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There are countless cover songs, many of which don’t even know that the song is not the original version at all. Cover songs are often a love message to the original performer.
A great musician reperforming a classic song – what could be more exciting? Sometimes a cover version is a faithful rendition, created out of love and respect for the original music. Others turn the original melody entirely on its head and make the song almost unrecognizable, which can excite the listener.
Often cover songs give you a different vibe and show you the complexity of the original in a way you would never have noticed before. Sometimes an artist’s new Performeration makes the song resonate so well with listeners that the cover version surpasses the original. So a dance song becomes a rock ballad and a rap song becomes a Love song.
Occasionally it takes a complete make-over to appeal to a different audience.
One of the most famous and recognizable cover songs of all time is “Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails. The song was covered by country singer Johnny Cash, who turned into a gritty country track. It became Johnny Cash’s most famous song, with the cover version far exceeding the popularity of the original.
Many more songs like. B. “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” “Nothing Compares 2 U,” “Respect,” and “Tainted Love” eclipsed the original version. Below we would like to present you with the most successful cover songs of all time.
(For each list, we’ve created a Spotify playlist for you with all the songs listed here.)
The best cover songs:
01. Faith No More – Easy (1992), Original: The Commodores (1977)
When the crossover band from San Francisco released the song “Easy” by the Motown group “The Commodores” as a single towards the end of 1992, they had proved years earlier that they could Performer cover songs in style but still in their garb. Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” was the most vivid proof of this.
With “Easy,” they made a caesura in their creative musical process. Up to now, Faith No More has attracted attention mainly to funky and metal-heavy tracks. This cover, which lyrically describes the feelings of a man whose love affair has gone to pieces, is sung by Mike Patton in a resonant and deliberately sloppy way as if he were curing a hangover.
Jim Martin’s pleading guitar solo rounds off this impression. “Easy” became one of the most successful singles for the band.
02. Ugly Kid Joe – The Cat’s In The Cradle (1992), Original: Harry Chapin (1974)
Ugly Kid Joe proves that cover songs can be a band’s best-selling singles. While her compositions are usually more hard-hitting, her Performeration of Harry Chapin’s hit about a father-son relationship proved to be the most commercially profitable single in the USA (#6).
The remarkable thing about their version is not having radically changed the song but embedding its folk structure in a modern rock context.
03. Jimi Hendrix – All Along The Watchtower (1967), Original: Bob Dylan (1968)
No sooner had the original been pressed than Jimi Hendrix pounced on this typical folk song from Dylan’s pen, which reached number 20 on the American Billboard charts in the new version. Hendrix created a new song when he almost doubled the playing time with the help of contemporary psychedelic elements and his unmistakable guitar sound.
Dylan’s accolade followed as he echoed Hendrix’s energetic Performeration in later live versions.
04. Nirvana – The Man Who Sold The World (1994), original: David Bowie (1970)
The Seattle grunge pioneers released an acoustic album at their success. They chose a cover version of David Bowie’s song “The Man Who Sold The World” as a promotional single.
Kurt Cobain delivers the allegorical lines of this track with such a sense of fate that you’d think he wrote this song about the fears of succumbing to multiple personality disorder himself.
05. Johnny Cash – Hurt (2002), Original: Nine Inch Nails (1995)
While many cover songs try to press the original into a new musical context to inflate it, Johnny Cash goes the opposite with his version of Trend Reznor’s song “Hurt.” The instrumentation, which is minimalist by Nine Inch Nails standards, is cut back to vocals, guitar and piano, and the song duration is almost halved.
Johnny Cash was already heavily marked by his illness during the recording of this song, and his voice does not hide this fact. This gives the song an authenticity that covers versions rarely achieved.
06. Cyndi Lauper – Girls Just Want To Have Fun (1983), Original: Robert Hazard (1979)
In the early 1980s, a small revolution took place in the world of pop music. Feminist themes, performed by self-confident female Performerers, stormed the charts.
Cyndi Lauper is considered one of the pioneers when she re-purposed the macho lyrics of an unknown song by singer Robert Hazard to tell the song’s perspective from the point of view of a rebellious brat. A snotty video paved the way for a hymn to emancipate girls, making Cyndi Lauper’s later success possible.
07. Santana – Black Magic Woman (1970), Original: Fleetwood Mac (1968)
Carlos Santana is rightly one of the most famous guitarists. He knows how to weld the most diverse musical styles into a unity that bears his typical signature. A successful example is a cover version of the Fleetwood Mac classic “Black Magic Woman.”
In the original, a sustained blues arrangement, Santana’s Performeration fuses jazz, polyrhythmic Latin American music, rock, Gábor Szabó’s instrumental “Gypsy Queen” and a variety of percussion elements into a new song that, amazingly, still strongly recalls the original version and, in this version, becomes a world hit.
08. Fugees – Killing Me Softly With His Song (1995), Original: Lori Lieberman (1971)
When you get right down to it, the Fugees’ version is a cover of a cover. Lori Lieberman performs the song quietly and meaningfully with violins and pian. The Fugees based their version on Roberta Fleck’s Performeration (1972), which breathes new life into this song with lively rhythms and makes it sound lighter and happier overall.
The Fugees then topped this level when they sampled the song with modern hip-hop arrangements and hit the zeitgeist of the time. They were rewarded with “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” reaching #1 in over 20 countries and earning multiple platinum awards.
09. The Beatles – Twist And Shout (1963), Original: The Top Notes (1961)
What would have been the Beatles’ career if they had not covered a lot of songs at the beginning of their career? Their fame increased as a result. The song “Twist And Shout,” where the Fab 4 established their characteristic head shaking during live performances, opened the door to America for them.
John Lennon has had a cold during the recordings, which explains his rough singing, thus containing clear reminiscences of the Rock’n’Roll of that time, while the Top Notes and the Isley Brothers sang the previous versions in the style of a swing band.
10. Roy Buchanan – Hey Joe (1973), Original: Billy Roberts (disputed)
Probably this is the most covered song ever, and in the professional world, it is still not clear to whom the authorship of this blues-rock standard about a fugitive man who has shot his unfaithful wife is to be attributed in the end. Although Jimi Hendrix’s version is considered the ultimate, Roy Buchanan’s cover offers an unimagined feast for the ears, especially in the many live performances, since he presents the vocal part of this song more consistently than Hendrix, flippantly in favor of sprawling guitar solos.
Rarely have guitar strings rebelled more heartbreakingly than under Roy Buchanan’s fingers.
11. Rage Against The Machine – The Ghost Of Tom Joad (1995), Original: Bruce Springsteen (1997)
Rebellion as expression and driving force of their musical work is the doctrine of the Californian crossover revolutionaries. Thus it was not surprising that they covered a song which, referring to a literary character from John Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath,” denounces the oppression and impoverishment of the little people.
While Springsteen quietly delivers his protest in best campfire romance, Rage Against The Machine uncompromisingly fires off guitar riffs and thrashing rhythms. Only the lyrics still remind of the original.
12. Joe Cocker – With A Little Help From My Friends (1968), Original: The Beatles (1967)
It’s an image you never forget: a young, slim, and long-haired Joe Cocker fidgeting in a tie-dyed T-shirt on stage at the famous Woodstock festival, alternately playing air guitar and drums, and screaming his head off. Since that moment, he has his image gone for the rest of his life. He owes it to his intonation of this Beatles classic, which gave him his first number 1 hit.
He sang the song slower but much more powerful than Ringo Starr, finding the perfect balance between soul and hard rock, which is all the more surprising because his version is performed in 3/4 of a waltz, whereas the Beatles chose the classic 4/4 time.
13. Whitney Houston – I Will Always Love You (1992), original: Dolly Parton (1974)
It was not only her most tremendous success but also a demonstration of her voice. Whitney Houston’s cover version of a Dolly Parton hit, which she sang as a sustained midtempo country ballad, became a worldwide hit as the theme song for the movie “Bodyguard.” The single reached number 1 in 16 countries. Specifically, she sings about the end of their love affair, but without being able to let go.
She outshines the rather thinly performed original version with her sultry pathos and three-octave voice. Even today, the failure of many candidates of any casting show to Whitney Huston’s version can be followed with relish in relevant video portals.
14. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts – I Love Rock And Roll (1981), Original: The Arrows (1975)
Joan Jett fronted one of the first all-female hard rock bands (The Runaways). After their breakup in 1979, she successfully went solo, thanks largely to the hit “I Love Rock And Roll,” which spent seven weeks at #1 in the U.S. and went platinum. The composers of the song had less success a few years earlier.
The single flopped. Although the Arrows felt the song’s hit potential, they played this hard rock number much too timidly. Joan Jett sassily croons the lyrics to a stomping beat, inviting the listener to bawl along to the catchy lines.
15. UB40 – Red Red Wine (1983), Original: Neil Diamond (1967)
For their fourth album, UB40 wanted to record exclusively cover songs. They chose a reggae hit by Jamaican singer Tony Tribe as a reggae band.
However, it had escaped their notice that this version had already been a cover of Neil Diamond’s mournfully sung ballad “Red Red Wine.” U.B. 40 changed the lyrics and underlaid the song with an upbeat reggae rhythm. This proved to be a hit parade song because, in Great Britain and the USA, the song became number 1. Even Neil Diamond recognized the successful sublimation of his music and performed it live with a reggae beat.
Places 16-105 of the best cover songs of all time:
Each song is linked to its music video via the title.
Place: | Listen: | Performer: | |
---|---|---|---|
16. | Bad Side of the Moon | April Wine Original by: Elton John | |
17. | Nothing Compares 2 U | Sinead O’Connor Original by: The Family | |
18. | Live and Let Die | Guns N’ Roses Original by: Wings | |
19. | Respect | Aretha Franklin Original by: Otis Redding | |
20. | Tainted Love | Soft Cell Original by: Gloria Jones | |
21. | Unchained Melody | Lykke Li Original by: Todd Duncan | |
22. | Do You Wanna Dance | The Ramones Original by: Bobby Freeman | |
23. | I Found A Reason | Cat Power Original by: Velvet Underground | |
24. | Last Kiss | Pearl Jam Original by: J. Frank Wilson | |
25. | You Really Got Me | Van Halen Original by: Kinks | |
26. | What A Wonderful World | Israel Kamakawiwo’ole Original by: Louis Armstrong | |
27. | Hound Dog | Elvis Presley Original by: Big Mama Thornton | |
28. | Wonderwall | Ryan Adams Original by: Oasis | |
29. | The Power of Love | Celine Dion Original by: Jennifer Rush | |
30. | No One’s Gonna Love You | CeeLo Green Original from Band of Horses | |
31. | Lake of Fire | Nirvana Original by: Meat Puppets | |
32. | Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) | Nancy Sinatra Original by: Cher | |
33. | Lola | The Raincoats Original by: The Kinks | |
34. | Hallelujah | Jeff Buckley Original by: Leonard Cohen | |
35. | How I Could Just Kill A Man | Rage Against the Machine Original by: Cypress Hill | |
36. | Mad World | Gary Jules Original by: Tears for Fears | |
37. | Heartbeats | José Gonzalez Original by: The Knife | |
38. | Just Breathe | Willie Nelson Original by: Pearl Jam | |
39. | I Will Survive | Cake Original by: Gloria Gaynor | |
40. | Proud Mary | Ike and Tina Turner Original by: Creedence Clearwater Revival | |
41. | Not Fade Away | The Rolling Stones Original by: Buddy Holly | — |
42. | I Heard It Through the Grapevine | The Slits Original by: Gladys Knight & the Pips | |
43. | Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat | Beck Original by: Bob Dylan | — |
44. | Silver Springs | Lykke Li Original by: Fleetwood Mac | |
45. | Rhiannon | Best Coast Original by: Fleetwood Mac | |
46. | Lady Marmalade | Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mya and Pink Original by: Labelle | |
47. | Another Saturday Night | Cat Stevens Original by: Sam Cooke | |
48. | MacArthur Park | Donna Summer Original by: Richard Harris | |
49. | Me and Bobby McGee | Janis Joplin Original by: Kris Kristofferson | |
50. | Don’t Think Twice | Dolly Parton Original by: Bob Dylan | |
51. | Valerie | Mark Ronson feat. Amy Winehouse Original by: The Zutons | |
52. | How Can You Mend A Broken Heart? | Al Green Original by: The Bee Gees | |
53. | These Days | Nico Original by: Jackson Browne | |
54. | Mack the Knife | Bobby Darin, Louis Armstrong Original by: Lotta Lenya | |
55. | Same Ol’ Mistakes | Rihanna Original by: Tame Impala | |
56. | Take Me to the River | Talking Heads Original by: Al Green | |
57. | Eleanor Rigby | Aretha Franklin Original by: The Beatles | |
58. | Venus | Bananarama Original by: Shocking Blue | |
59. | My Way | Elvis Presley Original by: Frank Sinatra | |
60. | When You Were Mine | Cyndi Lauper Original by: Prince | |
61. | Car Wash | Christina Aguilera Original by: Rose Royce | |
62. | Blue | Sarah McLachlan Original by: Joni Mitchell | |
63. | When a Man Loves a Woman | Bette Midler Original by: Percy Sledge | |
64. | Rich Girl | Gwen Stefani Original by: Lady Saw | |
65. | I’m on Fire | Whitehorse Original by: Bruce Springsteen | |
66. | Locomotion | Grand Funk Railroad Original by: Little Eva | |
67. | Personal Jesus | Johnny Cash Original by: Depeche Mode | |
68. | Blue Suede Shoes | Elvis Presley Original by: Carl Perkins | |
69. | Ain’t No Cure For Love | Jennifer Warnes Original by: Leonard Cohen | |
70. | I Fought the Law | The Clash Original by: The Bobby Fuller Four | |
71. | Sweet Jane | Cowboy Junkies Original by: The Velvet Underground | |
72. | Suspended in Gaffa | Ra Ra Riot Original by: Kate Bush | |
73. | Mony Mony | Billy Idol Original by: Tommy James | |
74. | Limit To Your Love | James Blake Original by: Feist | |
75. | Smells Like Teen Spirit | Tori Amos Original by: Nirvana | |
76. | Mockingbird | Carly Simon & James Taylor Original by: Inez & Charlie Fox | |
77. | Angel From Montgomery | Bonnie Raitt Original by: John Prine | |
78. | Beyond the Sea | Bobby Darin Original by: Jack Lawrence | |
79. | Because the Night | Bruce Springsteen Original by: Patti Smith | |
80. | Route 66 | Depeche Mode Original by: Nat King Cole | |
81. | Across the Universe | Fiona Apple Original by: The Beatles | |
82. | Time Is On My Side | The Rolling Stones Original by: Irma Thomas | |
83. | Soul Man | Blues Brothers Original by: Sam and Dave | |
84. | I Swear | All-4-One Original by: John Michael Montgomery | |
85. | Black Magic Woman | Santana Original by: Fleetwood Mac | |
86. | This Woman’s Work | Maxwell Original by: Kate Bush | |
87. | It’s My Life | No Doubt Original by: Talk Talk | |
88. | Ceremony | Galaxie 500 Original by: New Order | |
89. | Don’t Be Cruel | Cheap Trick Original by: Elvis Presley | |
90. | Hey Joe | Jimi Hendrix Original by: William Moses | |
91. | Sea of Love | Honeydrippers Original by: Phil Phillips | |
92. | American Woman | Lenny Kravitz Original by: The Guess Who | |
93. | Sukiyaki | A Taste of Honey Original by: Kyu Sakamoto | |
94. | California Sun | The Ramones Original by: Joe Jones | |
95. | Crazy in Love | Antony and the Johnsons Original by: Beyoncé | |
96. | Higher Ground | Red Hot Chili Peppers Original by: Stevie Wonder | |
97. | Smooth Criminal | Alient Ant Farm Original by: Michael Jackson | |
98. | Tina Turner Original by: Al Green | ||
99. | Come Together | Aerosmith Original by: The Beatles | |
100. | Funkytown | Psuedo Echo Original by: Lipps Inc. | |
101. | Whiskey in the Jar | Metallica Original by: Thin Lizzie | |
102. | Take My Breath Away | Jessica Simpson Original by: Berlin | |
103. | The Weight | Aretha Franklin Original by: The Band | |
104. | Because The Night | 10,000 Maniacs Original by: Bruce Springsteen | |
105. | This Old Heart Of Mine | Rod Stewart Original by: The Isley Brothers |
Cover Songs Spotify Playlist:
Thus it is clear that – correctly arranged – cover songs can be a decisive building block in the career of any band or musician.