But most people know that as the Simon & Garfunkel song, which is actually “Scarborough Fair/Canticle.” The canticle portion is the antiwar counterpoint written by Simon, the difference that makes the song unforgettable. (Well, that and the musical arrangement that might make it the prettiest song of the decade, which didn’t hurt.)
Laura Nyro had three beautiful albums from 1967-69 that other artists plundered for songs, a bunch of whom became huge hits. Easier to steal from Wikipedia on this.
They also covered his “For You”. It doesn’t get played much but overall I’ve probably heard theirs more often on the radio than his.
Also his “Fire” by The Pointer Sisters. Sort of; his version had been recorded for Darkness on the Edge of Town but not used on the album. He was singing it live during the tour for Darkness.
“Strawberry Letter 23” is a song by Shuggie Otis, but everyone knows the lesser Brothers Johnson cover.
That sounds like it (at least on this notepad :rolleyes: ) Far better than later versions.
Thanks!
Your experience is very different than mine. As always on the SDMB, YMMV. 
When Judy Collins asked songwriter Stephen Sondheim for permission to record “Send in the Clowns” from his hit musical A Little Night Music, he told her that damn near everybody had covered that song. But she did it anyway, and had the biggest hit of her career.
Tom Paxton practically owns this catagory–John Denver’s Whose Garden Was This, the Fireball’s Bottle of Wine and everybody’s Ramblin’ Boy (so popular that it often gets credited as a “traditional folk song.” No higher honor than that.
Apparently, there was also this version by Trine Rein which came out before Natalie Imbruglia’s versions.
And Ednaswap actually has three versions of the song, according to Wikipedia, although it’s almost identical to the slow version released by them: “In 1997, Ednaswap released Wacko Magneto, which has a remixed version of the song from the “Chicken” EP. The only difference between the two are the imperceptible background vocal effects and screeching guitars at some points of the song.”
Anyhow, best to read Wikipedia’s recap of the song’s recorded history. Looks like the history is thus:
1993 or before - Ednaswap write the song
1993 - Lis Sørensen records and releases it as “Brændt”
1995 - Ednaswap releases their more rocking version it on their self-titled debut
1996 - Trine Rein relases it on her album Beneath my Skin
1996 - Ednaswap releases the slow version on Chicken
1997 - Ednaswap releases a minor remix on Wacko Magneto
1997 - Natalie Imbruglia releases it and it becomes a big hit
What about Springsteen’s “Jersey Girl”? Never has a singer so identified as a songwriter been so associated with a song written by someone else. Tom Waits.
I’m Henery the Eighth I Am didn’t make the top? I was surprised, many years later, to learbn that this was an old Music Hall song (although considerably up-tempoed.)
Arlo Guthrie’s City of New Orleans, written and first recorded by Steve Goodman.
I’ve got Wacko Magneto, so that’s the version I’ve heard most and don’t care for. I don’t recall hearing their other versions. I remember vividly hearing Imbruglia’s version and thinking “whoa, she picked that up and ran with it.” Kinda ticked when I heard rumors she claimed it was hers originally, though.
John Hartford wrote Gentle on My Mind, covered by a few including Glen Campbell.
By the Time I Get to Phoenix written by Jimmy Webb, recorded by Johnny Rivers, covered by a few including Glen Campbell.
The Seventh Son by Willie Dixon covered by a few including Johnny Rivers.
Also, without the Imbruglia version we wouldn’t have this, and that is one of the best things ever.
Also Rod Stewart’s version of Waits’s “Downtown Train”.
It’s like Laura Nyro and other singer/songwriters in this thread. Some people prefer their originals and some like the slicker commercial versions. I like the Brothers Johnson version - it has enormous punch. And even though I like Laura Nyro a lot, the Fifth Dimension used a very similar arrangement on her “Stoned Soul Picnic” but made it into one of my favorite all-time songs.
I limited the list to covers of American songs. Otherwise I could have added many, including “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter.” Weirdly, both went #1 in America and weren’t released as British singles at all. "“Just a Little Bit Better” and “A Must to Avoid” were also American covers. But I’m stopping now.
In Britain pretty much the entire “Dionne Warwick sings Bacharach” catalog got covered by Cilla Black, and by “covered” I mean “copied exactly down to every beat, breath and inflection”. Annoys me no end, that does.
Also in the UK, Lulu is probably better known for “Shout” than the Isley Brothers.
Yeah, but she was a Brill Building songwriter - all she was supposed to do was write songs for others to cover. She didn’t get around to writing for herself until she had been in music more than a decade.
I am surprised noone has mentioned the theme from “Unchained.” The first big recording, called “Unchained Melody” was by Al Hibbler and mostly forgotten today. Wikipedia says it may have been covered as many as 500 times. Few remember any version other than the Righteous Brothers.
Certainly one of the prime examples of this is “The Twist”, written and originally recorded by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters. A photocopy version recorded by Chubby Checker became a worldwide smash.
Then there’s “Hound Dog”, a Lieber-Stoller song that Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton made the R & B charts with in 1952. Elvis did OK with it four years later (with altered lyrics and a completely different arrangement).
Yep, most notable to me is Led Zeppelin, who practically made their whole careers covering songs, mostly blues. This forum posting is a good summary, with music clips, of the Zeppelin borrowing/reworking/stealing of old blues songs.
George Throgood’s covers were very successful; “One Bourbon, One Scotch One Beer” (John Lee Hooker), “Who Do You Love” and (Bo Diddley), and even “Move it on Over” (Hank Williams.)
“The First Cut is the Deepest” to me was a Sheryl Crow song, then I discovered Rod Stewart’s great version from the 70’s. But it was actually written by Cat Stevens in the 1960s and was a hit by P. P. Arnold, Keith Hampshire, Rod Stewart, and Sheryl Crow.