What genres are you including then? English only? American only? This century? I’m not trying to be an ass, but if you narrow it down to that then we could probably just ask the RIAA. They’re a rabid enough organisation to probably keep tabs on things like this and be able to give a definitive answer. BTW, I’m sure I’ve heard most of the songs mentioned so far on the radio.
Unchained Melody - Must be right up there
along with
My way.
Sigh. Seeing as how we’re only 2 years into this century, allow me please: :smack:
Okay, let’s say since phonographs were starting to get popular instead. If we stick to songs that get airplay, we might find out at Billboard.com. Problem is you need to be a member to search stuff. Anyone have a subscription?
No, Lola, you don’t win. Looking back at the OP I realized that Opal was looking for most covers/remakes of a song, not most performed like I quoted Unca Cece (though that doesn’t neccesarily rule out “HB”). That calls for a double shot: :smack::smack:
I would say that the older a song is the more likely it is to have been covered many times. Some Cole Porter songs come to mind. “Yesterday” is probably a pretty good candidate too.
Hey! My first legit smackie! One more time!
:smack:
George Whiting / Walter Donaldson’s standard, "My Blue Heaven", has been covered dozens of times (notably, by the Smashing Pumpkins).
Just to state the obvious, ‘Happy Birthday’ doesn’t count because it’s the most performed song not the most covered.
I don’t even know if there’s a public database on point. I’d guess the ultimate source is the song owner…is that (in relation to ‘Yesterday’) still Michael Jackson ?
Didn’t his record company confiscate the rights temporarily when the production costs of Jacko’s latest album approached the 2001 Nasa budget?
Which one’s that, Sony?
From NME.com News, 3 April 2002:
"The troubled star [Michael Jackson] bought the entire [publishing] rights to [most of] The Beatles songs in 1985 for around £32 million. He sold half of them to Sony in 1991 for £70 million. He then used Sony as guarantors on a £140 million loan he raised in the mid-90s. They were happy to guarantee the loan if he put the remaining 50% up as surety. The Fox News Network (foxnews.com) now reports that Sony are ready to call in the loan.
“Sony will pick up the debt, and the hugely valuable catalogue. It is estimated to be worth £420 million.”
That’s what I meant, thanks. 
Yeah, we have to be a bit more specific about what a ‘cover’ is. I don’t know if there is a standard definition, but for our purposes I’d say that we’re talking about a song that was originally recorded, that a copyright still exists on, and that has been re-recorded for sale by other artists.
If that’s the standard, then I think “Yesterday” is the winner. The Guinness Book of World Records says so, as does I believe ASCAP.
I’d like to throw out the fact that I’m really annoyed by the number of versions of Tainted Love that are out there right now. I think my mom has even covered that one.
I can’t find a cite, but I remember a fellow Beatleofile telling me he heard on the radio that “Yesterday” had been eclipsed as most-covered song by “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling”. This was around 1997.
FUS
Dnt know if it is the most covered, but Bridge Over troubled Waters has had over 145 version of it recorded.
I’ve heard it’s Yesterday too. So how come I’ve never even heard a single band cover it? I’ve never even heard of a band that did.
I guess ‘Yesterday’ doesn’t fit with your average rock band image. FWIW, I tend to think of it more as crooner or single artist territory.
Another one in that vein that I haven’t seen mentioned here is ‘My Way’.
All of a sudden I’m quite interested in ‘The Top 10 Funeral Parlour Songs’…that would be kind of interesting to know.
I saw one in the paper a few months back. It included “My Heart Will Go On” (:eek: ) from Titanic and “Amazing Grace”. No sign at all of “Another One Bites the Dust” or “We Didn’t Start the Fire”.
Just for fun, I started collecting covers of “Amazing Grace” by different artists. There are versions by just about everyone, and I only get one from each artist. At last count, I had close to 200 versions.
Who covered Lennon & McCartney’s Yesterday? These are just some cover versions that are still in print:
Reggie Paul, The Day Trippers, Travis Edmonson, Hill & Wiltschinsky, Shirley Bassey, Ray Charles, Arthur Fiedler/ Boston Pops Orchestra, Florence Ballard, Alma Cogan, Bilk Acker, Warren Evans, Andy Williams, Ray Conniff, Bill Sveglini, Eric Reed, Ebony Steelband, Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, Panpipes, Richard Clayderman, Anna-Lisa, Peter Breiner & His Symphonic Pop Orchestra, Ann Horstick, The Swingle Singers, Murphy’s Law, Cilla Black, Matt Monro, Rab Howat, Julie Blue, Andrew Thomas Harling, Patty Pravo, Elvis Presley, Pete Drake, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra London, Gabor Szabo, Hollyridge Strings, Tom Jones, Ornella Vanoni, Franck Pourcel, European Jazz Trio, Nathan Parker, Howard Keel, Chris Montez, Lisa Ono, Vassar Clements, Joan Matey Mallory, Perry Como, The Turtle Creek Chorale, 101 Strings, Tammy Wynette, Alice Babs, Jerry Murad’s Harmonicats, The King’s Singers, Sharp Five, Fred Benedetti & Peter Pupping, Bobby Goldsboro, Music Machine, Willie Nelson, Frank Sinatra, Yawar, Buddy Merrill, Chet Atkins, Bradlee, Roger Williams, Hanan Harchol, Jan & Dean, The Ventures …
… and several hundred more
Not only is “Yesterday” the world’s most broadcast song of the modern era with over seven million airplays in the U.S. alone, but it is the world’s most recorded popular song, with over 3,000 cover versions.
From this release .
Well, a quick search of Tower Records’ web site inidates that there are at least 1,222 recordings of “Silent Night” out there, by acts as varied as…
Chet Atkins
Jimi Hendrix
Brenda Lee
Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen
The Platters
The Mantovani Strings
Jewel
98 Degrees
The Drifters
Burl Ives
Eddie Fisher
Elvis Presley
Gene Autry
Amy Grant
Jackie Wilson
Frank Sinatra
The London Philharmonic
Deana Carter
Jon Secada
Babyface
Cyndi Lauper
Andy Williams
The New Christy Minstrels
The Temptations
Olivia Newton-John
Leon Russell
Bing Crosby
Mahalia Jackson
Neil Diamond
Dave Koz
Harry Belafonte
Dwight Yoakam
Vienna Boys Choir
Glenn Miller
Boyz II Men
Dion & the Belmonts
Bruce Cockburn
Enya
Linda Ronstadt
Luciano Pavarotti
Charlotte Church
Captain Kangaroo
Johnny Cash
Chicago
The Gatlin Brothers
Shirley Temple
Willie Nelson
Zamfir, Master of the Pan Flute
Melanie
The Air Supply
Merle Haggard
Gladys Knight & the Pips
The Chieftains
Al Hirt
Glenn Campbell
Spike Jones
Patti LaBelle
Mario Lanza
Elmo and Patsy
Rosemary Clooney
The Carpenters
Dean Martin
John Denver
Shawn Colvin
Al Green
Ella Fitzgerald
Joan Baez
Fats Domino
As I said earlier, I don’t know that this makes “Silent Night” the most recorded song ever, but I still suspect that it or some other Christmas chestnut holds that distinction.
The problem is, since most traditional Christmas carols have been in the public domain for a long time, hardly anybody tracks them! After all, you don’t have to pay royalties to Felix Mendelssohn if you record “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.”
I was led to understand that the two big Beatle’s tunes (Yesterday and Something) were not the most covered tunes, but the ones played the most on radio…although I could be mistaken.
JC