42 Songs You Didn't Know Are Covers

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Check out Part 1 in this series: • 34 Songs You Didn't Kn...
It's easy to not realise that a famous song is actually not the original version. So today we are going to look at 42 songs where the most well-known version isn't actually the original.
This video was edited by Martino Gasparrini.
And, an extra special thanks goes to Chase Heeler, Peter Keller, Douglas Lind, Vidad Flowers, Ivan Pang, Waylon Fairbanks, Jon Dye, Austin Russell, Christopher Ryan, Toot & Paul Peijzel, the channel’s Patreon saints! 😇
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[@quicktastic]

The Star Spangled Banner which was a popular hit for Whitney Houston, was actually written by Frank Key in 1814 and released on his album 'Songs Of The Revolution' in 1816.

[@lawrencebenjamin502]

... Giggle !

[@zimmejoc]

I preferred Jimi Hendrix's version to Whitney's though.

[@jsos9434]

That’s a solid debut wax cylinder

[@ElwoodPDowd1970]

The Star Spangled Banner used the music to a song called To Anacreon in Heaven written in 1775, or so it is claimed. Dunno, I didn't pick up all the many similarities when I checked it out, personally, but I'm far from the best at noticing those kind of things. FWIW, the Battle Hymn of the Republic is nothing more than re-written lyrics to the music used for John Brown's Body. That one, even I notice. I think this kind of thing used to be very common, before effective copyright came into existence.

[@rdspam]

I’ve always wondered whether Lady Gaga was singing an original at the inauguration…

[@phynex06]

Let's not kid ourselves. The most popular rendition of MacArthur Park is undoubtedly Jurassic Park by Weird Al.

[@Chigger]

Weird Al's version makes more sense.

[@almyvannucci392]

I know the Richard Harris and the Weird Al versions but not the Donna Summer version.

[@illegal_space_alien]

@@Chigger 🤣 Seriously. MacArthur Park lyrics feel like they were written in a fever (or drug) delusion.

[@0xDEAFF00D]

@@illegal_space_alien Believe it or not, the song captures an afternoon in the eponymous park. If Webb was high on anything, it might have been heartbreak.

[@pensivepenguin3000]

I had no idea it was based on a real song until this video lol. I thought it was one of Al’s genre pastiches

[@ronpieket8164]

Hi David! Has anybody mentioned "Venus", made famous by Bananarama in the late eighties? This song was first recorded by the Dutch rock band Shocking Blue in 1969.

[@CJSports307]

Love Buzz by Nirvana was a Shocking Blue song too (he might’ve covered that in this series already, I don’t remember)

[@tau.r.u]

Shocking Blue's Venus in turn is a rework of The Banjo Song by The Big 3 (which in turn is an arrangement of the folk song Oh! Susannah, but the melody is very different). One of the members of The Big 3 by the way was Tim Rose, who made the arrangement of Hey Joe that Jimi Hendrix used. (Coincidentally, another member of the Big 3 was called Jim Hendricks. He was the husband of the third member, Cass Elliot, of the Mamas & the Papas fame)

[@rossamullen5918]

Didn't Bananarama originally write Young at heart, which was later released by The Bluebells?

[@MadCatNobody]

what's weird is they play both versions of this song where i work.

[@Grombags]

@@rossamullen5918 I didn't know that! It seems Robert Hodgens of The Bluebells co-wrote it with Bananarama and then adapted it. Listening to the original and it's very different

[@succumbtoviolets]

Tom Cochrane's "Life is a Highway" was a major hit in the US (and Canada obviously) and was a staple of mainstream rock radio for many years (and basically still is). It's the much better known version here; it just didn't cross the pond.

[@gemfyre855]

It was big in Australia, I remember when it was a hit in the early 90s.

[@LuisSantos-nf9rs]

In Portugal, it was also a hit - when I heard it in Cars, I knew straightaway it was a cover.

[@gabrielhicks8043]

Just an anecdote but I'm from the US and have never heard the Cochrane version before, but I've heard the Rascal Flats version countless of times. I'm not sure if the original is the more popular one over here.

[@eileennono5039]

@@gabrielhicks8043 I suspect it's a generational thing. The original came out in 1991 and was popular for a long time afterwards (especially in Canada) so if you were listening to rock radio in the 90's then it's the one you know. After 2006 the Rascal Flats version probably took over (except maybe in Canada where CanCon rules apply).

[@0xDEAFF00D]

@@eileennono5039 Agreed. I think it even showed up in a soundtrack to a big American movie, so there must be some non-Canucks that heard it back then.

[@ziggystardog]

Killing Me Softly reportedly has over 160 covers, but it wasn’t originally by Roberta Flack or The Fugees, but by the songwriter Lori Lieberman. Flack heard the song on an airplane flight and decided to cover it to great success. It’s reportedly about a performance of another singer songwriter, Don McLean.

[@Panda_man..]

The original version by Lieberman is so beautiful. Now, I’m not saying that Flack’s and the Fugees versions aren’t great in their own right and ways, but being that the idea for the lyrics came from Lieberman herself, you can really feel what she’s singing about in a way you haven’t before when listening to this song. Almost like growing a new sense of understanding of the lyrics.

[@oravlaful]

lori's version is my favourite

[@dougbrockelbank1196]

I love the Roberta Flack version. Lieberman should get more credit for creating the song but was cheated by her colleagues.

[@CarysCreatesThings]

When I was a kid, I entered a competition to win Fugees concert tickets. The question was ‘who originally sang Killing Me Softly?’ I answered Roberta Flack, and I won. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I discovered Lori Lieberman recorded it first. So if I’d known the correct answer, I would have lost.

[@MortanAMrk]

Still crazy Liebermann is still uncredited

[@luigiscazzari4724]

This list is so British it features even Dumbledore

[@DonovanPresents]

"Black Magic Woman," famously played by Santana, was originally released by Fleetwood Mac from their lesser popular blues album of the same title. I found this out when my college was clearing out some of their vinyl collection and were giving them out to students at the time

[@cakemartyr5794]

That's on the previous video he did on this subject

[@SamiKankaristo]

Fleetwood Mac's "Black Magic Woman" wasn't released on an album, it was only released as a single (and on later compilation albums, like "English Rose"). That was pretty common back then, even for popular songs.

[@ericparker163]

Learn something new every day, thanks 🍺

[@bfish89ryuhayabusa]

​​@@SamiKankaristo I think they're referring to a compilation album titled Black Magic Woman, which is just the debut album and the English Rose comp in one package. Still technically a non-album single.

[@Pataluhta]

@@SamiKankaristo I remember Juice Leskinen with his band that time was playing before Santana at some summer festival, Santana denied anyone to play his tunes there. Juice played Black Magic Woman, Carlos was upset, Juice pulled him back to ground: "We played Fleetwood Mac's Black Magic Woman" :D

[@iliketowatchducks]

Best part of this video is the fact you just get on with it, no transitions or bs. Thanks!

[@DavidBennettPiano]

😊😊

[@barbarahallowell2613]

So TRUE that!😊

[@user-tw3re9hg3j]

I never thought I'd hear David Bennett mention Irish comedian/singer Brendan Grace. He was huge in Ireland in the 90s my parents loved him ,a very niche Irish audience

[@rossamullen5918]

And a starring role in Father Ted.

[@MilliganCleese]

“Who’d he be like? Hitler or one of those mad fellas?” “Good god no. You wouldn’t find Hitler playing jungle music at three in the morning.”

[@nonddd9222]

Fr Stacks fave banging tune is itself a remix ( or cover version, if you will ) of Cutty Ranks Limb by Limb, by someone i cant google right now. So now ye are all sitting there , imagining it, with a big smile on yer faces.

[@beatsado6529]

David not knowing Life is a Highway was from Cars before the Office is the most surprising thing of this film

[@DavidBennettPiano]

It’s not a well known song in the U.K. 😊

[@MonsieurBooyah]

@@DavidBennettPiano your highways aren't as long, so the metaphor isn't as appropriate ;)

[@pensivepenguin3000]

David is a kiddo lol. It was before his time

[@CarysCreatesThings]

@@DavidBennettPiano It’s well known to any Brit who’s ever watched Cars!

[@DavidBennettPiano]

@@CarysCreatesThings I was only 13 when I watched Cars so I guess I don’t recall. 🙂😅

[@Bacopa68]

Whiskey in the Jar is Irish and at least 300 years old. Black Betty dates back to a game played at Appalachian weddings 200 years ago, but a similar song was known to freed slaves serving alongside British forces during the War of 1812. Also, in the South, black and white people often shared music. Cotton Eyed Joe is a good example. Most people think it's whiter than white, but earliest accounts say it's black. And where I live there are plenty of black kickers who line dance one county over. They even have a Reconstruction era HBCU. BTW, "kicker" is short for "sh1t kicker", an East Texas term for a small plot rancher.

[@cisium1184]

And of course Texas has the whole German-Mexican thing, too. Texas is a far more diverse place than its sometimes given credit for.

[@GothdaddyEG]

The Metallica cover of Whiskey In A Jar is badass

[@vitriolicAmaranth]

@@cisium1184 Texas was also originally a Mexican territory before seceding and then joining the US shortly after. We were taught that in school, at least in Florida, but most people seemed to quickly forget, and the popular perception seems to be that there's a lot of Mexican culture in Texas strictly because of Mexican immigrants, like borders are real geographical or even social constructs and not political ones subject to whim. As an aside "Come and take it!" as an anecdote from the Texan secession is something I love about Texas as a non-Texan. The fact that it was -a cover- an echo of something Leonidas told Xerxes at Thermopylae only makes it better. That human-spiritual connection across two millennia is fantastic.

[@knightridernz72]

Great video. There's also "I Feel For You" made famous by Chaka Khan in the '80s but was originally written and recorded by Prince in 1979. There's also "Everytime You Go Away" made famous by Paul Young in the UK in 1985, but it was originally written and recorded by Hall & Oates a few years before.

[@pensivepenguin3000]

Prince wrote several hits for others. Manic Monday and Nothing Compares 2 U are other examples

[@knightridernz72]

@@pensivepenguin3000 There you go. I wonder if David will do a part 2.

[@samkingsway6564]

@@pensivepenguin3000 was going to comment the same thing! Genius song writer.

[@lMonopolyguy]

Badfinger is the most underrated band of all time, with the most tragic fate at the same time.

[@popfortyfive]

If Not For You was an album track for George Harrison but it was also Olivia Newton-John's first international hit. She uses George's arrangement.

[@rslitman]

Yes, I was going to post that Olivia's version is probably the most famous.

[@user-gd4ku5se8h]

Right! That's the version l remember. My prepubescent voice could nail Olivia's range. Now, I'm more like Ronnie Millsap 😂

[@BlacksBeachBoogieBurner]

Hers was best imo

[@bryanschimmel]

All By Myself originally recorded by Eric Carmen and became a huge hit for Celine Dion. I Will Always Love You, originally written and recorded by Dolly Parton became the massive hit for Whitney Houston. Both of the hit versions by Celine and Whitney were arranged and produced by David Foster.

[@alexkunce2002]

Wow! And I Drove All Night by Celine Dion was a cover of Roy Orbison. My favourite version of the song, however, is Cyndi Lauper's, before Celine Dion.

[@reggaebothsidesnow2772]

Co written by Rachmaninoff 😮😮

[@0xDEAFF00D]

That Carmen song was YUGE in the 70s!

[@Erlewyn]

And in both cases he added a key change.

[@raphaelepache5290]

Actually the original 'All by Myself' was sung by Tre Cool for Green Days 1994 breakthrough album Dookie, where it appeared as a hidden track

[@MakkaPakka7999]

Another well known cover is Cum On Feel The Noize, which was covered by Quiet Riot but was originally by Slade.

[@mattwuk]

And Oasis

[@jmiguelrodriguez]

Just wrote the same 😅. Not to mention that Slade version is way better (just listen to the drum section) than the copy.

[@Bacopa68]

Slade did it better.

[@RhymesWithCarbon]

It was a more minor hit, but they covered Slade again with "Mama Weer All Crazee Now"

[@jamespohl-md2eq]

@@RhymesWithCarbonIt wasn’t a hit at all.

[@whycantiremainanonymous8091]

The original Harris version of McArthur Park is the only one I've ever heard, until today.

[@perlman-t2g]

You are not missing anything.

[@nyobunknown6983]

Harris' version is fantastic and a classic 60s song. It shows how old I am because I find it hard to believe that anyone wouldn't know the newer one was a cover. The cover version sucked.

[@Scott_From_Maine]

Glen Campbell also covered it, as he performed so many Jimmy Webb songs.

[@Nicksonian]

Harris’ original version was a HUGE hit. I remember hearing it on the radio daily. Nothing against Donna Summer, she was in a different universe from Harris as a singer, but I would bet Harris outsold her.

[@benjamingeiger]

I mean, it was popular enough for Weird Al to parody it...

[@thegreatkompass]

You probably know this already, but Istanbul (Not Constantinople) by TMBG is a cover, the original song was made by The Four Lads for the 500th anniversary of the collapse of Constantinople.

[@stoodsea3221]

Underdog by Sly and The Family Stone is also one of those weird covers of unreleased songs. It was originally writen by Beau Brummels but never released until Sly and The Family Stone covered it.

[@petersage5157]

I actually remember hearing the original versions of most of the songs on this list on the radio. Wow, I'm old. A lot of songs from the Big Band era were originally written for somebody else and only later recorded by the original songwriter. Two that immediately spring to mind are "My Way" by Paul Anka (made popular by Frank Sinatra) and "The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)" by Robert Wells and Mel Tormé (made popular by The King Cole Trio). It's a fairly common practice in the music industry to this day. It's important to remember that the reason they're called "covers" is because back in the day the songs were re-recorded and surreptitiously placed in record stores, often blatantly violating the song owner's copyright, literally covering up the original recordings with the covers. In many cases the original singer was Black and the cover singer was White.

[@welcometonebalia]

Well, "My Way" is the adaptation in English of a French song by Claude François, "Comme d'habitude", so...

[@alexkunce2002]

@@welcometonebalia David Bowie took a crack at the lyrics, but they didn't like them, gave the song with new lyrics to Sinatra, Bowie got upset, and wrote Life On Mars?.

[@karelvandervelden8819]

No, the lyrics of ¨My way¨ were written by Paul Anka, the melody was stolen from that french song. Something like ¨I´m a man¨ by Chicago was an honest known cover of ¨The Spencer Davis group¨.

[@Freekoismus]

​@@welcometonebaliaabsolutely!!! David Bennett is the not absoulte knowledge. Wish he becomes aware of this...

[@AidaChambers-Farre]

La Bamba, made famous by Richie Valens, is actually an Afro-Mexican folk song.

[@SatelliteSounds]

Nilsson is one of my favorite artists ever, and all his covers he took to another level. What a voice, what a soul.

[@antonioeasypiano]

"One Step Beyond" recorded by Madness in 1979 is a cover of the song firstly recorded by Prince Buster in 1964 (a wonderful song to be covered)

[@weevie833]

Just about everything The Specials recorded on their first album were covers. This is immediately apparent if you listen to the SomaFM music channel Heavyweight Reggae. Even "Stupid Marriage" is derived from a couple "Judge Roughneck-style" novelty reggae records.

[@spindriftdrinker]

Simon and Garfunkel's "Scarborough Fair" is also based on an old English folk song, but their particular version comes from an English folk singer named Martin Carthy, who was not properly credited. One of my favorite 1960s singer-songwriters is Laura Nyro - I lover her original versions of "Wedding Bell Blues", "Stoney End", "And When I Die", "Eli's Coming" and "Save The Country" - these were big hits for The Fifth Dimension, Barbra Streisand, Blood Sweat and Tears, Three Dog Night and again 5th Dimension.

[@Nomad-vv1gk]

Nyro was a good writer, but a less than average singer.

[@spindriftdrinker]

@@Nomad-vv1gk Ridiculous comment

[@brianruyack7632]

Great comment, I've been a fan of those songs for a long time. There's a version of Save the Country from a TV show with Ray Stevens and Lulu that is also awesome.

[@salerio61]

Ewan MacColl might have a few things to say it was copied from Carthy. Anyway, the song goes back to the 19C

[@Ian45968]

I drove all night was a hit for Cindi Lauper in 1989. It was written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly in 1987 for Roy Orbison. He recorded a demo that was never released, so the writers gave the song to Cindi. Then in 1992 Jeff Lynne produced a new version with Roy's vocals which was a big hit.

[@Speedbird9L]

Could taste your sweet kisses, Your arms open wide, This fever for you, Is just burning me up insi…. iiiiiid… iddddeeeee! Roy Orbison, eh? What an amazing voice!

[@davidfrischknecht8261]

My introduction to "MacArthur Park" was Weird Al's parody "Jurassic Park". My introduction to "To Make You Feel My Love" was Garth Brooks' cover.

[@RhymesWithCarbon]

Jurassic Park _is_ frightening in the dark!

[@rslitman]

My introduction to "Make You Feel My Love" came via covers by two of my favorite singers, Neil Diamond and Billy Joel. Neil's is not bad, but I can't stand Billy's.

[@artembaguinski9946]

His Achy Breaky Song parody is on the same album :)

[@mr.k905]

I read somewhere that in the case of California Dreaming by McGuire it has not only Phillips and Cass singing the backings, it IS the same backing track as the Mamas & Papas version.

[@NorkelFjols]

Here's one: Soft Cell's Tainted Love (1981) is a cover of a Motown-sounding recording from the mid 60's by Gloria Jones.

[@cjlister8508]

I think that's pretty common knowledge though. These are mostly deeper cuts.

[@NorkelFjols]

@@cjlister8508 I don't know. I knew several in the video, but this one was new to me fairly recently.

[@TheTrumpReaper]

Northern Soul style. 🇬🇧👍🏽🥾

[@specialkalberta]

I could've been knocked over by a feather when I found that out.

[@AndrewAMartin]

@@NorkelFjols I think he covered that in the earlier video on covers...

[@ivanobellini]

Laura Branigan’s 2 most famous songs are covers of Italian song. Gloria by Umberto Tozzi and Self Control by RAF

[@MKPiatkowski]

Her producer was producing both those songs and had her record them almost simultaneously!

[@midnightmosesuk]

Never did understand Bob Dylan's huge popularity.

[@cazgerald9471]

Manfred Mann covered three songs from Springsteen's debut album, "Blinded by the Light", "Spirit in the Night", and "For You"

[@pillmuncher67]

"Act Naturally", written by Johnny Russell and Voni Morrison, first recorded and published by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos, later covered by the Beatles.

[@dustmybroom288]

I have only ever heard of the Buck Owen’s version

[@TheFreeBass]

@@dustmybroom288 Ditto.

[@EmoBearRights]

Love is All Around by Wet, Wet, Wet made famous by 4 Weddings and A Funeral was a no.1 hit for The Troggs most famous for Wild Thing.

[@benjamingeiger]

And famously covered by Billy Mack, becoming the Christmas #1... 😄

[@EmoBearRights]

@@benjamingeiger The best version except for maybe the one REM did on their Unplugged.

[@Alice-qt9mz]

since you mention cascada and manfred mann's earth band there is a direct pipeline of songs originally written by bruce springsteen, then recorded or covered by someone else and then covered or remixed by a german techno duo in the 2000s... ok by pipeline i mean it happened 3 times but ‘if i had a penny’ etc etc the songs i am referring to are ‘because the night’ (springsteen (inconplete and only recorded live in concert)->completed and recorded by patti smith->patti smith version covered by cascada) ‘blinded by the light’ (springsteen->covered by manfred mann->manfred mann remixed by michael mind) ‘for you’ (springsteen-> covered by manfred mann-> remixed by the disco boys) though the cascada version was the only intl hit, the other 2 got a good amount of radio play at least in germany and france

[@fnjesusfreak]

I think Cascada based their version on the cover by 10,000 Maniacs, but I may be wrong.

[@m.l.1320]

@@fnjesusfreak jan wayne did also a cover of because the night in 2002. most of his song are covers

[@TheStickCollector]

A good reason to look at the original to look at the differences

[@spenfranklin13]

Was not expecting to get Wagon Wheeled mid video.

[@iankrasnow5383]

It's interesting he brought up the Old Crow Medicine Show version and not the Darius Rucker cover which came a few years later, because that's the one that was the true crossover hit that everyone's heard. The Old Crow Medicine Show was only a hit in bluegrass circles.

[@PaveDearce]

"When You Say Nothing At All" was also expertly performed by Alison Krauss and Union Station.

[@pensivepenguin3000]

The only version I was aware of, and judging by the sounds of those clips, by far the best version. I was shocked he did not mention her

[@margaretschultz6209]

​@@pensivepenguin3000I first heard the song in a homemade video Brian and Katie's evolution of wedding dance

[@barbarahallowell2613]

So true.

[@robo3007]

Some more I think are worth mentioning Led Zeppelin - Dazed and Confused Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love Soft Cell - Tainted Love Pet Shop Boys - Always on My Mind Talking Heads - Take Me to the River Jimi Hendrix - All Along the Watchtower Deep Purple - Hush Johnny Cash - Personal Jesus Johnny Cash - Hurt Nirvana - The Man Who Sold the World Nirvana - Love Buzz Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah Sinead O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U Bjork - It’s Oh So Quiet Guns N' Roses - Knockin' on Heaven's Door Guns N' Roses - Since I Don't Have You Quiet Riot - Cum on Feel The Noize Alien Ant Farm - Smooth Criminal They Might Be Giants - Istanbul (Not Constantinople) Smash Mouth - I'm a Believer Lenny Kravitz - American Woman Bow Wow Wow - I Want Candy Bananarama - Venus Gary Jules - Mad World Coolio - Gangster’s Paradise The Monkees - I'm A Believer No Doubt - It's My Life Blonde - The Tide is High Amy Winehouse - Valerie Whitney Housten - I Will Always Love You Whitney Houston - Saving All My Love For You Nine Inch Nails - Dead Souls Nine Inch Nails - (You're So) Physical Filter - One Red Hot Chili Peppers - Higher Ground Rage Against the Machine - Renegades Of Funk Faith No More - Easy Korn - Word Up Primus - The Devil Went Down to Georgia Disturbed - The Sound of Silence Black Sabbath - Evil Woman Metallica - Am I Evil? Lou Bega - Mambo No. 5 Rod Stewart- The First Cut is the Deepest The Troggs - Wild Thing Stevie Wonder - Superstition Stevie Wonder - We Can Work It Out

[@alfonsomango_suyu]

Who recorded Istanbul first ?

[@EmoBearRights]

​@@alfonsomango_suyuThat song is old.

[@robo3007]

@@alfonsomango_suyu The Four Lads in 1953

[@dwc1964]

Just skimming through quickly, I see Blondie "The Tide is High" mentioned - it's mentioned in this here video. Several others have been mentioned in previous video lists he's done on this topic; I recommend them all.

[@robertbrescia3196]

I'm A Believer was written by Neil Diamond during his stint in the Brill Building in New York, under the umbrella of Don Kirshner. The Monkees did it first (their biggest hit). Neil then recorded his own version (not released as a single). Smash Mouth covered it for the closing credits of "Shrek". I am sure it's been covered by other artists over the years. Stevie Wonder wrote Superstition and originally gave it to Billy Preston, who recorded his version before Stevie.

[@stevieg1755]

Little known fact; John Bonham's drum solo on Led Zeppelin II album track "Moby Dick" was originally performed by Thag, the Knuckle-draggin' Neanderthol, way back in 4 million b.c.

[@BlacksBeachBoogieBurner]

Very few people are aware that the famous Procol Harum song "A Whiter Shade of Pale" is actually a cover of a JS Bach organ sonata. I got into Bach in the mid seventies and had a vinyl record back then on the Deutsche Grammafon (German) label of Bach organ sonatas, which had that particular sonata with the exact song melody. Unfortunately I later donated that record to a public library. Nobody (including the world wide web) seems to be aware of this connection of Bach to Procol Harum, and credit the song to PH members. Wish I still had that record...

[@diamonddog13]

One fascinating example of a cover is Diana Ross's version of Ain't No Mountain High Enough. Originally done by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. The Ross cover is so different from the original that you could probably call it less a cover and more an extrapolation (like 7 Rings). But that version was produced by the songwriters, Ashford and Simpson. Very smart, as they were able to double-dip on the royalties.

[@pensivepenguin3000]

I love Diana Ross but that one just doesn’t quite do it for me the way the original does

[@rslitman]

A lot of Motown hits were originally recorded by one of the label's other artists before the hit version.

[@RussellFlowers]

Tom Cochran's "Life is a Highway" was seemingly the *only* song on the radio at the time, lol.

[@CFWhitman]

Yes, I remember hearing it many times on the radio before Rascal Flatts ever did it. Perhaps that was mostly a US thing.

[@tomobedlam297]

I much prefer his song: "I Wish You Well" that came out in the mid 90s. You never hear it played these days.

[@adamp2029]

The original Life is a Highway was a big hit as well. At least it was on WXPN in Philadelphia back then.

[@daylightrambler]

It dominated on VH1, which at the time targeted the Adult Contemporary audience

[@MKPiatkowski]

Couldn't escape it in Canada.

[@digbybaines7813]

If Not For You was also the first top ten hit for Olivia Newton John in 1971. As a kid from that time, hers was the first version of that sing I heard.

[@davidwalterhall]

I think there's a video to be made on Songs You Thought Were Traditional. I grew up thinking the song Fields of Athenry was written in or around the 1840s, when it's set. It's an important song in Ireland, where I'm from, not least for being sung by crowds at rugby matches. I was shocked to find it was written in 1979. It just feels too authentic for that. I think most rugby crowds singing it assume it's old too, but you'd have to ask them. Maybe similarly, there's also And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda, set during the first world war but written in 1971, but for me, when I first heard that, I took it to be a modern (post-Dylan) piece of writing, which it is. For all the great poetry of the first world war, nobody thought to write a song like that in 1918.

[@barbarahallowell2613]

And Back Home in Derry. Lyrics Bobby Sands MP, music is Gordon Lightfoot's Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Back Home in Derry just sounds like it's really old, telling a tale but was like 1980 or 81. Christy Moore made it famous.

[@jaspermcjasper3672]

0:35 - If it were ME changing the lyrics "achy breakin' heart", I would CERTAINLY have gone with "achin' breakin' heart", NOT "achy breaky heart".

[@cdprince768]

The origins of "Black Betty" are somewhat murky, but it's generally believed to be a traditional African American work song with roots in the 19th century, possibly even earlier. The song was first documented in 1933 by the musicologist John A. Lomax, who recorded an African American prisoner named James "Iron Head" Baker singing it in a Texas penitentiary. This was 6 years before the Leadbelly version.

[@kwerk2011]

The James Baker version is pretty haunting, it's out there on youtube.

[@rslitman]

I was a big fan of Herman's Hermits as a teenage girl in the mid-1960s. I later learned that most of their hits were covers: "I'm Into Something Good" - American r&b singer Earl-Jean "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat" - Goldie or Goldy & the Gingerbreads "I'm Henry the 8th I Am" - song dates back to 1911 "Leaning on the Lamp Post" - song dates back to the 1930s "Silhouettes" - late 1950s hit by the Rays "Wonderful World" - late 1950s or early 1960s hit by Sam Cooke, later covered by Art Garfunkel I don't think "A Kind of Hush" was a cover, but it was later covered by the Carpenters.

[@Resgerr]

Wonderful World was sung by Louis Armstrong not Sam Cooke

[@rslitman]

@@Resgerr The Sam Cooke song that was also done by Herman's Hermits is a different song from the Louis Armstrong song. And while the Louis Armstrong song is sometimes called "Wonderful World", its actual title is "What a Wonderful World".

[@notu13man63]

A Kind of Hush was cover. It was originally done by the New Vaudeville Band, the guys who did Winchester Cathedral.

[@rslitman]

@@notu13man63 Thanks. I didn't know this.

[@alastairdallas]

City of New Orleans by Arlo Guthrie, originally recorded by its author, Steve Goodman. (Maybe this was in Part I.)

[@Hilldrum]

I'm glad this video exists. It scratches the itch of "where have I heard this song before?" Growing up in the 90s I vaguely remember listening to handful of these originals on the local AM station, only for my memory to be overshadowed by the newer artists. I'm not saying the covers aren't good in their own right, but it's a nostalgic to hear "Denise" and "The Tide is High" ring in my head as it did back then.

[@inuyashafangirl6083]

"Handbags and Gladrags" was covered multiple times. But still, my favorite one is from The Office UK :)

[@B.J.Winzer]

Yes! Big George's cover is brilliant.

[@tonkaGuy888]

It’s Rod Stewart

[@hod2116]

Stereophonics

[@davidwalterhall]

It Ain't Necessarily So by George and Ira Gerswhin is (cheekily) based on a Hebrew blessing. From Wikipedia: "The first and most direct example of influence occurs at the start of the song; the melody and phrasing is nearly identical to the blessing incanted before reading from the Torah. The words "It ain't necessarily so" stand in place of Bar'chu et adonai ham'vorach, meaning Bless Adonai, who is blessed. This motif repeats multiple times in both, and both include a response from a congregation."

[@victoriafisher1923]

Wow, this is great. Thanks!

[@45jch45]

I love rock n roll by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts is also a cover. The original version was recorded by the band The Arrows in 1975.

[@ChasMusic]

Joan Jett has done a lot of covers and I love most of them

[@shazbot7192]

I like the way you thread the story through the music and the artists, it adds some love. I'm 63, so I did know a lot of these, but mostly forgotten, so thanks for trip down memory lane. Keep it up :)

[@JoeKell365]

i don't know if you've mentioned either one yet, but i can think of two songs by Robert Johnson that have cover versions that are much more famous than his originals: They're Red Hot, popularized by the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1991, and Cross Road Blues, popularized by Cream as "Crossroads" in 1968

[@JohnHazl]

The quintessential "two original versions" for me is Because the Night. It was mostly written by Bruce Springsteen, but he wasn't happy with it and agreed to let Patti Smith record it (they shared an agent). Smith's version has some original lyrics by her, but the music is all Springsteen; Springsteen has never put his version on a record, but plays it live.

[@scottruisch6593]

It was also recorded by 10,000 Maniacs. Not sure if their version charted but Natalie Merchant did a great job with it.

[@4dultw1thj0b]

Ohh you know, it makes sense now that If I Were A Boy was a cover, because I don't think Beyonce ever revisited those themes in that way.

[@CharlesOffdensen]

21:33 ОК, here are some songs, that are known because of famous covers: American Pie - Don McLean Hound Dog - Marc Shaiman Some Guys Have All the Luck - The Persuaders Venus - Bananarama Living Next Door to Alice - New World Dream A Little Dream Of Me - Ozzie Nelson Stranci U Noci - Ivo Robic (actually written by Bert Kaempfert and I don't know who recorded the song first) Suga Suga - Baby Bash, Frankie J Private Emotion / Heimliche Sehnsucht - Live The Hooters Easy - Commodores Somebody To Love - The Great Society Angel Of The Morning - Evie Sands Since I Don’t Have You - The Skyliners Something Stupid - Pessoa, Carson and Gaile One-Way Ticket (To The Blues) - Neil Sedaka Mambo No. 5 - Pérez Prado Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love for You - George Benson The Twist - Hank Ballard Love Hurts - The Everly Brothers I Want A New Drug - Huey Lewis & The News Games People Play - Joe South Sha-la-la-la-la - Torben Lendager It's All Coming Back To Me Now - Pandora's Box Classical Gas - Mason Williams Somewhere Over the Rainbow - Judy Garland Riders In The Sky - Vaughn Monroe

[@Sweetestsadist]

My mother's favorite song was MacArthur Park. I've heard several versions including the original. This is the first I've ever heard of a Donna Summer cover.

[@Bacopa68]

Have you heard the Beggars Opera version?

[@Sweetestsadist]

@@Bacopa68 Had to look it up, but yeah.

[@CarysCreatesThings]

Here’s an interesting one you might want to use in a future video: Love Never Felt So Good by Michael Jackson. Jackson co-wrote it with Paul Anka in 1980, but they only recorded a demo with Anka on piano and Jackson on vocals. Then Johnny Mathis recorded it for his 1984 album A Special Part of Me. After Jackson died, the original demo was remixed for the ‘Michael’ album, but didn’t make the cut. It was eventually released in 2014 as the first single from Xscape. It’s another one of those “whose version is the original?” scenarios, because although MJ co-wrote it and recorded a demo, Johnny Mathis was the first to record and release a full studio version. Then again, the vocals from Jackson’s posthumous release were taken from his original demo, so I don’t think it can really be considered a cover.

[@Quintzal]

I'm a Believer: most people these days probably know The Smash Mouth version and be vaguely aware that it's a cover. The Monkees had a hit with it in the mid 60's, but Neil Diamond originally wrote it. I don't know if Mr. Diamond's version was recorded before or after the Monkees' version, as he wrote many songs for other artists back then.

[@jasonremy1627]

I was always much more familiar with the Tom Cochrane version of Life is a Highway. It was a big hit when I was younger.

[@samkingsway6564]

100%!!

[@ashman2576]

Girlfriend by Michael Jackson was written for him by Paul McCartney who thought he didn't record it so played it live a few times with Wings however it appeared on Off The Wall in 1979!

[@lancecahill5486]

Thank you for posting. I sure learned something new today.

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Glad to hear it!

[@Luke-1296]

Do Ya by ELO in 1976 is a cover of Do Ya The Move in 1972 on the b side of their last single although this is not well known as it is written by Jeff Lynne as ELO was originally a project of the move (with ELOs first album being released 6 months before the move’s last single) before it was decided to discontinue the move in favour of ELO. I think it still counts as a cover though as the ELO version is much more well known. The A side from which Do Ya came from is also more famous as a cover, California man is most known by its 1978 recording by cheap trick was the A side of Do Ya. Cheap tricks version also inserts a portion of another move song, brontosaurus. Would love to see this mentioned in your next video. There’s much more than can be said about elo aswell in regards to inspiration and copying as the strings on some of their songs are taken from classical pieces aswell as whole songs sounding very similar to other songs. There’s even 2 songs that are almost direct musical copies of heroes and villains by the beach boys.

[@TheJohtunnBandit]

The Knife is such an underappreciated band, thanks for including that one! Brand New Key by Melanie is one of my shower singing favorites.

[@cfhollister8766]

What's funny for me is that, for a lot of these, I was aware of the original version without knowing it had been covered later, particularly if it was originally from 50s-70s and a regular on the "oldies" radio station my parents always listened to in the car when I was a kid in the 80s and early 90s or on one of the vinyl albums that they would play at home.

[@AutoReport1]

"I know an old lady who swallowed a fly" covered by a lot of people including Pete Seeger and Burl Ives, although most don't know it is not traditional and was first recorded by one of the writers in 1952. Led Zeppelin also covered "nobody's fault but mine", from a WPA recording of Blind Willie Johnson.

[@Hairyfoot_Studio]

Harold Melvin and the Blue notes is the superior version of Dont Leave Me This Way. Teddy Pendegrass' vocals on this are simply incredible 🤩

[@Dench999or911]

Another interesting tidbit about "Make You Feel My Love" is that whilst Dylan did write the song, Billy Joel actually released his cover of the song a month prior to Dylan's release. Decent cover as well I should add!

[@jacksonsay37]

Mind blowing fact: "Our song is Your Song, and your song is Our Song" is something that Elton John and his lyricist could truthfully say to Taylor Swift.

[@ChandleRulz]

"Don't Tell Me" by Madonna also recorded earlier by the songwriter, her brother-in-law, Joe Henry, for his album "Scar", and was titled "Stop". But the album released in 2001, a year after Madonna's "Music"

[@wyattstevens8574]

10:21 The only reason I know about BfS is Phineas and Ferb, where they sing the intro!

[@Chigger]

I know of them through their cover of "I Ran (So Far Away)" for the video game Backyard Wrestling.

[@arutezza]

​@@Chigger it was used in the Knights of the Zodiac anime too!

[@Chigger]

@@arutezza I've never seen it. Mostly because I never got into watching animes.

[@iankrasnow5383]

I can't believe you've released two of these videos already and still haven't mentioned that Whitney Houston's version of "I will always love you" and Amy Winehouse's version of "Valerie" were covers.

[@p_mouse8676]

Isn't Summertime actually just a traditional folk song? I have seen Doc Watson performing that song way back. Edit: the original is from George Gershwin from 1935

[@Fivemonthslater1]

Even deeper, William Grant Still likely wrote it as Gershwin stole a lot of his music. Now there’s a rabbit hole to venture down if you’re into cross-genre music.

[@vantonspraul]

Because David Bowie started off as much a songwriter as a musician in his own right, there are several Bowie songs where the Bowie recording is technically a cover. Most famous would probably be Oh You Pretty Things, first recorded by Peter Noone.

[@TheLobsterCopter5000]

One song I was surprised to learn was a cover was Crash by Matt Willis. I grew up with Willis' version thanks to the movie Mr. Bean's Holiday, so I was quite surprised to learn it wasn't the original.

[@Speedbird9L]

The Primitives, right? A roommate at university in the 80s had it on heavy rotation.

[@BlacksBeachBoogieBurner]

My favorite version of the Dylan song "If Not For You" is actually Olivia Newton John's, I believe it was her first major hit also. Pretty sure it was recorded after George Harrison's version

[@Jeff_Lichtman]

Midnight Special and Cotton Fields are two more Lead Belly songs that were covered by other musicians. He wrote Cotton Fields, while Midnight Special is a folk song of unknown origin. CCR did versions of both songs, and Johnny Rivers' cover of Midnight Special was used as the theme song for the TV concert show of the same name. The Beach Boys also covered Cotton Fields.

[@rslitman]

The Highwaymen and Creedence Clearwater Revival also did pretty good versions of "Cotton Fields".

[@Jeff_Lichtman]

@@rslitman CCR = Creedence Clearwater Revival

[@rslitman]

@@Jeff_Lichtman I apologize for the duplicate information. My post was originally just going to mention the Highwaymen, and then I thought, "Another group has a version I really like, who is it, oh yes, CCR, but I had better spell it out in case some younger people don't know the group's official name." I was so focused on the Beach Boys mention that I didn't realize you had mentioned another artist, too.

[@TSGEnt]

Great bit of music history. Thank you. 8:54 let'a not forget, Wagon Wheel was also covered by Darious Rucker and Nathan Carter.

[@Nicksonian]

I guess you weren’t alive when Richard Harris’s version of MacArthur Park was released. It was a HUGE hit and received tons of airtime. I don’t know the numbers but I would bet the original version has more sales than Donna Summer’s. Nothing against Donna. I was crazy about her. She may have had the greatest voice of any disco singer. Famous jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson also had a big crossover hit with MacArthur.

[@tonkaGuy888]

She had a #1 hit with it. Richard Harris couldn’t quite crack it. Only #2.

[@cisium1184]

Joe Cocker's 1974 hit "You Are So Beautiful" was written and originally recorded by Billy Preston. George Harrison's 1970 hit "My Sweet Lord" was written by Harrison but originally recorded and released by Preston.

[@henryglennon3864]

Fun Fact: the song "Sexy, and I Know It" by pop duo and national embarrassment LMFAO, was originally written by Eric Satie in an early draft of his "Gnossiennes" compositions, including the lyrics, although they were originally written in French. The only reason that it was never published as an official part of his collection was the threat of obscenity charges, which would have prevented it from being played live.

[@jontalbot1]

The guitar break is nicked from Hendrix

[@clintnichols3030]

The Bad Plus. They have made a name for themselves for doing jazz versions/covers of a wide array of artists. If you don't know them, you'll love them!

[@judih.8754]

Yes I love them. Saw them in their original lineup.

[@jaspermcjasper3672]

At the end, it really doesn't surprise me that Paul Simon just says "Oh, your father wrote this song, and bequeathed its copyright to you? Well then. Here's your royalties". Too many other people would just state the facts and say that the facts aren't the facts. "In your poem, you have the line 'I breathe the air' while in my poem it's 'I breathe the air', which is totally different and original." We also see it go the other way where you can write "I breathe the air" and someone else who earlier wrote "Walruses eat fish" can sue you because even though the words are different you've obviously totally copied their mood, vibe, and "hook" to generate an emotional sub-rational response in listeners that is identical to that produced by "Walruses eat fish".

[@0xDEAFF00D]

***Picture of a cat going "huh?"***

[@pensivepenguin3000]

13:24 imagine talking about “when you say nothing at all” and never mentioning Allison Krausse. Not once. Come on, David!

[@gabet3514]

All Along the Watchtower was another Bob Dylan song made famous by someone else, that someone being Jimi Hendrix

[@jontalbot1]

But not so much a cover as a transformation.

[@CarysCreatesThings]

If you’re including songs that contain interpolations rather than straight-up covers (for example Every Time We Touch and Summertime), then it could be argued that Tori Alamaze’s version of Don’t Cha was also a cover. The chorus was an interpolation of Swass by Sir Mix A Lot.

[@formerastronaut]

I think we can all agree to forget that Barry McGuire's' version of "California Dreamin'" even exists.

[@Bacopa68]

And his best song. Eve of Destruction, was written by an angsty teen.

[@minuteman4199]

@@Bacopa68 The Forgotten Rebels, a Canadian punk band did an awesome version of Eve of Destruction.

[@0xDEAFF00D]

@@minuteman4199 Yes! I saw them play that live in Toronto!

[@minuteman4199]

@@0xDEAFF00D I did a bunch of times when I as in college about 40 years ago, and I saw them most recently about three years ago. I don't know if they're still a thing, but they have had a long career!! It's weird going to a punk show with a bunch of 50 and 60 year olds.

[@pensivepenguin3000]

Yeah. Did not sound great. I’m finding that in many cases, the later version/cover version/whatever we want to call it is actually better

[@Kendro311]

I've been an audiophile my whole life. Almost 50. Listened to just about every genre there is. 1. It's cool I can still be surprised by some of these. 2. It's kind of depressing music today seems to have lost something, and I rarely run into a young person who knows any music or bands before the 2000's. Keeping music and artist history is important. Keep it up 👍🏼 Between music, movies and video games... All the best stuff is the older stuff. That may be the grumpy old dude in me talking.

[@DanWhalen]

you ever notice that for some people, "keeping the music/changing the lyrics" feels different than "changing the music/keeping the lyrics" when it comes to covers? when you keep the same lyrics, but change all the music/melody, we all have no problem calling it a cover. but if you keep just the same/similar music, while writing new words, people don't seem to always automatically think of it as a cover. tbh, people tend to call that "ripping-off" the original song, not covering it...

[@Sweetestsadist]

Because the music aspect requires more effort. Grade schooler can change the lyrics.

[@mattwuk]

Shakermaker Oasis

[@atanvardecunambiel8917]

David could make a whole video on contrafactum

[@little_britain]

Often people would say one or other of Plastic Bertrand (Ca Plane Pour Moi) or Elton motello (Jet Boy Jet Girl) was a rip-off (same tune, very different lyrics). Truth was, it neither song was a rip-off, or even a conventional cover. The backing track was created by Lou Deprijck and Yvan Lacomblez, and played by a session band, and that music recording was given to both aforementioned artists to create the two songs simultaneously.

[@beethockmtee8565]

Surprised there was no mention of the fact that, although Bob Dylan did indeed write and record "Make You Feel My Love," the earliest release of the song was actually performed by Billy Joel.

[@webbot15]

Smashmouth covering 'I'm a believer' by the monkeys, which was actually written by Neil Diamond!

[@B.J.Winzer]

Neil Diamond's version beats the others hands down!

[@rslitman]

​@@B.J.WinzerNeil Diamond has even covered his own "I'm a Believer". There's a totally different version on his 1980 album "September Morn".

[@Alex-cw3rz]

12:00 fun fact Labi heard their version and like it so much that he is actually in the background of the music video for The Madness's version of It Must Be Love.

[@G5BTB5G]

tide is high was then cover again by atomic kitten who covered the blondie version!

[@GrahamDallas]

Which is a over of the original from the 60s by The Paragons.

[@JoletteRoodt]

Ronan Keating's "When you say nothing at all" was also HUGE here in South Africa! Loved this video, thank you ❤

[@cakemartyr5794]

On the subject of people who work together and bring out different versions, what about Take It Easy? Best known as an Eagles song, I understand Jackson Browne wrote most of it, and his own version is very similar to the Eagles recording. True to form, Glenn Frey contributed a small part, and got a writing credit.

[@davidlees2963]

There was a radio station I was listening to who was using the tagline "Original songs by the Original artists" which was followed by Cream's version of "Crossroads".

[@roecocoa]

The story about El Condor Pasa reminds me of what happened with Funiculi, Funicula (published in 1880, mistaken for a traditional folk song and accidentally stolen by at least two other composers within a decade of its initial publication).

[@alfonsomango_suyu]

And that song was comissioned to celebrate the debut of a funicular in Italy (I think it was at Naples). That funicular only worked a couple of years.

[@grolfe3210]

And Happy Birthday To You was only written about 100 years ago and was in copyright, so was not used in films etc.

[@mikesmith-knutsen4028]

Ram Jam's "Black Betty" was actually the version by Starstruck, edited to change the arrangement. Same guitarist/singer, but definitely check out the Starstruck version on KZbin.