# Who is the most-covered musical artist? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 1, 2018, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-covered-musical-artist/809849 "2018-03-01T19:58:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2018, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-covered-musical-artist/809849/21 "2018-03-02T04:06:47Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > From what I can glean from classical music business media (yes, there is such a category), popularity bounces between Beethoven and Bach, with Mozart and Handel right behind. Whether someone like Bach or Beethoven counts depends on how strictly you interpret the OP’s requirement that they “recorded the original version.” ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2018, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-covered-musical-artist/809849/22 "2018-03-02T04:18:03Z")
Patty Hill and Mildred J. Hill, the writers of “Happy Birthday to You”: > **[Happy Birthday to You](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Birthday_to_You)** > > "Happy Birthday to You", also known as "Happy Birthday", is a song traditionally sung to celebrate a person's birthday. According to the 1998 Guinness World Records, it is the most recognised song in the English language, followed by "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow". The song's base lyrics have been translated into at least 18 languages. The melody of "Happy Birthday to You" comes from the song "Good Morning to All", which has traditionally been attributed to American sisters Patty and Mildre Th... ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2018, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-covered-musical-artist/809849/23 "2018-03-02T08:29:57Z")
If you’re counting just the number of songs that were covered at least once, Black Sabbath has got to be up there. Thanks to innumerable tribute albums, just about every Ozzy-era song and most Dio-era songs have been covered by somebody somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2018, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-covered-musical-artist/809849/24 "2018-03-02T08:41:01Z")
Who wrote ‘The star spangled banner’? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2018, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-covered-musical-artist/809849/25 "2018-03-02T08:54:49Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Who wrote ‘The star spangled banner’? Francis Scott Key wrote the words, as a poem. Key’s brother-in-law matched the words up with a popular melody, “[The Anacreontic Song](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Anacreon_in_Heaven)” (a.k.a. “To Anacreon in Heaven”), which was the official song of a London gentlemen’s club, the Anacreontic Society. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2018, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-covered-musical-artist/809849/26 "2018-03-02T09:28:19Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > My vote goes for whoever first recorded “Amazing Grace”. That hymn long predates recording technology, so there’s no original recording artist to “cover”. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2018, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-covered-musical-artist/809849/27 "2018-03-02T10:08:10Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > If you’re counting just the number of songs that were covered at least once, Black Sabbath has got to be up there. Thanks to innumerable tribute albums, just about every Ozzy-era song and most Dio-era songs have been covered by somebody somewhere. Or the Kingsmen. If you’re at a jam session and you can’t find a song that everyone knows, just start playing Louie Louie. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2018, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-covered-musical-artist/809849/28 "2018-03-02T16:09:59Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > “Ahhhh… Bach!” Radar, is that you? ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2018, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-covered-musical-artist/809849/29 "2018-03-02T17:02:44Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > I’ll throw in my vote for Hoagy Carmichael (Georgia On My Mind, Stardust, and many others.) Yeah, I like that guess. Just saw him recently in _The Best Years of Our Lives_. I was thinking somebody older, who wrote “standards” like that, rather than regular pop groups. Though the Beatles are a good guess. If the answer has to have “recorded the original version”, then my guess, [Stephen Foster](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Foster) is out, just like Bach and co, along with every other pre-20th Century composer. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2018, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-covered-musical-artist/809849/30 "2018-03-02T18:54:39Z")
George Gershwin (his estate is the reason the copyright term keeps getting extended; once his work goes PD, they’re sunk). ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2018, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-covered-musical-artist/809849/31 "2018-03-03T03:00:06Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Allegedly, Beethoven’s Fifth is the world’s most recognized melody. Or at least the first 4 notes of it are. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2018, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-covered-musical-artist/809849/32 "2018-03-03T04:29:43Z")
> [@pohjonen](#): > > Leonard Cohen? Seems like nearly everyone and their brother has done Hallelujah. Or maybe it just feels that way because of American Idol and the other shows of that genre. I came here to say this. Every singer who styles themself as a good singer seems to do this song. I’ll also add that most of the covers of “Hallelujah” suck with a few that are outstanding (it is a difficult song to do right). [K.D. Lang’s rendition](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_NpxTWbovE) is my favorite. That woman has an amazing voice. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2018, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-covered-musical-artist/809849/33 "2018-03-03T05:26:59Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > That hymn long predates recording technology, so there’s no original recording artist to “cover”. That’s why I said “first”. The same thing can be said about the classical composers mentioned in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2018, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-covered-musical-artist/809849/34 "2018-03-03T08:14:37Z")
The most covered? Obviously not the [Naked Cowboy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naked_Cowboy). ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2018, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-covered-musical-artist/809849/35 "2018-03-03T11:25:33Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Patty Hill and Mildred J. Hill, the writers of “Happy Birthday to You”: > > [Happy Birthday to You - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Birthday_to_You) How is it not this? The fact that restaurants are charged royalties if their crews sing it is, to me, what makes any sung version a “cover.” So in all the places this is the birthday song it’s getting covered. Besides specific anomalies like that, I also assume it is The Beatles. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2018, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-covered-musical-artist/809849/36 "2018-03-03T11:34:07Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > How is it not this? The fact that restaurants are charged royalties if their crews sing it is, to me, what makes any sung version a “cover.” So in all the places this is the birthday song it’s getting covered. You’ll be happy to learn “Happy Birthday” is [now in the public domain](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/02/happy-birthday-is-public-domain-former-owner-warnerchapell-to-pay-14m/) and the last copyright holder (Warner/Chappell) had to pay back $14 million in royalties they collected for that copyright. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2018, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-covered-musical-artist/809849/37 "2018-03-03T11:51:03Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > You’ll be happy to learn “Happy Birthday” is [now in the public domain](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/02/happy-birthday-is-public-domain-former-owner-warnerchapell-to-pay-14m/) and the last copyright holder (Warner/Chappell) had to pay back $14 million in royalties they collected for that copyright. That’s right - I remember that. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2018, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-covered-musical-artist/809849/38 "2018-03-03T12:07:53Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > Maybe someone could put [this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cover_versions_of_Beatles_songs)into a spreadsheet, and report back? Done crudely (I didn’t dissect out medleys) Most covered songs: “Yesterday” 71 “Eleanor Rigby” 55 “Come Together” 51 Artist covering most Beatles sings: The Hollyridge Strings 53 Yellow Matter Custard 30 Phish 30 ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2018, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-covered-musical-artist/809849/39 "2018-03-04T00:08:06Z")
“Sweet Home Chicago” is a blues standard first recorded by Robert Johnson in 1936. I’d bet there’s not a blues band in the entire world who hasn’t done a cover. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2018, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-covered-musical-artist/809849/40 "2018-03-04T18:58:31Z")
> [@tracer](#): > > Or at least the first 4 notes of it are. Heck, I can name that tune in 3 notes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-covered-musical-artist/809849.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-covered-musical-artist/809849.md?page=3)