrix’s “Are You Experienced?”
That Tracey Ullman – that’s the one. That song is a goddamn warm sequinned blanket on a cold night.
I didn’t know it was a cover for a long time, but I guess it should’ve been obvious, it sounded out of time even on that Star Collection cassette.
The original wasn’t that much older, but it got kinda buried by a strike at Stiff’s distributor so Kirsty was happy to give it a second chance. (Even sang backup!)
It’s the same “BAY-BEE!”, isn’t it?
That’s what I’ve heard, they were both in the studio and neither could hit it so Stiff just used the old one.Hell, Ullman’s “Terry” is literally just the Maccoll original with the main vocal taken out and hers put on, apparently. Stiff were very frugal.
This list really shows your age, your demographic’s age, or both.
Or Captain Sensible’s Happy Talk, the kind of thing he did as a drunken bet, and it went to #1 in the U.K. Nobody saw that coming.
Sinews OConnor’s cover of Nothing Compares 2 U isn’t even the best cover of the song. Chris Cornell owns that honor and by a good amount.
Led Zep’s “When the Levee Breaks” is a spectacular take on an old tune. Should be a top 10 (and well up on *that* list.)
An interesting and informative list (I’ve always wondered where REM got “Superman” from) but I have to break ranks, here, and say that, heretically, I’ve always hated Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares…” No, I haven’t ever heard the original, but while everyone was swooning over the song and the video when it came out (one woman I knew actually wept just talking about it) I’ve always found it drippy and gooey, and her dewy-eyed blankness unmoving and even irritating. I just don’t get it.
I kind of agree and there are waaaay better Sinead O’Connor songs….
While it’s true that Patti Smith has made some unremarkable covers, she is also responsible for the definitive Gloria.All together now: “Jesus died for somebody’s sins, but not mine…”
How about cover songs where the original, lesser known version is the better version? I have a couple in mind: “Time Is On My Side” (Irma Thomas/Rolling Stones) and “Fancy” (Bobbie Gentry/Reba McEntire)
I am surprised Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock And Roll” did not make this list.
Here’s your actual number 1, unless Thin Lizzy’s Whiskey in the Jar qualifies.
Whiskey in the Jar is such a great, great song. The Pogues/Dubliners combo is a perfect song but there is something about Thin Lizzy’s version that is its equal. I have to admit the Metallica version, although I wanted to hate it, is pretty awesome too.Short version – you have great taste.
I’m not particularly a Metallica fan (I recognize their good music as good, but metal’s not really my thing), but I really like their “Whiskey in the Jar” version.
What about the Bangles’ version of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Hazy Shade of Winter”? I feel that cover is played in a more frenetic pace, a banger of a song compared to the original…and all the better for it.
I preferred Placebo’s cover of “Running up that Hill” to the original – like hands-down – at least until this last go-round with Stranger Things, wherein it beat me into submission (put me in an arm-bar and made me cry uncle) – and I finally had to admit that the original was good too. “(There’s) Always Something There to Remind Me” has a great history. Lou Johnson (original), Dion Warwick (scatty 70’s version), then Naked Eyes’ massive 80’s #1. (Has someone done it since? I feel like there’s another version out there from early 2000’s)Shout out to the Dead Kennedy’s “I Fought the Law and I won.”Prefer this one to both Cindi Lauper and Prince’s original:Personal fav:
Joe Cocker had many, but his transformation of Little Help From My Friends made it an entirely different and better song. The Ramones also covered frequently, remaking Tom Waits’ I Don’t Want To Grow Up from down to up tempo.
Sorry but the very best cover is the Bangles “Hazy Shade of Winter”. Not sure how you could miss that – as someone said about Devo’s Stones cover, they deconstructed it and put it back together in a new way that I would argue is much better than S&G’s original. It’s probably also the Bangles’ best song.
Somehow not on this list: Cat Power doing the Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction) (She took out the riff! You don’t even miss it!)Spacemen 3 doing The Red Krayola’s “Transparent Radiation) (It levitates)Minor Threat doing Wire’s “12XU”Plumbline’s version of Talking Heads “Once in a Lifetime”Joanna Law doing “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”The Slits doing Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine”Trance to the Sun’s version of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart”The Embarrassment doing Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” (Karen O and Trent Reznor’s version’s pretty good, too)Johnny Cash’s version of Soundgarden’s “Rusty Cage”The Sisters of Mercy doing the Rolling Stones’ “Gimmie Shelter” (their cover of the Stooges’ “1969″ is also great)Mentioned elsewhere, but TV on the Radio doing the Pixies’ “Mr. Grieves”Bat For Lashes’ cover of Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody” Chromatics’ versions of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)“ and New Order’s “Ceremony”Jimmy Cliff doing The Clash’s “The Guns of Brixton” (because as much as I love the Clash, they can’t convince me that they ever, ever lived in Brixton.)Kid606’s version of Bikini Kill’s “Rebel Girl” (really)Black Flag’s version of “Louie Louie”Black Tambourine’s version of Suicide’s “Dream Baby Dream”Stevie Wonder’s Version of Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” (How come you never hear this one?)Bratmobile and Slim Moon doing the Misfits’ “Where Eagles Dare”The Charlatans’ version of Buff St. Marie’s “Codeine” (The SF band, not the Brits)The Flying Lizards’ version of James Brown’s “(I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine)The Easy All-Stars take on Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” and Radiohead’s “OK Computer” – make both albums sound more listenable and less self-importantTom Jones and the Cardigans’ cover of Talking Heads’ “Burning Down the House” (really!)Cassandra Wilson’s cover of Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon”Front Line Assembly’s cover of Madonna’s “Justify My Love” (gets me in the mooood)Emmylou Harris’s version of Neil Young’s “Wrecking Ball”The Dirtbombs’ version of Flipper’s “Ha Ha Ha”Vampire Weekend’s live cover of Rancid’s “Ruby Soho”Sonic Youth’s version of the Carpenters’ “Superstar” (as seen in “Juno,” yo)Galaxie 500’s take on Jonathan Richman’s “Don’t Let Our Youth Go To Waste”Amazing Grace Jones’s cover of Iggy Pop’s “Nightclubbing” (she’s not just a pretty face)His Name Is Alive’s cover of Big Star’s “Blue Moon”The Holmes Brothers’ cover of Tom Wait’s “Train Song”Florence and the Machine’s cover of Frankie Knuckles’s “You’ve Got the Love” (Jamie xx remix) ASTONISHINGGuns’n’Roses cover of Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” (fight me)Mavis Staples’s cover of Michael Jackson’s “You Are Not Alone”The Melvis’s cover of KISS’s “Goin’ Blind”Moby’s cover of Mission of Burma’s “That’s When I Reach for My Revolver” (I can’t be the only one who likes this.)Mudhoney’s version of the Dicks’ “Dicks Hate the Police”Mudhoney’s version of Spacemen 3’s “Revolution”Primal Scream’s Version of Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra’s “Some Velvet Morning”Rachel Zeffira’s cover of My Bloody Valentine’s “To Here Knows When”The Ramones’s cover of Tom Waits “I Don’t Want to Grow Up”Rhythms del Mundo’s cover of Coldplay’s “Clocks”Sebadoh’s cover of Nick Drake’s “Pink Moon”Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66’s cover of the Beatles “The Fool on the Hill”The Softies’ version of Talulah Gosh’s “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction (Thank God)“The Soweto Gospel Choir of U2’s “Pride (In the Name of Love) “Oh, heck, maybe I’ve wasted my entire life.
Man this is a great list and I am going to mine the hell out of it. You are dead wrong on Knockin on Heavens Door though. There are plenty of Dylan covers superior to the original (Positively 4th Street by Lucinda Williams for example) but this isn”t one of them.
Thank you! Okay, I’ll admit that my thing for Guns and Roses’s take on Dylan’s song is sort of a guilty pleasure. But then, G and R is for me generally. Most people like their hard rock stuff, but I like their ridiculous ballads (“Don’t Cry”, especially) and covers that demonstrated beyond the shadow of a doubt that Axl’s just a big old softie and that Slash was the real talent in the band. Guns and Roses are America’s version of Queen. I bet Axl cries all over they keyboard while drinking red wine and playing solo versions of New York Dolls songs on a fairly regular basis.
Izzy Stradlin was the reason that Appetite is far and away their best album
Sheeeeit, I am actually having a hard time justifying myself because the GnR version is so good. Call it even…
It may not be better than Dylan’s, but it’s a good cover.
I salute you. What a list.Offering Pixies’ cover of JAMC’s “Head On” and Twilight Singers doing Massive Attack (“Live With Me”).
This list is missing The Afghan Whigs’ cover of “Come See About Me” in which they take a Motown hit and turn it into something dark and seductive — pretty par for the course with Dulli. They have actually recorded a bunch of great covers such as Frank Ocean’s “Lovecrimes,” and if you have seen The Afghan Whigs or Twilight Singers live, Dulli tends to pepper in A LOT of references to other songs throughout a set.
Shockingly, I can look at this whole list and know these all suck without even having heard most of them.
No “Torn”, really?
Metallica’s entire EP, “Garage Days Re-Re Visited” is just a collection of some amazing covers. Additionally, their cover of Breadfan by Budgie is nuts good. Also, Neck covering Metallica’s The Thing That Should Not Be is amazing. OK, enough old school Metallica stroking. Glad to see HURT on here.
Missing: Call me the Breeze as recorded by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Leonard Cohen was a unique presence in music and one that, despite legions of fans (myself included) was inaccessible to many. That said, his song “Hallelujah” is amazing. John Cale’s version is good but the pain of the lyrics is lost in his smooth, melodic singing. Jeff Buckley’s is at least on par with Cohen’s original. I think, for me, it’s coupled with Buckley’s untimely and accidental death (as is the feeling I get when I listen to any of Buckley’s songs). He had so much more great music in him waiting to be made.
No fault of this very good list, but I fill with rage whenever I hear Whitney Houston’s cover IWALY or Buckley’s Hallelujah. Houston’s cover is bad for precisely the same reasons this article explains it’s great. And Buckley’s lasting contribution just drives me and quite a few music lovers nuts over how Cohen’s lyrics have been misinterpreted and overplayed to the point where Hallelujah has become a Christmas song. I want to smash the whole world when I hear that song in a Christmas mix.
How is I Will Always Love You a mere 23rd on this list, just above [checks notes]….Husker Du?
Two that immediately come to mind but weren’t on the list:- Heart’s live cover of “Stairway to Heaven” from the Kennedy Center Honors concert for Led Zeppelin: – Pearl Jam’s cover of “Love Reign O’er Me” from VH1’s Rock Honors concert honoring The Who:
Dinosaur Jr’s cover of Just Like Heaven is everything. Cmon AV Club
L7 version of this song was much better.
More!Effigy- Uncle TupeloMrs. Robinson- LemonheadsHot Burrito #1- The MavericksStop Your Sobbing- PretendersStrangers- Wye OakKilling Me Softly- Roberta FlackEnjoy Yourself- The SpecialsHard to Handle – Black CrowesIt’s Oh So Quiet- BjorkDon’t Let Me Be Misunderstood – Nina SimoneFriday I’m in Love- Yo La TengoThis Must Be the Place – Shawn ColvinBig Dipper- Har Mar SuperstarLife on Mars? – Seu JorgeShe Thinks I Still Care – Teddy Thompson
Johnny Cash could have his on list. “Hurt” is his best cover but doing a rockabilly version of “Personal Jesus” and his take of “Bridge over Troubled Water” – among many others – proves that Great musicians can make any song their own.
“Hurt” at f**king 20!?
This list is incorrect.
LOL!!! How can you put Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You on the Best list and Disturbed’s Sound of Silence on the Worst? They’re the exact same thing: an overperformed cover of a simple, perfect original.
And yes, I know Dolly Parton herself blessed WH’s version. Paul Simon did the same with Disturbed’s version of his song.
Cake really should be on this list — you could take your pick of “I Will Survive”, “War Pigs”, or “Never Gonna Give You Up”.
Santana : Oye Como Va
“The original seemed like a plea, but Wonder’s cover is infused with faith; as he sings, there’s no doubt that he will be able work whatever problems he may have out.”Clearly someone who has never listened to the lyrics of this song. You’re wrong, I’m right and if you accept that we can work it out.
Songs I would have liked to see:I Will Survive – CakeJust Like Heaven – Dinosaur Jr.Hush – Killdozer
Shiny Toy Guns cover of Peter Schiller’s “Major Tom (coming home)“ has to be up there.
Two that I’d add to the list (Since Tainted Love was mentioned elsewhere):
The OG was good, but the Fugees really made it their own.
Yes but were you aware that Dragonforce did a cover of ‘My Heart Will Go On’? And they fucking owned it.
Thank me later.
Black Magic Woman by Santana. Original Fleetwood Mac with Peter Greene.
How about “Wild Horses” by The Sundays? I’ve never heard the original version by the Rolling Stones, and, at this point, I don’t want to.
Lame they missed Woodstock Joni Mitchell, cover by CSN!
Allman Brothers Band – Statesboro BluesCream – CrossroadsWilson Pickett – Hey JudeGrateful Dead – Mama TriedJerry Garcia or Widespread – Dear Prudence
Joe Cocker’s cover of the Beatles’ “With a Little Help from My Friends”?
Gary Jules’ cover of Tears For Fears’ Mad World. His version is so haunting and moving. It elevated the film Donnie Darko to a truly special place.
‘Dedicated To The One I Love’. The Mamas and Papas turned this primitive old doowop song into a musical masterpiece.
I know they’re not widely known, but…Minutemen- Doctor Wu and Ain’t Talkin’ ‘bout LoveGlenn Campbell- These Days and Times Like TheseJesus Lizard- Wheelchair EpidemicPretenders- Stop Your SobbingPeter Gabriel- My Body is a Cage and Waterloo SunsetNick Cave-By the Time I Get to PhoenixDave Pajo’s Misfits acoustic album Scream with Me…and so many more.
The Stone Poneys’ 1967 version of “Different Drum” is technically a cover; the Greenbriar Boys beat them to it by a year (and technically, so did the composer himself: Nesmith performed a piss-take version of it as a gag in an early Monkees episode).
Sign in
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Vanilla Fudge – You Keep Me Hanging On (1967)
I’m Free by the Soup Dragons is a much better cover of a Stones Song than Devo’s cover of Satisfaction.
you mentioned about Sinead O’Connor. But the issue is we all know how realistic was Sinead O’Connor. Most people tag her as ‘maniac’, psychologically ill. But she was very much realistic and she always fought for injustice through her songs and other ways.
My personal favourite is The Stranglers jittery keyboard and guitar driven take on the Burt Bacharach and Hal David schmaltz classic “Walk on By.”
Just go for a stroll in the trees indeed.
Blondie is the most popular version of Hanging On The Telephone but I prefer the L7 version.Probably for the same reason I like the Gob version of Paint It Black.
Two of my favorites that didn’t make this list:The Futureheads – “Hounds of Love”
Mike Ness – “Don’t Think Twice”
In the land of Dylan covers, The Byrds’ “My Back Pages” deserves mention.Also, I’ll add Robert Palmer’s “I Didn’t Mean to Turn You On” as a song I didn’t even know was a cover until relatively recently.
just seeing the 「Johnny Cash: Hurt」thumbnail makes me tear up.
i never understood the “ranking” part. people will always disagree. just give us a list of 25 great cover songs. not greatest, not ordered.
also: thanks to everyone who suggested good covers. i’ll be listing to lots of them soon-ish.
Joe Cocker’s With a Little Help… is unlucky! Also, technically Harrison’s My Sweet Lord is a cover & should make the list.
All Along The Watchtower, eh? I quite love the other version that caused five people to realise they were robots…So say we all.
Marissa Nadler’s incredibly haunting cover of GNR’s Estranged is the best cover I’ve ever heard in my life. Chromatics’ cover of Running Up That Hill is also fantastic.
Two of the songs here are responsible for one of my favorite stories in the music industry.Nick Lowe wrote “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding,” and the Elvis Costello version is the most famous, but in the early 90s Curtis Stigers also recorded a cover version of the song. And then it so happened that that version appeared on the soundtrack to The Bodyguard, whose sales numbers were massively boosted by Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.”According to legend or Lowe himself, he didn’t even know the Stigers version existed until he received a million-pound royalty check for his songwriting contributions to The Bodyguard soundtrack and its 45 million worldwide album sales.
For you Radiohead fans…Brad Mehldau Trio – Paranoid Android Easy Star All Stars – Airbag
Rufus Wainwright’s cover of Hallelujah was in Shrek, not Cales’s.
“Because the Night”, performed live by 10,000 Maniacs on MTV Unplugged, would like a word with you about this list.
Hipsters, no one improved a song better than Linda Ronstadt. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3dW3QgORIElIEBmAuiu41z
I’m sure it was #26 on your list, but Diana Krall’s cover of Joni Mitchell’s “A Case of You” (Live In Paris) is transcendent. So yes, I would have put it #1.
Jeff Buckley’s version of “Hallelujah” was not in Shrek, it was Rufus Wainwright.
For a long time, I thought this song was a Billy Idol original, until I found the OLD version from the 60’s:And now, to compare and contrast, Billy’s version:
Another example of a cover that vastly improves on the original version: “Stripped”, by RAMMSTEIN. Makes the Depeche Mode one look kindy wimpy and dour in comparison. (Warning: their video uses clips from a Nazi propaganda film made to promote the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, but I think they did that for some artistic reason)And here’s how Depeche Mode did it first:They’re a famous group to cover, aren’t they? Here’s their version of “Personal Jesus”:And here’s how Marilyn Manson covered it (shocking, I know. If it sounds even remotely blasphemous, he WILL try his hand and at least 1 other body part at it.)