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Nominate the Best Covers of someone else's song!

Karen Carpenter - Beatles "Ticket to Ride"
 
Rufus Wainwright - Hallelujah, Leonard Cohen (best version of all that are out there IMO - timing is impeccable; his version was on The Shrek Soundtrack, though the performance in the movie is by someone else) - for those unfamiliar with Wainwright, his father is Loudon Wainwright III and his mother was Kate McGarrigle (The McGarrigle Sisters). He and Leonard Cohen's daughter have a child together (a little girl).



Fiona Apple - Across the Universe, The Beatles



Noel Gallagher - To Be Someone, The Jam (the original is better, but I loved this version when I saw them in Pittsburgh many moons ago...)



Radiohead - Ceremony, Joy Division/New Order (it's f'n awesome; one of my favorite JD/NO songs - it's great because they play it very, very straight and faithful to the original)



Nine Inch Nails - Dead Souls, Joy Division

 
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Toss up...

Hendrix - All Along the Watchtower
Mountain - Roll Over Beethoven
Cocker - With a Little Help from my Friends
 


Sundays cover of Rolling Stones "Wild Horses".



Bill Murray doing Roxy Music's "More Than This"
 
Springsteen's version of Jimmy Cliff's Trapped.

Replacements version of Grass Roots' Temptation Eyes. Completely changes the feel of the song from poppy ditty to dirty, lustful temptation.

Also, the Replacements version of the Defranco Family's Lovebeat. Another little 70s pop tune that they give some soul to.
 
Some of my favorites:

Jimi Hendrix's covers of: Killing Floor live at Monterey (Howlin' Wolf), All Along The Watchtower (Bob Dylan), Johnny B. Goode live at Berkeley Community College (Chuck Berry) and Born Under a Bad Sign (Booker T. Jones & Willam Bell)
Cakes' cover of I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor)
Scott Walker's cover of My Death (Jacques Brel)
SRV's covers of Voodoo Child (Slight Return) and Little Wing [Jimi Hendrix]
Judas Priest's cover of Diamonds and Rust (Joan Baez)
Steve Earle and Luca Micarelli's cover of One More Cup of Coffee (Bob Dylan)
Carl Carlton's cover of Everlasting Love (Buzz Cason & Mac Gayden)
Jeff Buckley's cover of Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen)

There are so many more great covers.
 
Karen O, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross - Immigrant Song, Led Zeppelin

 
Jose Feliciano. 'Light my Fire'. Always enjoyed his rendition and quite uniquely done vs Jim Morrison and The Doors huge hit.
 
Fever - The Cramps
Fever - Elvis
Fever - Peggy Lee
Fever - Little Willie John original

Steppin' Stone - Minor Threat
Steppin' Stone - The Sex Pistols
Steppin' Stone - The Monkees
Steppin' Stone - Paul Reverie and the Raiders original recording

N i t t a n y A m e r i c a
 
Fever - The Cramps
Fever - Elvis
Fever - Peggy Lee
Fever - Little Willie John original

Steppin' Stone - Minor Threat
Steppin' Stone - The Sex Pistols
Steppin' Stone - The Monkees
Steppin' Stone - Paul Reverie and the Raiders original recording

N i t t a n y A m e r i c a
Give it up for Peggy Lee!

 
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Red Hot Chili Peppers (Ohio Players?)



Rage Against the Machine (Bruce Springsteen)



and (MC5)

 
Peter Tosh: Johnny Be Good
Eric Clapton: After Midnight and Cocaine.
Skynyrd: Call Me The Breeze
 
Roll over Beethoven--ELO



Heard it live in Cologne (just a few miles from Beethoven's birthplace) in 1978 while on Penn State's Foreign Studies program....
 
Too many to name, but a few that come to mind:

Judas Priest - Diamonds and Rust (originally Joan Baez)
Sonic Youth - Superstar (originally the Carpenters)
The Breeders did a great live version of Aerosmith's Lord of the Thighs. Not sure they ever recorded it.

I think the best covers are the ones that give the song a new feeling. No point in just re-creating the original, unless the original is mostly unknown and you are introducing it to people for the first time.
 
Here's another good one:

Tom Jones/VanMorrison/Jeff Beck performing Sam Cooke's Bring it On Home. I've saved on YouTube but it gets taken down frequently.

 
Hendrix - All Along the Watch Tower - Original Dylan
Santana - Black Magic Woman - Original Fleetwood Mac

With a polite nod to ...Johnny B Goode - Peter Tosh - Original Chuck (the real King of Rock and Roll) Berry
 
Cowboy Junkie covering Sweet Jane (Lou Reed)

Hypnotic. I like the change at 2:25. Thanks. Love hearing new things. Of course, I love the version from Rock n Roll Animal. The guitar duet intro is epic.
 
Since everyone is picking older and/or popular bands, I figured I'd try to turn you on to something you haven't heard yet. Anyone who watched Dave Grohl's Sound City through the entire credits should recognize this band.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club covering The Call's Let The Day Begin



The original version by The Call

 
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