# What are the best musical covers ever? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 8, 2003, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-musical-covers-ever/193939 "2003-08-08T23:41:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cholo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@Cholo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cholo)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-musical-covers-ever/193939/21 "2003-08-09T13:46:34Z")
I love Johnny Winter’s cover of Dylan’s **Highway 61 Revisited** The Allman Brother’s cover of Robert Johnson’s **Come Into My Kitchen** is outstanding The Rolling Stone’s cover of **Just My Imagination** is great as well as their cover of Robert Johnson’s **Love in Vain** Aerosmith’s cover of the Beatle’s **Come Together** is quite good…much more ominous. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-musical-covers-ever/193939/22 "2003-08-09T14:28:36Z")
Stevie Ray Vaughn’s cover of Jimi’s **Little Wing** Joe Cocker’s cover of the Boxtops’ **The Letter** Bonnie Rait’s cover of Del Shannon’s **Runaway** Brother Ray’s cover of **America, the Beautiful** Mary Chapin Carpenter and Kevin Mongomery’s cover of Buddy Holly’s **Wishing** Any Nitty Gritty Dirt Band cover of any Buddy Holly song, for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![ErinPuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@ErinPuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ErinPuff)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-musical-covers-ever/193939/23 "2003-08-09T15:22:23Z")
I’m a dork. Just to warn you. And I don’t know if any of this actually counts. Eh. Anthony Warlow, **Unexpected Song** Anthony Warlow, **Skylark** Bruno Pelletier, **Miserere** Linda Eder, **Bridge Over Troubled Water** Michael Ball, **Last Night of the World** Michael Ball, **Gethsemane** Sarah Brightman, **Il Cuore Mio Va** (My Heart Will Go On, in Italian) ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMensch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MonkeyMensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMensch)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-musical-covers-ever/193939/24 "2003-08-09T16:04:42Z")
Though they mixed the lyrics, I go with **Cream** ’s cover of Roberts Johnson’s _Crossroads_. ---
**Author:** ![yastobaal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/258eb7/32.png) [@yastobaal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yastobaal)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-musical-covers-ever/193939/25 "2003-08-09T16:29:00Z")
Manfred Mann’s version of Blinded by the Light is much better than Bruce Springsteen’s. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-musical-covers-ever/193939/26 "2003-08-09T17:22:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yastobaal \* > \*\*Manfred Mann’s version of Blinded by the Light is much better than Bruce Springsteen’s. \*\* Sorry, but I respectfully disagree. Manfred Mann takes an energized, kick-ass rock-and-roll anthem and sucks every bit of life out of it in that over-produced dirge they released. Never has a band so completely misunderstood a song, IMO. Bruce’s version, not surprisingly, is outstanding. ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-musical-covers-ever/193939/27 "2003-08-09T18:11:38Z")
Thre Byrds used only the second verse and the chorus to Dylan’s **Mr .Tambourine Man** , but they were very effective. ---
**Author:** ![typhoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed8c4c/32.png) [@typhoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typhoon)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-musical-covers-ever/193939/28 "2003-08-09T18:43:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lizard \* > **4 I saw a few polls about _worst_ covers, but nobody asking about the best.** [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=200596&highlight=covers](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=200596&highlight=covers) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=189726&highlight=covers](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=189726&highlight=covers) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=124185&highlight=covers](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=124185&highlight=covers) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=118550&highlight=covers](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=118550&highlight=covers) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=113594&highlight=covers](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=113594&highlight=covers) ---
**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:** [August 9, 2003, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-musical-covers-ever/193939/29 "2003-08-09T19:25:52Z")
## quote: ## Originally posted by John Carter of Mars Elvis Presley’s cover of Big Mama Thornton’s “Hound Dog” is certainly one of the best. It’s also one of the most successful, if making #1 and selling recordings is used as the criteria. By **capacitor** : “It wasn’t a cover, it was a parody. Big Mama was singing about a no-good mooching man. Elvis was singing about a real hound dog.” Eh? A real hound dog? I thought _everybody_ knew Elvis was singing about a no good mooching girl and parodied her as a dog. Oh well, just goes to show ya’. Anyway, are cover and parody mutually exclusive? Since the songwriting team of Jerry Leiber/ Mike Stoller received writer’s royalties for that song from both artists, I’ll assume the music industry considered it to be the same song, and thus a cover. **Ranger** : A cover of _any_ Buddy Holly song being better than the original? That’ll Be The Day! ---
**Author:** ![doctordoowop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecc23a/32.png) [@doctordoowop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doctordoowop)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-musical-covers-ever/193939/30 "2003-08-09T20:16:16Z")
Leiber & Stoller wrote it specifically for Big Mama in about an hour. She couldn’t believe “those 2 white boys” did it. Being the main writers for early Elvis, it made sense he sang it for RCA. It was NOT a parody, despite that rock HATER Steve Allen making Elvis sing it to a dog on his TV show. ---
**Author:** ![superstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f4b2a3/32.png) [@superstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/superstar)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-musical-covers-ever/193939/31 "2003-08-09T23:42:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Reeder \* > > The worst at the moment is Counting Crow’s cover of Joni Mitchell’s \*\* > Big Yellow Taxi\*\*. ]\*\*. > > \*\* I have to change radio stations if I hear it come on… a travesty!! ---
**Author:** ![skeptic\_ev](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@skeptic\_ev](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skeptic_ev)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-musical-covers-ever/193939/32 "2003-08-10T02:17:14Z")
Throwing a little country in the mix: Garth Brooks’s cover of Bob Dylan’s “To Make You Feel My Love” and Mary Chapin Carpenter’s cover of John Lennon’s “Grow Old With Me.” Also (not country), “Dream a Little Dream of Me” done by both the Mamas and the Papas and Mel Tormé. Separately, I mean. There’s an M&P version and a Mel version. They’re both cool in their own way. One more Dylan cover: Kenny Wayne Sheppard’s cover of “Blue on Black.” ---
**Author:** ![doctordoowop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecc23a/32.png) [@doctordoowop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doctordoowop)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-musical-covers-ever/193939/33 "2003-08-10T07:58:13Z")
How about Freddie Cannon’s “20th Century Fox.” ? Oh, never mind, thought this was worst. ---
**Author:** ![Snake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Snake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snake)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-musical-covers-ever/193939/34 "2003-08-10T07:59:13Z")
> [@](#): > > Since I’m being picky, I’ll twist the title and say the best _non_-musical cover I’ve ever heard is Guns ‘n’ Roses’ version of _Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door_. That’s probably the most non-musical thing I’ve ever heard. \*\* HA ! Good one ! Hahahahaha If you actually like the song itself , try finding a copy of the Austrailian band Heaven doing it. Allen Fryer’s voice is perfect on that one . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-musical-covers-ever/193939.md?page=1)