100 Great Cover Songs

Buy	Listen	Song ------------------------Cover Artist-----------------Original Artist

		1	All Along The Watchtower	Jimi Hendrix	Bob Dylan
A Classic Rock standard, and most people don’t even know it’s a Dylan song. Let’s face it, even Dylan thinks it’s a Hendrix song

		2	Hallelujah	Jeff Buckley	Leonard Cohen
This one has been covered a lot, especially as of late. Jeff’s take on this beautiful tune has become the one all others will be judged against. Jason Castro did a decent job on American Idol with the song and it shot up to #1 on iTunes with over 188,000 downloads!

		3	Proud Mary	Ike & Tina Turner	Creedence Clearwater Revival
The original is an American standard, yet the more popular version in recent years is now Ike & Tina’s version. This song has real staying power.

		4	Twist And Shout	The Beatles	The Isley Brothers
The Beatles were prolific in their career, but in the beginning they covered a lot of songs…none more attention-getting than this one. Ferris Bueller brought it back in a big way in the mid-80’s.

		5	Respect	Aretha Franklin	Otis Redding
One of the best known R&B songs ever comes from the Queen Of Soul…and it’s a cover. Aretha owns this song.

		6	Georgia On My Mind	Ray Charles	Hoagy Carmichael
Distinctly American, this one is for the time capsule. From Willie Nelson to Michael Bolton, this one has been covered often, but none more poignantly than Ray did it. Perfect.

		7	House Of The Rising Sun	The Animals	Unknown
This song is O-L-D. This is so old, the origin is unknown and heavily debated. Yet it still gets the cover treatment fairly often and Eric Burdon and his band took it all the way to #1 in 1964.

		8	Somewhere Over The Rainbow	Israel K	Judy Garland
In 1939, a very young Judy Garland sang a song that would remain a piece of American history. In 1988, an unknown Hawaiian claims it as his own and via the Internet, the world falls in love with this song all over again.

		9	You Really Got Me	Van Halen	The Kinks
Releasing a cover song as your first ever single is not usually recommended…unless you blow the song up and slap a genre-changing guitar assault on top of it. A risky move for some, but Eddie Van Halen was changing the game.

		10	I Heard It Thru The Grapevine	Marvin Gaye	Gladys Knight & The Pips
Marvin’s version came only a year after Gladys, but it caught fire and shot to #1. Decades later, it’s still one of the most recognizable Motown songs in the library.

		11	I Shot The Sheriff	Eric Clapton	Bob Marley
Many people tried to bring reggae to the US, but it wasn’t until Clapton did this song, that the world really paid attention.

		12	Take Me To The River	Talking Heads	Al Green
It was called New Wave at the time of release, but the Heads outlived that moniker. The production, and David Byrne’s quirky vocals made this a standout from the first listen.

		13	We Can Work It Out	Stevie Wonder	The Beatles
The Beatles are one of the most covered bands of all time, but the memorable ones are the ones where the artist reworks it to their strengths without losing what made the song great in the first place. Stevie is a master at just that.

		14	Satisfaction (I Can’t Get No)	Devo	Rolling Stones
When Devo busted this one out on Saturday Night Live In 1978, jaws dropped. Is it possible to remake one of greatest Rock singles ever? Yes.

		15	How Can You Mend A Broken Heart	Al Green	The Bee Gees
How can you take a folky English pop song and make it a silky soul song? Easy, give it to Al Green.

		16	The Man Who Sold The World	Nirvana	David Bowie
When Nirvana set out to do MTV’s popular unplugged series, they didn’t just sing their hits with acoustic guitars. They brought friends and they brought covers. You can hear this haunting song on a Rock radio station somewhere every day.

		17	Hurt	Johnny Cash	Nine Inch Nails
Rick Rubin brought many songs to the man in black that were not in his wheelhouse, but this one would seem a very unlikely fit. Trent’s song is angry, full of despair. Johnny’s is bare, honest, painful and since his passing….hard to listen to. Put this song on and the world seems to stop.

		18	With A Little Help From My Friends	Joe Cocker	The Beatles
These 2 versions couldn’t sound less alike. The Beatles version sounds almost trite, while Joe’s is gospel soul bliss.

		19	Red Red Wine	UB40	Neil Diamond
As the story goes, Neil was vacationing in the islands when he first heard UB40’s hit…and didn’t recognize it as his own song. Nuff said.

		20	I Will Always Love You	Whitney Houston	Dolly Parton
This song had two lives with its writer and original artist, Dolly Parton. The first version was a minor country hit in the 70’s. Dolly re-made it for the soundtrack of The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas with a more poppier flare in 1982. Whitney sang it in another movie, The Bodyguard and sent it to #1 for months and months.

		21	Light My Fire	Jose Feliciano	The Doors
The pride of Puerto Rico was en fuego with this cover song of the Doors classic.

		22	Summer Breeze	The Isley Brothers	Seals & Crofts
The Isleys produced some of the best covers ever including “Hello It’s Me”, “Ohio”, and “Love The One You’re With”…so picking one was tough. This one retains most of the melody, yet gives it their psychedelic soulful touch.

		23	Landslide	Dixie Chicks	Fleetwood Mac
Smashing Pumpkins did an ok version of this as well, but the Chicks take it to the Heartland in a warm way that would lead them in a whole new direction as a group.

		24	Tainted Love	Soft Cell	Gloria Jones
This is another song that falls into the category of Didn’t Know This Was A Cover. You have to go all the way back to 1964 for the original. Soft Cell kept their version (coupled with The Supremes ‘Where Did Our Love Go”) on the charts for an amazing 43 weeks back in 1982.

		25	Good Lovin’	Grateful Dead	The Rascals
One of the all-time great party songs gets the laid back pool party treatment. One of the Dead’s most playful moments on record.

		26	She’s Not There	Santana	The Zombies
It’s hard to imagine Carlos NOT covering this song. The song suits him to a tee, and allows those fantastic guitar fills.

		27	Sweet Jane	Cowboy Junkies	Lou Reed
These Canadians came on to the scene with this atmospheric cover in 1988 and then had it immortalized 6 years later in Natural Born Killers.

		28	I Thank You	ZZ Top	Sam & Dave
Take some Memphis Soul, add a little Texas Blues and you’ve got one funky barbeque.

		29	On Broadway	George Benson	The Drifters
A great oldie gets the jazzy-pop treatment in what would become a live staple of Mr. Benson’s shows till this day.

		30	Dancin’ Barefoot	U2	Patti Smith Group
This is another song that has become a favorite of Alternative acts to cover. U2 has covered The Stones, The Beatles, Lou Reed and more…but this is a shining moment for Edge.

		31	Blinded By The Light	Manfred Mann’s Earth Band	Bruce Springsteen
They also covered “For You” and “Spirit In The Night” from The Boss, but “Blinded By The Light” went to #1 in 1976. Ironically, Bruce used to perform the Manfred Mann hit ‘Pretty Flamingo” in his early concerts.

		32	To Love Somebody	Rod Stewart	The Bee Gees
One of Rod’s truly great vocal performances ever. His covers of ‘Angel” and “Reason To Believe” are also magical, but this one is a pure gem.

		33	Higher Ground	Red Hot Chili Peppers	Stevie Wonder
The Chili’s were big on covers in the early days, giving them their high energy punk-funk approach. This is the song that put them on MTV’s radar and began a series of hits that would last 20 years.

		34	Ain’t That A Shame	Cheap Trick	Fats Domino
Although they were seen as the second coming of The Beatles in the 70’s, it was this song that led off the trio of Budakon hits with Surrender and I Want You To Want Me. The interplay between Bun E. Carlos on drums and Rick Nielson’s guitar is what live rock and roll was all about in the 70’s.

		35	Mad World	Gary Jules	Tears For Fears
Brought to life by Donnie Darko, it’s amazing how much a song changes in meaning just by slowing it down.

		36	Under The Boardwalk	John Mellencamp	The Drifters
Everyone knows this song, but it was the former Mr. Cougar who took it from the beach to Middle America.

		37	My Girl	John Hiatt & Loudon Wainwright III	The Temptations
You could argue that this song is one of the greatest, if not the greatest pop single ever written (by Smokey Robinson)…so how could you cover it? This version has such a rootsy emotion to it, they take it to a whole new place and it works.

		38	I Fought The Law	The Clash	Bobby Fuller Four
Considering the song and considering the band doing it…perfect match.

		39	Hard To Handle	The Black Crowes	Otis Redding
“Respect” and “Hard to Handle”….proof that Mr. Redding does not get the credit her deserves. The Crowes made this the sing-a-long song of the 90’s.

		40	Brown Eyed Girl	Jimmy Buffett	Van Morrison
Once again, an artist who loves covers. The king of the Parrotheads has covered “Sunny Afternoon”, “Uncle John’s Band”, “Southern Cross” and many more, but this is the one that his legion of fans expect at every gathering. You can’t argue with steel drums.

		41	You’ve Got A Friend	James Taylor	Carole King
It’s not so much that JT changed the song and made it his own. It’s just that almost everyone on the planet thinks it’s his song.

		42	Ooh Baby Baby	Linda Ronstadt	Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
Linda wasn’t a songwriter, so it was all about picking the right song. She plucked “Hurt So bad” from Little Anthony & The Imperials, “Poor Poor Pitiful Me” from Warren Zevon” and “Back In The USA” from Chuck Berry. “Ooh Baby Baby” was a perfect choice for her.

		43	Jump	Aztec Camera	Van Halen
Little known cover, but a great quirky take.

		44	Get Ready	Rare Earth	The Temptations
Rare Earth had the distinction of being the first white act signed to Motown. Ironically, they did mostly old Motown songs, they just crunched them up.

		45	Love Song	311	The Cure
When Alternative music started to come into fashion in the late 80’s, there was no bigger band than The Cure to wave that flag. This became their biggest hit peaking at #2 and a natural choice for 311 to put their reggae spin onto for the 50 First Dates soundtrack.

		46	Hazy Shade Of Winter	The Bangles	Simon & Garfunkel
I have to admit that when I first heard this back in 1987, I didn’t know it was a S&G song. The Bangles added a bit more urgency to the song and some lush harmonies for the Less Than Zero soundtrack.

		47	Havin’ A Party	Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes	Sam Cooke
If you’re not from the East Coast, you may not know this song, but trust me…this was played at every party from the late 70’s thru the 80’s….a lot!

		48	Knocking On Heaven’s Door	Eric Clapton	Bob Dylan
One of the most covered songs ever, but would you rather hear Clapton’s reggae-tinged version or Axl Rose screaming it? Ok, don’t answer that.

		49	Last Kiss	Pearl Jam	J. Frank Wilson
The single that almost wasn’t. Every year Pearl Jam releases a 45 to their fan club members only. Many times these are instrumentals or sung by someone other than Eddie Vedder. In 1998 a few radio station DJ’s got the single and started to play it on the air. The song got instant requests and Epic Records was forced to release it as a single where it became the band’s biggest hit single.

		50	Wild Horses	The Sundays	Rolling Stones
Harriet Wheeler’s soaring vocals give this song a different quality than the original. In fact, most times when the song is covered now, it’s The Sundays they are covering.

		51	Sea Of Love	The Honeydrippers	Phil Phillips
In this case the remake surpasses the original. The full production, lush string arrangements and soaring Robert Plant vocals make this a modern day standard.

		52	Money	Flying Lizards	Barrett Strong
One of the first Motown hits gets one of the most unusual cover arrangements ever.

		53	Everybody Knows	Concrete Blonde	Leonard Cohen
Johnette Napolitano’s vocals give this song the haunting quality it needs. This song should sound like Halloween, and here it does.

		55	Little Wing	The Corrs	Jimi Hendrix
This song is kind of hard to mess up, but when you add a pure female vocal and an Irish arrangement, you have something unique.

		56	Tears Of A Clown	English Beat	Smokey Robinson The Miracles
A Motown classic given the ska treatment from one of genres forefathers. You can’t help but smile.

		57	Save It For Later	Pete Townshend	English Beat
When the guy who wrote Baba O’Reilly decides to cover your song…you let him. The stripped won version with Pete’s instantly recognizable vocals make this a keeper.

		58	Ring Of Fire	Social Distortion	Johnny Cash
You don’t mess with Mike Ness and you never messed with Johnny Cash. Ther personalities of these two men make this connection perfectly fitting.

		59	Working Class Hero	Green Day	John Lennon
This is more recent remake taken from a compilation to save Darfur. With Billie Joe’s recent conversion to political songs, doing this song makes sense.

		60	Battle Of Evermore	Lovemongers	Led Zeppelin
Ann & Nancy Wilson never kept it a secret their reverence for all things Zep. On a non-Heart side-project they show their stuff in perfect harmony…with mandolins.

		61	Mercy Mercy Me	Robert Palmer	Marvin Gaye
Palmer has covered many songs in his career, most notable “Can We Still Be Friends” and a number of Little Feat songs. He charted in 1991 with this stylish version of one of Marvin’s finest moments.

		62	Crimson And Clover	Joan Jett & The Blackhearts	Tommy James & The Shondells
She was turned down by 27 record companies. Joan put out her own record, took “I Love Rock And Roll” to #1 and followed it up with this song. She was indie before indie was cool.

		63	I Want Candy	Bow Wow Wow	The Strangeloves
Malcolm McClaren has had an interesting career. His solo records were very eclectic and his taste in finding acts equally bizarre, i.e. Sex Pistols, Adam Ant and Bow Wow Wow. This outfit was fronted by Annabella Lwin, who was rumoured to be all of 16 when she joined the group.

		64	Jersey Girl	Bruce Springsteen	Tom Waits
This was a rare live song from Bruce until it appeared on his 3 disc live set in 1985.

		65	Drive	Ziggy Marley	The Cars
The way this song was used in the film 50 First Dates and the reggae flavor added made you realize just how good this song was.

		66	Come Together	Aerosmith	The Beatles
From one of the biggest flop films ever, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band….this was one of the lone survivors.

		67	I Can’t Make You Love Me	George Michael	Bonnie Raitt
George Michael could probably sing the phone book and most of us would listen. This song is almost too easy for him.

		68	Got To Be There	Chaka Khan	Michael Jackson
There may be no finer female voice in music and hearing her steal this song is breathtaking.

		69	These Days	Gregg Allman	Jackson Browne
This is one of Jackson’s best songs and most covered. Gregg’s version brings it down South and adds a touch of Blues.