A cover version of a pop song is a rerecording of that song by a different artist (compare with remake).
In the early days of rock and roll, many songs originally recorded by African American rock musicians were rerecorded by white artists, such as Pat Boone, in a more toned down style that lacked the hard edge of rock and roll. These cover versions were considered by some to be more palatable to parents.
Over the years, cover versions of many popular songs have been recorded, sometimes with a radically different style, and in other cases the cover version is virtually indistinguishable from the original. For example, Jose Feliciano's version of "Light My Fire" was utterly distinct from the original version by The Doors; but Carl Carlton's 1974 cover of Robert Knight's 1967 hit single song "Everlasting Love" sounds almost identical to the original.
Punk music is known for deconstructing classic rock or pop songs by reinterpreting them in punk form. Bands like Me First & the Gimme Gimmes, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, NOFX and Rancid are especially known for doing so.
"Yesterday" by the Beatles has been covered over three thousand times since its original release in 1965. Other songs which have been released many times as cover versions include: "Free Bird" (Lynyrd Skynyrd) and "No Woman No Cry" (Bob Marley & the Wailers).
Many popular bands have a tribute album, consisting entirely of covers of their songs performed by various other bands, often quite different from the original. The soundtrack to the film I Am Sam was a particularly popular example of this; it consisted of Beatles songs redone by various modern artists.
Jam bands such as Phish and The Grateful Dead are known for playing covers in concert, generally, and not on studio albums.
Some examples of commercially successful or otherwise notable cover versions are:
| Song
| Original Artist
| Cover Artist
|
| "Ain't That a Shame"
| Fats Domino, 1955
| Pat Boone, 1955
|
| "Ain't Too Proud to Beg"
| The Temptations, 1966
| The Rolling Stones, 1974
|
| "Across the Universe"
| The Beatles, 1970
| Fiona Apple, 1998
|
| "All Along The Watchtower"
| Bob Dylan, 1968
| Jimi Hendrix, 1968
|
| "American Pie"
| Don McLean, 1971
| Madonna, 2000
|
| "American Woman"
| The Guess Who, 1970
| Lenny Kravitz, 2000
|
| "Angel in the Morning"
| Merrilee Rush, 1968
| Juice Newton, 1981
|
| "Back in the USA"
| Chuck Berry, 1959
| Linda Ronstadt, 1978
|
| "Because the Night"
| Patti Smith, 1978 (cowritten with Bruce Springsteen)
| 10,000 Maniacs, 1994
|
| "Black Magic Woman"
| Fleetwood Mac, 1969
| Santana, 1970
|
| "Blinded by the Light"
| Bruce Springsteen, 1973
| Manfred Mann, 1976
|
| "Blue Bayou"
| Roy Orbison, 1963
| Linda Ronstadt, 1977
|
| "Blue Suede Shoes"
| Carl Perkins, 1955
| Elvis Presley, 1956
|
| "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"
| The Andrews Sisters, 1941
| Bette Midler, 1972
|
| "Boy From New York City"
| Ad Libs, 1965
| Manhattan Transfer, 1981
|
| "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft"
| Klaatu, 1976
| The Carpenters, 1977
|
| "Come Together"
| The Beatles, 1969
| Aerosmith, 1978
|
| "Da Doo Run Run"
| The Crystals 1963
| Shawn Cassidy 1977
|
| "Dancing in the Street"
| Martha & the Vandellas, 1964
| Van Halen, 1982
|
| "Downtown Train"
| Tom Waits, 1985
| Rod Stewart, 1989
|
| "Everlasting Love"
| Robert Knight, 1967
| Carl Carlton, 1974
|
| "Feelin' Alright"
| Traffic, 1968
| Joe Cocker, 1969
|
| "Gin and Juice"
| Snoop Doggy Dogg, 1993
| The Gourds, 1998
|
| "Gloria"
| Them (with Van Morrison), 1965
| Shadows of Night, 1966
|
| "A Hard Day's Night"
| The Beatles, 1964
| Goldie Hawn, 1998
|
| "A Hazy Shade Of Winter"
| Simon and Garfunkel, 1966
| The Bangles, 1987
|
| "Heat Wave"
| Martha & the Vandellas, 1963
| Linda Ronstadt, 1975
|
| "Helter Skelter"
| The Beatles, 1968
| U2, 1989
|
| "Hey Baby"
| Bruce Channel, 1962
| DJ Ötzi, 2000
|
| "I Got Rhythm"
| George Gershwin Broadway musical Girl Crazy, 1930
| The Happenings, 1967
|
| "I Got You Babe"
| Sonny & Cher, 1967
| Cher with Beavis and Butthead, 1993
|
| "I Hear You Knocking"
| Smiley Lewis, 1961
| Dave Edmunds, 1971
|
| "I Heard It Through The Grapevine"
| Gladys Knight & the Pips, 1967
| Marvin Gaye, 1968
Creedence Clearwater Revival, 1970
|
| "I Shot the Sheriff"
| Bob Marley & the Wailers, 1973
| Eric Clapton, 1974
|
| "I'm a Believer"
| Neil Diamond, 1966
| The Monkees, 1966
Smashmouth, 2001
|
| "I'm a Man"
| Spencer Davis Group, 1967
| Chicago, 1970
|
| "In the Midnight Hour"
| Wilson Pickett, 1965
| The Rascals, 1967
|
| "It Ain't Me Babe"
| Bob Dylan, 1964
| The Turtles, 1965
|
| "Knocking on Heaven's Door"
| Bob Dylan, 1973
| Guns N' Roses, 1991
|
| "Last Kiss"
| J. Frank Wilson, ???
| Pearl Jam, 1981
|
| "The Letter"
| The Boxtops, 1967
| Joe Cocker, 1970
|
| "Light My Fire"
| The Doors, 1967
| Jose Feliciano, 1968
|
| "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"
| The Tokens, 1961
| Robert John, 1971
Tight Fit, 1982
|
| "Live and Let Die"
| Paul McCartney, 1976
| Guns N' Roses, 1991
|
| "The Locomotion"
| Little Eva, 1962
| Grand Funk, 1974
|
| "Love is All Around"
| The Troggs, 1967
| Wet Wet Wet, 1994
|
| "Love is Strange"
| Ian and Sylvia, 1958
| Peaches and Herb, 1967
|
| "Love Potion Number 9"
| The Clovers, 1959
| The Searchers, 1964
|
| "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"
| The Beatles, 1967
| Elton John, 1974
|
| "MacArthur Park"
| Richard Harris, 1968
| Donna Summer, 1978
|
| "Mr. Tambourine Man"
| Bob Dylan, 1965
| The Byrds, 1965
|
| "My Way"
| Frank Sinatra, 1969
| Sid Vicious, 1978
|
| "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down"
| The Band, 1969
| Joan Baez, 1971
|
| "Only You"
| Yazoo, 1982
| Flying Pickets, 1983
|
| "Pinball Wizard"
| The Who, 1969
| The New Seekers, 1973
Elton John, 1976
|
| "Proud Mary"
| Creedence Clearwater Revival, 1969
| Ike and Tina Turner, 1971
|
| "Rock and Roll Music"
| Chuck Berry, 1957
| The Beatles, 1964
The Beach Boys, 1975
|
| "Roll Over Beethoven"
| Chuck Berry, 1956
| The Beatles, 1963
Electric Light Orchestra,1973
|
| "She Came in through the Bathroom Window"
| The Beatles, 1969
| Joe Cocker, 1969
|
| "Somethin' Stupid"
| Frank & Nancy Sinatra, 1967
| Robbie Williams & Nicole Kidman, 2001
|
| "Spanish Harlem"
| Ben E. King, 1961
| Aretha Franklin, 1971
|
| "Stay"
| Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs, 1960
| Jackson Browne, 1977
|
| "Stop Your Sobbing"
| The Kinks, 1964
| The Pretenders, 1979
|
| "Summertime"
| George Gershwin, from the opera Porgy and Bess, 1934
| The Shake Spears, 1966
Janis Joplin, 1967
[1]
|
| "Summertime Blues"
| Eddie Cochran, 1958
| The Who, 1967
Blue Cheer, 1968
|
| "Suzie Q"
| Dale Hawkins, 1957
| Creedence Clearwater Revival, 1968
|
| "Suspicion"
| Elvis Presley, 1962
| Terry Stafford, 1964
|
| "Take Me To The River"
| Al Green, 1974
| Talking Heads, 1978
|
| "That'll Be The Day"
| Buddy Holly, 1957
| Linda Ronstadt, 1976
|
| "There She Goes"
| The La's, 1989
| Sixpence None The Richer, 1999
|
| "Time"
| Tom Waits, 1967
| Rod Stewart, 1970
|
| "Twist and Shout"
| The Isley Brothers, 1962
| The Beatles, 1963 (rereleased 1986)
|
| "Venus"
| Shocking Blue, 1969
| Bananarama, 1986
|
| "Walk This Way"
| Aerosmith, 1975
| Run DMC, 1986
|
| "We Can Work It Out"
| The Beatles, 1966
| Stevie Wonder, 1971
|
| "With a Little Help from My Friends"
| The Beatles, 1967
| Joe Cocker, 1969
|
| "Without You"
| Badfinger, 1970
| Harry Nilsson, 1971
|
| "Woodstock"
| Joni Mitchell, 1970
| Crosby, Stills, and Nash, 1970
|
| "You Keep Me Hanging On"
| The Supremes, 1966
| Vanilla Fudge, 1968
|
| "You Really Got Me"
| The Kinks, 1965
| Brian Eno et al 1974, Van Halen, 1978
|
| "You've Got a Friend"
| Carole King, 1971
| James Taylor, 1971 [2]
|
List of notable albums consisting entirely of cover songs:
