|
|
|
Home | Songwriters | Songs | Lyrics | Performers |
The term Cover Version comes from the time when an artist would perform an alternative version of a song originally done by someone else, and this would be done for purely commercial reasons. There was sometimes some reason why the original version was not available, or anyway, not easy to get. It happened especially in Britain when American songs were performed by British artists. Usually the cover version was inferior, but many people might have been unaware of the original.
Cover versions can be unusual, unexpected, and interesting when a song is taken into a quite different genre from the one it began as. It takes a certain kind of genius to see how a song can be reworked into a completely different style.
It is always noteworthy if a great songwriter uses the work of another. It is a tribute the the song being used, and its writer.
| Song | Songwriter(s) | Original performer | New Version | Year |
| Brown Eyed Handsome Man | Chuck Berry | Chuck Berry | Buddy Holly | 1956 |
| Lucille | Collins, Penniman | Little Richard | The Everly Brothers | 1957 |
| Claudette | Roy Orbison | The Everly Brothers | 1958 | |
| I Wanna Be Your Man | Lennon, McCartney | The Beatles | The Rolling Stones | 1963 |
| As Tears Go By | Jagger, Richards | The Rolling Stones | Marianne Faithfull | 1965 |
| Take it or Leave It | Jagger, Richards | The Rolling Stones | The Searchers | 1966 |
| Blue Turns to Grey | Jagger, Richards | The Rolling Stones | Cliff Richard | 1966 |
| Here Comes My Baby | Cat Stevens | Cat Stevens | The Tremeloes | 1967 |
| I Was Made to Love Her | Cosby, Hardaway, Moy, Wonder | Stevie Wonder | The Beach Boys | 1967 |
| Spicks and Specks | Barry Gibb | The Bee Gees | Status Quo | 1968 |
| Black Magic Woman | Peter Green | Fleetwood Mac | Santana | |
| Without You | Peter Ham; Tom Evans | Badfinger | Nilsson | 1972 |
| Pinball Wizard | Pete Townshend | The Who | Elton John | 1976 |
| The First Cut is the Deepest | Cat Stevens | Cat Stevens | Rod Stewart | 1977 |
| Still I'm Sad | Samwell-Smith, McCarthy | The Yardbirds | Boney M | 1977 |
| Setting Me Up | Mark Knopfler | Dire Straits | Eric Clapton | 1980 |
| Woman in Love | B, R, and M. Gibb | - | Barbra Streisand | 1980 |
| Heartbreaker | B, R, and M. Gibb | The Bee Gees | Dionne Warwick | 1982 |
| Jealous Guy | John Lennon | John Lennon | Bryan Ferry |
Please put a link to this page using one of the following locations:
www.songs1.com
or direct to this page:
www.songs1.com/covers.html