If this were a TV trope, I would say the Trope Namer would be Rotary Connection’s version of the Aretha Franklin hit “Respect.” It’s very different from Frankln’s version, but it’s still a powerful and interesting work, only in part because of Minnie Ripperton’s soaring vocals.
Also, Emerson Lake and Palmer’s synthesized version of the “Peter Gunn” theme which would work more for Johnny Mnemonic than the original 60s private eye. (Can’t find a decent link for it on Youtube, I got it off Itunes for a buck though).
Of course, lots of works get covers, what distinguishes the covers I am thinking of is that they alter the work so profoundly in some way that it almost might as well be a completely different song. Your favorite musician has surely covered songs, but did their covers radically reinvent the song and was it successful?
Don’t know if giving the song a reggae beat and a solo on the Uilleann pipes is radical enough, if so here’s Kate Bush’s reinterpetation of Elton John’s Rocket Man.
There’s a near-endless array of “white dudes covering hiphop songs as ballads” out there, but for my money, the best is Jonathan Coulton’s “Baby Got Back.” It’s one of the few that seems genuinely respectful and affectionate for the original (rather than playing up the contrast for yuks or giving a white singer the chance to “edgily” say the N-word). Plus the actual message in “Baby Got Back” actually lends itself nicely to a folky take.
Unless you’re old like me, you probably haven’t had the experience of hearing Bob Dylan’s version of All Along The Watchtower first, and then hearing the Jimi Hendrix version. I loved Dylan’s version, but the first time I heard Jimi’s, I got goose-bumps. To me this is the ultimate radical, successful cover.
All Along the Watchtower is one of those ‘endlessly reinterpreted’ songs. You’ve got to throw in versions by U2 and Dave Matthews, too.
For me, a reinterpretation should present a new angle on the song. Something that was there but unnoticed. To that end I’ll nominate Dolly Parton’s covers of Collective Soul’s ‘Shine’ and Led Zeppelin’s ‘Stairway to Heaven’. She turns both songs into a much more religious feel. Both could easily be sung in church the way she puts them together and make God and heaven the center of meaning.
Lots of classic bebop artists took standards and played new melodies over the chord progressions. (Charllie Parker’s “Donna Lee” was based on “Back Home in Indiana”.) There were instances where they didn’t quite go far enough to declare the result a new song, but the interpretation was pretty damn different. One good example was “Embraceable You” by Miles Davis and Charlie Parker (sorry, can’t find the particular version online).
Gary Jules version of “Mad World” is incredible. And Judas Priest’s version of the Joan Baez song “Diamonds and Rust” is a really cool interpretation (ETA: the slow version, their speedy version is a little weird).
Don’t forget that Aretha herself had taken Respect from Otis Redding (his version is essentially a demand for sex) and turned into the quintessential female empowerment anthem of its time.