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Cover songs are what make the world go ‘round. Think prom, weddings, piano bars…American Idol. The bottom line is people love familiarity. There have been some exceptional covers that have made it onto albums over the years and we feel so strongly about some that we’d rather listen to them than the originals. The list was long, so in the hopes of Rolling Rock someday sponsoring this list (or because we ran out), we narrowed it down to 33. Without further ado, the Top 33 Cover Songs that are Better than the Original, listed in chronological order:
1. All Along the Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix, 1968 (Bob Dylan)
2. After Midnight – Eric Clapton, 1970 (JJ Cale)
3. Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down – Johnny Cash, 1970 (Kris Kristofferson)
4. Me and Bobby McGee – Janis Joplin, 1971 (Kris Kristofferson)
5. Me & My Uncle – Grateful Dead, 1971 (Judy Collins)
6. Blinded by the Light – Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, 1976 (Bruce Springsteen)
7. Just My Imagination - The Rolling Stones, 1978 (The Temptations)
8. And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda – The Pogues, 1984 (The Dubliners)
9. Black Diamond – The Replacements, 1984 (Kiss)
10. Voodoo Child – Stevie Ray Vaughan, 1984 (Jimi Hendrix)
11. Pancho and Lefty – Willie Nelson, 1985 (Townes Van Zandt)
12. Helter Skelter – U2, 1988 (The Beatles)
13. Sweet Jane – Cowboy Junkies, 1988 (Lou Reed)
14. No Depression – Uncle Tupelo, 1990 (The Carter Family)
15. Madman Across the Water – Bruce Hornsby, 1991 (Elton John)
16. Hallelujah – Jeff Buckley, 1994 (Leonard Cohen)
17. Landslide – Smashing Pumpkins, 1994 (Fleetwood Mac)
18. Baker Street – Foo Fighters, 1997 (Gerry Rafferty)
19. Gettin’ Jiggy With It – Phish, 1999 (Will Smith)
20. Bad Sneakers - The Push Stars, 2000 (Steely Dan)
21. I Found a Reason - Cat Power, 2000 (The Velvet Underground)
22. Remember the Mountain Bed – Wilco, 2000 (Woody Guthrie - never recorded)
23. Say Hello Wave Goodbye – David Gray, 2000 (Soft Cell)
24. The Kids are Alright - Pearl Jam, 2001 (Pete Townshend)
25. Hurt – Johnny Cash, 2002 (Nine Inch Nails)
26. I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself – White Stripes, 2003 (Tommy Hunt)
27. We Will Become Silhouettes - The Shins, 2003 (Postal Service)
28. Wonderwall – Ryan Adams, 2003 (Oasis)
29. Act Nice and Gentle - Black Keys, 2004 (The Kinks)
30. True Love Will Find You in the End – Beck, 2004 (Daniel Johnston)
31. This Will Be Our Year – Pablo, 2006 (The Zombies)
32. To Go Home - M. Ward, 2006 (Daniel Johnston)
33. It Makes No Difference – My Morning Jacket, 2007 (The Band)
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Little Wing - SRV is still hands down the best cover ever! Voodoo child is cool and all, but what stevie transformed Little Wing into is sheer poetry.
Mark Kozelek’s covers of AC/ DC are awesome. Check out the verion of ‘Bad Boy Boogie’ from the Rock N Roll singer EP.
This is a fantastic list, and took some real guts. U2 better than the Beatles? Wow! I agree with so much of this list but don’t know that I would have said it aloud. I was just telling Shawn (sort of active here too) that “act Nice And Gentle” by the Black Keys is one of the most under-celebrated songs I know.
Awesome!
I also love the Warren Haynes covers on his live at Bonnaroo album. There is a great cover of Radiohead’s “Lucky” and Elton John’s “Madman Across the Water”.
This list also could have gone on and on with blues covers by the Rolling Stones, SRV and others.
I woulda included the Gourds doing Gin and Juice, Lou Barlow doing Ratt’s Round and Round, Jesus and Mary Chain’s Head On, Nirvnana Where Did You Sleep Last Night and maybe Dino Jr doing Just Like Heaven and the Counting Crows with that Yellow Taxi song. Nice list…just my additions.
Great suggestions. I considered throwing Nirvana Lake of Fire in the mix, but the Meat Puppets did a great original.
Mark Lanegan also did a decent cover of Where did you sleep last night. He’s also got an album of mostly unknown folk covers called I’ll Take Care of You that has some great stuff on it.
The Clash _ i fought the Law
I’m partial to the Johnny Cash (w. Joe Strummer) version of “Redemption Song” (B. Marley)
cheers,
b.s.
how is hallelujah not #1? travesty!
Listed in chronological order.
The White Stripes version of “I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself” should definitely be on this list. No cover of a Hendrix song is better than the original. Not now, not ever. This also applies to The Beatles, though if you want to hear a good cover of one of their songs, The Black Keys did “She Said She Said”.
oops! accidentally looked over and saw the White Stripes were on there, my bad
I stumbled ‘crost this list via using teh Google, lookin’ for who did the Gin and Juice remake.
Great stuff! Though I think Springsteen’s original is marginally better, just ’cause they’re almost totally different songs thanks to MMEB’s treatment, and the original has a more summer-time, party feel to it. Guess, for me anyhow, it really depends on the mood I’m in which prefer.
One to ponder: Devin Townsend’s ver of “Sinner”. IMO, dude took ‘n’ polished J. Priest’s major metal accomplishment with sublime appreciation for the original. Outstanding!
Joe Cocker…With a little help from my friends ..awesome
Manferd Mann…..Blinded By The Light
Nazerath ….Love Hurts
Stevie Ray Vaughan …Voodoo Child ….awesome
Aerosmith…Train Kept A Rollin’
Jackson Browne…..Stay
Big Brother & Holding Company (Janis)…Piece Of My Heart
Jimi Hendrix….Hey Joe
Santana…..Black Magic Woman
Led Zeppelin…..Babe I’m Gonna Leave You
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