Here’s an odd one…
Written by Willie Nelson and (sort of) released under questionable legal circumstances (as Paul Buskirk and the Little Men featuring Hugh Nelson) in 1960, went nowhere. “Original” release by Ray Price in 1963 was a big hit, so Willie re-packaged and released it again. So the original is the cover?
Anyway, it’s been covered by just about every singer with a voice.
The Willie Nelson original
The best cover in IMHO
Whoa, that’s the youngest Willie Nelson I’ve ever seen.
The Air That I Breathe
Original by Albert Hammond (with sappy strings)
The hit by The Hollies
And the killer cover by Simply Red (my favorite version):
And yet he already looked like an oldish weathered veteran in that picture, just like Johnny Cash did in his late twenties.
I wonder about that, too, especially in massivley different (but still good) versions. I wouldn’t call it a hit, but how did Judas Priest hear Joan Baez’ Damonds and Rust and think it could be a heavy metal power rocker? And why?
It wasn’t like the Sex Pistols covering Sinatra, that was “camp”.
Similarly, IIRC in the movie “Ray,” Mr. Charles wanted to do a Country and Western album and the record guys said he was nuts. He didn’t think the blues and country were that different.
The songwriter had a hit.
But Ray took it to #1.