What song, covered by various artists, has repeated as a top 10 hit the most times?
“The Loco-Motion” hit the Top Ten three times:
Little Eva (#1)
Grand Funk (#1)
Kylie Minogue (#3)
I am going to be the pendant here, do you need the different artists versions to be in the Top-10 or just that different artists have recorded it?
If you allow the latter then Bing’s “White Christmas” wins hands down. It hit Number 1 alone three times!
Oct 3, 1942: #1 for 11 weeks
1943: #6
1944: #5
1945: #1 again
Jan 1947: #1 a third time!
According to http://www.kcmetro.cc.mo.us/pennvalley/biology/lewis/crosby/whitxmas.htm Bing’s recording hit the Top-30 pop charts 17 times in all.
At least one other artist has recorded a version http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00001NFHH/102-9347982-5457765?v=glance#product-details
anyone? OK never heard of her - but surely it has hit the Top-10 with another artist too. Anyone?
According to The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, my now ancient 1992 edition, there are several others with three in the Top Ten:
“The Ballad of Davy Crockett”
Bill Hayes #1
“Tennessee” Ernie Ford #5
Fess Parker #5
“Let Me Go, Lover!”
Joan Weber #1
Teresa Brewer #6
Patti Page #8
“Melody of Love”
Billy Vaughn #2
Four Aces #3
David Carroll #8
“Raunchy”
Bill Justis #2
Ernie Freeman #4
Billy Vaughn #10
“Silhouettes”
Rays #3
Diamonds #10
Herman’s Hermits #5
“Why Do Fools Fall in Love”
Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers #6
Gale Storm #9
Diana Ross #7
“You Keep Me Hanging On”
Supremes #1
Vanilla Fudge #6
Kim Wilde #1
But the winner is a tie!
“Only You”
Platters #5
Hilltoppers #8
Franck Pourcel’s French Fiddles #9
Ringo Starr #6
“Unchained Melody”
Les Baxter #1
Al Hibber #3
Roy Hamilton #6
Righteous Brothers #4
Honorable Mention to “Mack the Knife” with seven entries into the Top 40, but only two in the Top Ten.
P.S. notquitekarpov, you’ll never become a pedant with spelling like that. For that matter, I don’t think it means what you think it does. 
(In this new category …)
I was thinking of Elvis - Return to Sender.
I think it was in and out of the top 10 several times.
“Return to Sender” may have gone in and out of the top 10 during its 14 weeks on the charts, but it was never back in the Top 40 as a resissue.
Lots of Christmas songs made the charts year after year. “White Christmas” hit the Top 40 an additional five times between 1955 and 1962.
That’s weird. I swear sometime in the early 70’s / late 60’s Return to Sender made a mild comeback. It could have just been a regional thing though, the station I listened to must have had some E freaks onboard. 
I agree that seasonal songs should be excluded.
I believe Benny Mardones had a hit in 1980 with the song “Into The Night” and also in the late 1980’s.
(Sorry, I don’t know the chart positions of either).
Not really fulfilling the criteria, but… Didn’t the original recording of “Stand By Me” make a comeback to number one after it was reissued on the movie soundtrack? (1986, perhaps?)
Considering that it never hit #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 to begin with, the answer is no.
It did hit #1 on the Billboard R&B chart and was in the Top 5 of the Hot 100 back in 1961 and when it was re-released in conjucntion with the Rob Reiner directed movie of the same name in 1986, it made it back into the Top 10, but never hit #1 on the Hot 100 or the Pop Charts.
We’re not worried about #1 hits, just top 10, and ANY chart is OK, pop, country, R&B, etc. Saying that, it seems like a lot of pop tunes got covered in the country zone and made top 10. Maybe: Islands in the Stream? I Will Always Love You?
I thought about Stand By Me too. John Lennon did a cover that reached the charts, I don’t think it made top 10 though.
“Hooked on a Feeling” made the top forty, and then a couple of years later it was covered with that “OOGA CHAKA OOGAH OOGAH” chorus, and I’m pretty sure it made the top 10.
I’m just going to be the pedant here and tell you that the word is pedant. 
Look, it was a frigging typo already. OK a funny typo but I know how to spell it - and very well what it means thank you very much, ** Exapno Mapcase**.
I was being pedantic therefore I was…using it correctly I think. 
Chuck Berry - Roll over Beethoven:
The Sonics
Status Quo
John Blair
Johnny Hallyday
The Flamin’ Groovies
The Beatles
I don’t know how far each got in the charts though.
They missed one, ELO covered this song in the early '70s, I’d say it was top 10 too.
(I think this site is a work-in-progress)
http://slicks.ulyssis.org/coverdb/song/715.html
ccwaterback, if you’re going to give up on chart appearances and just go count covers, remember that “Yesterday” has been covered about 2000 times.
I once heard that Bohemian Rhapsody has hit #1 twice. When it first came out it hit number one and it hit number one again when Waynes World came out.
I can’t find a list of the groups that have done it, but I remember reading somewhere that the song I Can’t Help Falling in Love With You hit the top 10 more than any other ever.
As of 1992, just once.
Anybody have a newer printing of the book?
Aside from Xmas songs,the only #1 to LEAVE the top 100 & become a #1 again is the “Twist” by Chubby Checker.(1960 & 61) Had a different flip side the 2nd time.