Whilst for some the term ‘cover version’ carries the unwanted association with that inescapable crop of Youtube acoustic guitar ballads, a well executed cover that succeeds in treading the fine line between respect for the original and adding new context can excite and surprise the listener. The most successful covers can even introduce a song or artist to a whole new audience or generation. Here we take a look at the most frequently covered artists listed on WhoSampled:
10. U2 (363 Covers)
U2’s 35 year career has established them as one of modern rock music’s most successful acts. Their Brian Eno-produced 1987 album ‘Joshua Tree’ provides the bulk of their most covered tracks, including ‘With or Without You‘ (32 covers), ‘Where the Streets Have No Name‘ (14 covers) and ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For‘ (25 covers). U2 are also no stranger to a cover version themselves, 1988’s ‘Rattle & Hum’ in particular containing a number of covers and tributes to Rock’s greats, including a cover version of Bob Dylan’s ‘All Along The Watchtower’ with an arguable nod to Jimi Hendrix in its presentation (see 3 below).
9. Queen (371 Covers)
The song upon which the call and response of stadium rock anthems was built – ‘We Will Rock You‘ (30 covers) – has been covered by artists as varied as Nickelback, Melt-Banana and Snoop Dogg. ‘Another One Bites the Dust‘ (15 covers and also heavily sampled) provided master of the comedy cover version “Wierd Al” Yankovic with one of his earliest hits in the form of ‘Another One Rides the Bus‘.
8. Michael Jackson (391 Covers)
The King of Pop’s back catalog has proven fertile ground for covers, especially his most universally loved record ‘Thriller’. The album’s most successful singles ‘Beat It’ (26 covers), ‘Billie Jean’ (37 covers) and ‘Thriller‘ (19 covers) will with little doubt remain popular cover material for decades to come. Flash in the pan pop-punk group Alient Ant Farm are perhaps better remembered for their chart-topping cover of ‘Smooth Criminal‘ than any material of their own and even Ian Brown has turned his hand to Jackson’s hits with cover versions of both Thriller and Billie Jean.
7. Marvin Gaye (396 Covers)
No two songs in the history of recorded music are more closely associated with human procreation than ‘Let’s Get It On’ (19 covers) and ‘Sexual Healing’ (21 covers). Both tracks have appropriately been re-produced by acts including Kate Bush, Michael Bolton, Lloyd Chalmers and Maceo Parker. Marvin himself recorded more than 60 covers, another connection between artists on this list being evident in the form of Marvin’s reworking of Michael Jackson’s ‘I Wanna Be Where You Are’.
6. The Rolling Stones (438 Covers)
One of the defining songs of the 1960’s, ‘Paint it Black‘ (63 covers) has had it’s winding sitar melody and rolling rhythmic stomp remade by Joe Pass and former UB40 member Ali Campbell amongst others. The cross-genre influence that the Stones’ songwriting has had is evident in the disparate range of musicians that have chosen to pay tribute to their work; Brian Ferry, Alicia Keys, Rage Against the Machine and Britney Spears have all put their own spin on classic Stones material.
5. Frank Sinatra (493 Covers)
Fond of a cover or two himself (144 listed) Sinatra’s music has proven to be perennial cover-friendly material, even now, almost 70 years after his first release. Nina Simone, Elvis Presley and Sammy Davis Jr. have all covered My Way (38 covers) – one of his defining tracks.
4. Stevie Wonder (533 Covers)
Propelled to fame by its instantly recognizable virtuoso clavinet riff ‘Superstition‘ (32 covers) remains one of Stevie Wonder’s most outstanding and well-known compositions. It found favor as a cover with the likes of The Jackson 5, Sergio Mendes and Quincy Jones. Stevie Wonder’s music has also found favor with the current generation of hip hop and soul artists, DJ Spinna dedicating his ‘Wonderful’ club night to Stevie Wonder’s music and the associated compilations unearthing interesting and unique cover versions of of it. Madlib‘s Yesterday’s New Quintet project produced an album entirely of Stevie cover versions simply titled ‘Stevie’ and Macy Gray celebrated the 40th Anniversary of Stevie’s ‘Talking Book’ LP with a cover version of the complete album.
3. Bob Dylan (608 Covers)
The popular view of Bob Dylan as one of the great songwriters of the 20th century is reflected in the extraordinary amount of covers of his work. Jimi Hendrix’s version of ‘All Along the Watchtower’ (19 covers) occupies a strange place in music history as a cover that superseded the original in terms of popularity and arguably musical prowess. Dylan himself has even acknowledged Hendrix’s version as being superior to his original, in a 1995 interview with a Florida newspaper Dylan said “He found things that other people wouldn’t think of finding in there. He probably improved upon it by the spaces he was using. I took license with the song from his version, actually, and continue to do it to this day”
2. Traditional Folk (1403 Covers)
“Traditional Folk” is something of a curio on this list – not an artist as such, but a ‘catch all’ artist name on WhoSampled.com used to record details of historical folk music passed down through generations, for the most part composed before the invention of modern recording technology. These are songs without an agreed-upon origin, devoid of attributable song-writers; melodies, chants and hymns that have sustained throughout centuries. Greensleeves – the tudor-era folk song sometimes thought to have been composed by Henry VIII for Anne Boleyn – was given a gorgeous re-interpretation by John Coltrane in 1961. ‘Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep‘, a children’s bedtime prayer that originated sometime in the early 18th century, has strangely enough found it’s opening lines interpolated by several hip-hop artists such as Kid Cudi, Joey Bada$$ and Snoop Dogg. Even Kanye borrowed the opening passage in his recent Paul McCartney collaboration Only One.
1. The Beatles (2710 Covers)
As the most iconic rock band of their generation (and maybe ever), it’s no surprise that The Beatles come in at #1 on our list. Multiple other most-covered artists on the list have re-interpreted The Beatles at some point, The Rolling Stones covered ‘I Wanna Be Your Man‘, Michael Jackson’s version of ‘Come Together‘ successfully replicates the original’s distinctive beat and rhythm on a drum machine and Stevie Wonder provided a characteristically soulful take on ‘We Can Work It Out‘. The iconic songwriting has frequently been reinterpreted by funk, soul and jazz artists, in turn providing sample material utilized in hip hop and beyond – that iconic bassline from Gang Starr‘s ‘Dwyck‘ for example was lifted from a cover version of Hey Jude! ‘Yesterday‘ has been covered a staggering 145 times, making it the most covered track on the site.
Words: Henry Macleod (@airbagmusic)
