# Is "covered" what I think it is **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 4, 2002, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-covered-what-i-think-it-is/140411 "2002-12-04T12:17:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rampisad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/858c86/32.png) [@rampisad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rampisad)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-covered-what-i-think-it-is/140411/1 "2002-12-04T12:17:53Z")
I’ve been wanting to post a question in one of the “scientific” forums on SD but don’t know the exact terminology, so maybe someone here can help. I’m trying to get statistics on the one song that has been recorded by the greatest number of different artists or groups - excluding Silent Night and Amazing Grace etc. (IOW, non-religious). I think the term for this is “covered”, but I may be wrong. BTW, if anyone here can make the play, I’m all ears. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Carter_of_Mars)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-covered-what-i-think-it-is/140411/2 "2002-12-04T12:51:14Z")
Example of “covered”: Chuck Berry originally released the song “Memphis, Tennessee” about 1960. A few years later, Johnny Rivers released his version of “Memphis, Tennessee”. The J. Rivers song was the “cover”. As for your question about the most covered song, someone else will have to answer that one! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Pergau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7c8e57/32.png) [@Pergau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pergau)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-covered-what-i-think-it-is/140411/3 "2002-12-04T13:00:57Z")
I think that the answer is “The girl from Ipanema” ---
**Author:** ![Yossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/9de0a6/32.png) [@Yossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yossarian)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-covered-what-i-think-it-is/140411/4 "2002-12-04T13:21:00Z")
Go check out: > **[AllMusic | Record Reviews, Streaming Songs, Genres & Bands](https://www.allmusic.com/)** > > AllMusic provides comprehensive music info including reviews and biographies. Get recommendations for new music to listen to, stream or own. And do a song search. I typed in “Yesterday” and got 508 hits. When you click on the song title, it’ll list the albums that song has appeared on. Note that it hasn’t necessarily been covere 508 times: some of he albums are Beatles compilations, and some may be other songs also called “Yesterday” (although I’d expect that the number of those may be neglibile compared to the actual covers). Results for “The Girl from Ipanema”: 346. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-covered-what-i-think-it-is/140411/5 "2002-12-04T16:00:21Z")
The top two are reportedly [Yesterday and Louie, Louie](http://oldies.about.com/library/weekly/aa091602a.htm) but [the BBC has other ideas](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/921359.stm). ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-covered-what-i-think-it-is/140411/6 "2002-12-04T16:24:38Z")
It’s probably “Louie, Louie”. I read that a radio station once played an entire week of cover versions of this song without repeating. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-covered-what-i-think-it-is/140411/7 "2002-12-04T16:30:29Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m trying to get statistics on the one song that has been recorded by the greatest number of different artists or groups - excluding Silent Night and Amazing Grace etc. (IOW, non-religious). I think the term for this is “covered”, but I may be wrong. I think the difference between what the OP is after and what has been discussed is that “covering” a song normally means “remaking” (to use a movie term) a song which has an “original artist” version already recorded. “Silent Night” and “Amazing Grace” do not have this quality, as they were never recorded by an “original artist.” Yes, you could probably track down the first person ever to record those songs, but they would have been recording songs which were already well-known and which had been circulated for years as sheet music. This is why one does not say that the latest recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 is a “cover.” ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-covered-what-i-think-it-is/140411/8 "2002-12-04T16:37:13Z")
Actually, I think it’s “Happy Birthday;” most people just don’t bother to record their covers. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-covered-what-i-think-it-is/140411/9 "2002-12-04T16:39:29Z")
Beg pardon. I managed to read right over the word “excluding.” :o ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-covered-what-i-think-it-is/140411/10 "2002-12-04T16:47:31Z")
That’s okay–I skimmed right over the “recorded” part. My bad. ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-covered-what-i-think-it-is/140411/11 "2002-12-04T17:10:15Z")
According to the Guinness Book site [www.guinnessworldrecords.com/:](http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/:) > [@](#): > > Most Recorded Song > The most recorded song is “Yesterday” written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon. From 1965 to January 1, 1986 some 1,600 versions of the song were made. The song was first recorded in June 1965 and released that August on the Help! album. It has been covered by artists such Elvis Presley, Boyz II Men, Frank Sinatra, James Brown, and Gladys Knight. The song reportedly came to McCartney in a dream. He woke up, went to the piano, turned on the tape recorder, and played the song. He then spent the next few weeks trying to figure out whether he’d heard the song before or just made it up in his sleep! One of my all time favorite songs, too. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-covered-what-i-think-it-is/140411/12 "2002-12-04T17:16:05Z")
Dangit, you just beat me to it, **photopat**. ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-covered-what-i-think-it-is/140411/13 "2002-12-04T17:17:38Z")
Since the stats there are almost 17 years old, I wonder what the number is now? I always thought a really great collection (and really obsessive) would be to own a copy of every cover version of Yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-covered-what-i-think-it-is/140411/14 "2002-12-04T19:57:28Z")
[The Covers Project](http://www.coversproject.com) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-covered-what-i-think-it-is/140411/15 "2002-12-04T21:14:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SmackFu \* > \*\*[The Covers Project](http://www.coversproject.com) \*\* Yeah, but that site is user driven liken the IMDb. They’re missing several hundered covers of [Yesterday](http://www.coversproject.com/search.php?query=yesterday) and they only have three for [Louie, Louie](http://www.coversproject.com/search.php?query=louie%2C+louie). And what’s with all the different original artists listed for [The Girl From Ipanema](http://www.coversproject.com/search.php?query=girl+from+ipanema)? ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-covered-what-i-think-it-is/140411/16 "2002-12-04T21:38:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Little Nemo \* > \*\*It’s probably “Louie, Louie”. I read that a radio station once played an entire week of cover versions of this song without repeating. \*\* I kinda doubt that. If we say it’s 3 minutes to the song, that would make it 3360 recorded versions.