[Old School Hound]

For those who know me,  they know that I am not big on cover songs of  classic tunes.  You know, a terrific song that was done right the first time around.  What's the point ?   I mean do we really want to hear anyone other than Prince do "Little Red Corvette"  or Justin Bieber putting his take on "Rocket Man" ?


Having said that I am typically not a big fan of covers of classic songs, there are some cases where it has actually worked well and a few cases(hurts me to say this) where I actually liked the cover better than the original.


What are some of your favorite covers of classic tunes that you think actually worked well and maybe even surpassed the original. I'm primarily looking for songs that were hugely successful hits but you think the cover was almost as good or better than the original.

I'll give an example  and you guys can add to and expand on this topic.   You don't know how much this hurts me to even have to mention this first one.  I love Elton John's music and have been listening to it for  fifty years.  And I LOVE his version of  "Daniel. " It deserved all of the accolades it received. 

 Having said that ,  I REALLY LOVE  the cover that this trio of girls did of that classic tune.  Their harmonies are simply exquisite and almost divine.   You think they may have some good musical genes?  Pretty damned good DNA is required to do a cover of a classic song this well.


Here's  Wilson Phillips  with an INCREDIBLE cover of Elton and Bernie's  "Daniel"  :

[Jarons]

Disturbed's Sound of Silence is the best cover I have heard

[Old School Hound]

I know Bruce's original wasn't a big hit(in fact, I think maybe it was the first song on his first album). However, the song became a huge hit because of the 1977 cover of the song, which went to #1 on the Billboard charts.  In my opinion, this may be the cover that is better than the original by the widest margin. I know some people who like Bruce's version better. But not me.  MMEB took Bruce's song and lifted it off the planet and out into space. It was one of the signature classic rock tunes of the seventies. Thank you Bruce and thank you Manfred Mann's Earth Band !!!


From the Midnight Special...what a performance!

[Jarons]

Not a big fan of Country Music. This version of this song is one of my favorite songs. I could listen to Allison Krauss sing this all day.

[Van Hagar]

Hard to ever top Prince, but here’s a great version of one of his, shall we say, more explicit classics, by Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters, one of the few rock bands still out there that aren’t just a legacy act.

[Old School Hound]

                                     Happy   74th   Birthday    to the "Rocket Man"  himself  !!!!


Might as well give him some props for one of the best covers ever. You don't typically think of Elton as someone who covers other artists. Most of his songs are John/Taupin original.  However, I will say when Elton does a cover he damn sure does it right. And when you cover a Beatles' song you BETTER do it justice. Elton did more than do this Lennon song justice; he made it his own.  Captain Fantastic took a good song and sent it into the stratosphere.  By  the way,  Lennon is playing guitar and singing backup on this track ; his name appears in the album credits as Dr. Winston O'Boogie.   Here's the birthday boy with one of the all-time great covers:

           

          *************   L  U   C   Y     I  N        T   H   E        S   K   Y      W   I   T    H        D   I   A   M   O   N   D   S      *************



                                                                      

[jetpilot]

Not a big fan of Country Music. This version of this song is one of my favorite songs. I could listen to Allison Krauss sing this all day.

Great one, both of those are awesome.

[jetpilot]

Not a big fan of Country Music. This version of this song is one of my favorite songs. I could listen to Allison Krauss sing this all day.

I won't hijack this excellent thread but if this doesn't bring a tear to your eye, you are one tough mofo...it was also in the movie O Brother Where Art Thou

[jetpilot]

[Van Hagar]

Here is my favorite country artist, who is really a rocker at heart, with a great cover of one of my favorite Skynyrd songs.

[Van Hagar]

I guess I could’ve posted the link, so you didn’t have to guess.

[Van Hagar]

Kris Kristofferson wrote it and recorded it first, but Janis Joplin made it hers forever.

[The Outsider]

How about "With a Little Help From My Friends" by Joe Cocker? It was written and recorded by the Beatles prior to Cocker.

[Old School Hound]

Kris Kristofferson wrote it and recorded it first, but Janis Joplin made it hers forever.

Janis sang with such passion and soul. If she sang it, she was determined to make it her own. You could tell she lived a lot of the words she sang. She sang it; she felt it; she lived it !    LOVE it :

[Van Hagar]

How about "With a Little Help From My Friends" by Joe Cocker? It was written and recorded by the Beatles prior to Cocker.

That's a good call, I always really liked Joe Cocker's voice, liked this cover better than the original. Another for me that falls into that category is Guns 'n' Roses version of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," I like it wayyyyy better than the Bob Dylan original.