Top 10 Cover Songs That Are More Popular Than The Original

  • 3 months ago
These cover songs eclipsed the originals. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the covers of songs that earned more notoriety and are often more recognizable, than their original versions.

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00:00But it ain't me, baby. No, no, no.
00:04Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the covers of songs that earned more notoriety
00:10and are often more recognizable than their original versions.
00:14But it ain't me, babe. No, no, no, it ain't me, babe.
00:21Number 10, I Love Rock and Roll. Original, The Arrows. Cover, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.
00:27I saw her dancin' there by the record machine.
00:32You'd be forgiven for not remembering Britain's The Arrows, a glam rock group from the 1970s
00:37that first recorded and released I Love Rock and Roll.
00:40Their version, as cool as it is, just isn't widely remembered today,
00:44nor is it considered to be the definitive edition of the song.
00:47Singin', I love rock and roll. So put another dime in the two bucks, baby.
00:52Instead, that honor goes to Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, who heard The Arrows' original
00:57and decided to cover it a few years after its release.
01:00I saw him dancin' there by the record machine.
01:05This comparatively more hard-rocking cover eventually grew to become something of a career calling card for Jett,
01:10particularly after departing her former group, The Runaways.
01:13It was Joan's one-of-a-kind attitude and swagger that allowed I Love Rock and Roll to hit harder than ever before.
01:20Singin', I love rock and roll. So put another dime in the two bucks, baby.
01:25I love rock and roll.
01:38This song was less than five years old when Cyndi Lauper recorded it for her debut studio album She's So Unusual.
01:44As a result, its New Wave stylings remain relatively intact within both versions.
01:49However, Lauper's decision to play around with Robert Hazard's lyrics allowed Girls Just Wanna Have Fun to progress in a powerful and meaningful manner.
02:04She sings from a switched perspective of empowerment, whereas Hazard's original is a comparatively vapid and face-value approximation of dating and intimacy.
02:12Cause girls just wanna have fun. Yeah, girls just wanna have fun.
02:17Lauper's cover went on to become something of a feminist anthem,
02:20while Hazard's demo has largely been relegated to trivia questions and lists like this one.
02:25Hey, if you wanna have fun.
02:29Hey, if you wanna have fun.
02:44A great song doesn't always achieve chart success via multiple artists.
02:48But then again, Proud Mary wasn't just an average, everyday pop hit.
02:52This boisterous and rockin' tune did well with its originators Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1969.
02:59Rollin' boy, rollin' on a real boy.
03:04Solomon Burke's cover that same year was also a hit.
03:07Proud Mary keep on burnin', y'all just rollin', rollin'.
03:14That said, it's the version laid down by Ike and Tina Turner that electrified the song,
03:19adding even more energy and solidifying it within the public consciousness.
03:23And the Proud Mary keep on burnin', say we're rollin'.
03:29Turner's unfettered spark and charisma gave life to the band's upbeat and soulful arrangements.
03:34Proud Mary had entered its final stage,
03:37a defining track for a new music superstar and a new generation.
03:41Rollin' high, rollin', rollin' on a real high.
03:467. The Man Who Sold The World
03:49Original, David Bowie, cover, Nirvana.
03:58Generations of music fans were already well aware of The Man Who Sold The World
04:02prior to Nirvana covering it for MTV Unplugged in 1993.
04:06These were older generations, however.
04:09Folks from the 70s and 80s who were familiar with the David Bowie original,
04:13as well as hit covers from Lulu and Midyar.
04:22Nirvana's take, as a result, was delivered with perfect timing
04:25to keep the song relevant for the grunge-obsessed audiences of the 1990s.
04:38In fact, some say that it's Nirvana's version
04:40that helped retain interest in Bowie's glam rock gem,
04:43allowing The Man Who Sold The World to live on for future generations.
04:47If that isn't musical kismet, we don't know what is.
05:006. Respect
05:01Original, Otis Redding, cover, Aretha Franklin.
05:10There's no denying that both Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin
05:13are legendary soul singers.
05:15That said, Aretha's stolen cover is something special,
05:19like lightning in a bottle that has proven to be a timeless masterpiece.
05:30Her take is smoother and more refined,
05:32although the differences don't necessarily take away
05:35from the value of either version in a major way.
05:40Oh, the respect when I come home!
05:43Instead, Franklin's point of view allows her take on respect
05:46to speak from a point of feminism and civil rights in gripping fashion.
05:50Thus, the song became a career-making anthem
05:53for soul music's first lady, and deservedly so.
05:56R-E-S-P-E-C-T
05:58T-K-F-T-C-E
06:00T-K-F-T-C-E
06:035. Nothing Compares to You
06:05Original, The Family, cover, Sinead O'Connor.
06:13Prince was famous for his work ethic,
06:15a tireless songwriter who seemed like he was always working.
06:18Nothing Compares to You was penned by him,
06:20and given to a group he formed called The Family.
06:23Nothing compares to you
06:28This musical group venture resulted in a single album
06:31that contained the OG Nothing Compares to You.
06:33Fast forward five years to Sinead O'Connor's second studio album,
06:37and it's her version that has captured
06:39the imaginations of listeners for years now.
06:41I went to the doctor and guess what he told me
06:45Guess what he told me
06:47The power of the song's striking music video
06:50likely helped things along in this regard,
06:52but O'Connor's version possesses an intimate
06:54and smolderingly intense power all its own.
06:57Nothing compares
07:01Nothing compares to you
07:054. All Along the Watchtower
07:08Original, Bob Dylan, cover, The Jimi Hendrix Experience.
07:18Masterclass songwriters of Bob Dylan's caliber
07:21have always seen their music covered
07:23by a variety of artists.
07:25Adele's take on Make You Feel My Love
07:27is a great example of this.
07:33So is The Jimi Hendrix Experience's
07:35hard-rocking version of All Along the Watchtower.
07:37It'd go on to become one of the defining
07:39psychedelic rock songs of the 60s,
07:41a precursor to heavy metal
07:43that hinged upon Hendrix's charismatic vocals
07:45and guitar playing.
07:51Meanwhile, the rhythm section
07:53hammers home an urgent groove
07:55that's impossible to resist.
07:57Thus, the group updated
07:59All Along the Watchtower
08:01for a very swinging decade.
08:093. Hallelujah
08:11Original, Leonard Cohen, covers,
08:13John Cale and Jeff Buckley.
08:21There have been quite a few artists
08:23that tried to take a swing at Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah.
08:25It was John Cale's
08:271991 version that arguably
08:29piqued mainstream interest in Cohen's
08:311984 original after it was
08:33included in Shrek.
08:40That said, few Hallelujah covers
08:42have as much palpable melancholy
08:44and sadness as Jeff Buckley's
08:461994 recording.
08:51The singer-songwriter unfortunately
08:53died when he was only 30,
08:55which lends a fatalistic aura to his Hallelujah
08:57that's echoed in his impossibly resonant
08:59and impassioned vocals.
09:01Cohen's original features a metered, insistent
09:03cadence, while Buckley's
09:05balladry is smoother and more stretched out,
09:07allowing each word to drip down
09:09like honey or molasses.
09:172. Hurt
09:19Original, Nine Inch Nails, cover,
09:21Johnny Cash.
09:27Trent Reznor's original version of
09:29Hurt for his band, Nine Inch Nails, possesses
09:31a unique and impenetrable darkness
09:33all its own.
09:38That said, it's Johnny Cash's
09:40cover from 2002 that has allowed
09:42the song to enter a transformative state,
09:44one that proves how truly great
09:46music can transcend genres.
09:503. Hurt
09:56Cash was in the twilight of his life
09:58when he recorded and released Hurt,
10:00and this feeling of mortality envelops
10:02the end result like a funerary shroud.
10:04It's virtually impossible to
10:06retain our composure as images of
10:08Cash as a young man flash across the
10:10screen in the accompanying video, too.
10:12Thus, Cash gave Reznor's
10:14evocative ballad a new and vulnerable
10:16life all its own.
10:204. Hurt
10:26Before we unveil our top pick,
10:28here are some honorable mentions.
10:30Killing Me Softly with his song
10:32Original, Laurie Lieberman, covers,
10:34Roberta Flack and The Fugees.
10:36Both stunning covers are more widely
10:38known than the original.
10:50Killing Me Softly with his song
10:52Killing Me Softly
10:56Knockin' on Heaven's Door
10:58Original, Bob Dylan, cover, Guns N' Roses.
11:00Bringing forth the rock.
11:13It's My Life
11:15Original, Talk Talk, cover, No Doubt.
11:17Perfect cover at a perfect time.
11:31Tainted Love
11:33Original, Gloria Jones, cover, Soft Cell.
11:35Updating an obscure soul cut
11:37for the modern day.
11:48Higher Ground
11:50Original, Stevie Wonder, cover,
11:52Red Hot Chili Peppers.
11:54Somehow making the funk, funkier.
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12:25I Will Always Love You
12:27Original, Dolly Parton, cover,
12:29Whitney Houston.
12:34It's a musical Sophie's choice of sorts.
12:36Which version of I Will Always Love You
12:38do you prefer?
12:40Both are sung by generational talents.
12:42The originator and songwriter Dolly Parton
12:45and the artist covering it, Whitney Houston.
12:47Country purists or diehard Dolly fans
12:49may swing her way.
12:57However, the public at large
12:59is probably more familiar with
13:01Houston's cover, taken from the soundtrack
13:03to 1992's The Bodyguard.
13:10Houston more than put her stamp on the song.
13:12Creating a mesmerizing listening experience
13:14that's indescribable.
13:16Thus, she allowed I Will Always Love You
13:18to cross over into the pop world
13:20and charts from its heartfelt country roots.
13:30Did you not know any of these were covers?
13:32Let us know in the comments.
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