30 Covers That Became Bigger Than the Originals

Sometimes it really is about being in the right place at the right time, and that sentiment can certainly apply to hit songs.

When it comes to an artist covering the work of another, it opens the door for the song to be heard by new audiences and, just maybe, climb to the top of the charts. In some cases, it results in the cover version ultimately becoming the better-known rendition of the song.

Below, in no particular order apart from alphabetical, we’re highlighting 30 Covers That Became Bigger Than the Originals.

1. “All Along the Watchtower,” The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Original Artist: Bob Dylan

Lots of people have covered the work of Bob Dylan — even sometimes albums’ worth of material — but if there is one song that has taken on a totally new life by being covered it’s “All the Along the Watchtower.” Dylan’s original appeared on 1967’s John Wesley Harding, but the Jimi Hendrix Experience put their spin on it the year after for Electric Ladyland. Hendrix‘s cover went to No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, his one and only Top 40 American hit.

2. “Black Magic Woman,” Santana
Original Artist: Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac‘s “Black Magic Woman,” a song written by Peter Green, actually went to No. 37 on the U.K. chart when it was released as a single in 1968. Not bad. But then Santana got their hands on it in 1970 and included it on their album Abraxas with Gregg Rolie on lead vocals. It was that version that went to No. 4 in America.

3. “Blinded by the Light,” Manfred Mann’s Earth Band
Original Artist: Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen needn’t have worried when his first two albums didn’t really get him anywhere. By the time the ’70s ended, not only had he made a name for himself with Born to Run, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band helped him out even more by covering “Blinded by the Light.” Springsteen’s original had appeared on 1973’s Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J., but the cover version went to No. 1 in America, No. 6 in the U.K. and charted in several other countries, too.

4. “Cocaine,” Eric Clapton
Original Artist: J.J. Cale

One of the cool things about a cover of your song becoming a hit is that sometimes your own original version will earn some popularity. When Eric Clapton put out a cover of J.J. Cale‘s “Cocaine” in 1977, a No. 30 hit in the U.S., Cale’s recording then turned into a No. 1 hit in New Zealand.

5. “Dancing in the Moonlight,” King Harvest
Original Artist: Boffalongo

Sherman Kelly wrote “Dancing in the Moonlight” in 1969 as he was recovering from, of all things, an assault by a gang that took place on the Caribbean island of St. Croix. Kelly’s band Boffalongo released it as a single the following year, but it went nowhere. Two years later, King Harvest recorded it and then broke up. Still, the single eventually took off and went to No. 13 in America.

6. “Downtown Train,” Rod Stewart
Original Artist: Tom Waits

Rod Stewart is a very talented interpreter of other people’s songs — that’s how he got a recording of Tom Waits‘ “Downtown Train” to the No. 3 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. That recording also earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. Waits’ original was included on his 1985 album Rain Dogs, an album that featured guest appearances by Keith Richards and Marc Ribot.

7. “Everybody’s Talkin,'” Harry Nilsson
Original Artist: Fred Neil

Speaking of Grammys, Harry Nilsson won one for his 1969 recording of “Everybody’s Talkin,'” which was also a No. 6 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. But “Everybody’s Talkin‘” actually came out three years earlier on an eponymous album by the folk-rock artist Fred Neil.

8. “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” Cyndi Lauper
Original Artist: Robert Hazard

It’s sort of difficult to imagine anyone other than Cyndi Lauper singing “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” but several years before Lauper made it a No. 2 American hit, a demo of it was recorded by its original writer, Robert Hazard. Although Hazard never officially released the song, he often played it live at his own concerts. When Lauper got her hands on it, she made some adjustments. “So I began to cut this out, cut that out, this needs a melody here, make this change, bring this together. Say, ‘Oh, mama, dear, we’re not the fortunate ones / ‘Cause girls want to have fun‘ — and we can’t,” Lauper recalled to PBS’ Finding Your Roots [via Billboard]. “All of a sudden, it had this new life.”

9. “Hallelujah,” Jeff Buckley
Original Artist: Leonard Cohen

The story is that Leonard Cohen wrote somewhere in the vicinity of 150 verses to “Hallelujah,” though the exact number will probably never be known. Cohen’s original, which appeared on 1984’s Various Positions, was pretty much ignored. Then in 1991, John Cale of the Velvet Underground recorded it for a 1991 tribute album called I’m Your Fan: The Songs of Leonard Cohen. In turn, this inspired Jeff Buckley to record it for his one and only studio album, Grace. Buckley’s version was put out as a single in 2007, a decade after Buckley’s passing, and it charted in several countries.

10. “Hound Dog,” Elvis Presley
Original Artist: Big Mama Thornton

When one hears the title “Hound Dog,” Elvis Presley immediately springs to mind, which makes sense since his 1956 version of it was an enormous hit and the best-selling single of his entire career. But several years prior in 1952 it was recorded first by Big Mama Thornton. Hers was a robust blues number that showcased Thornton as an incredibly powerful singer who would influence generations of musicians to come. It was a hit in its own right, but Presley took it to another level.

11. “I Fought the Law,” The Clash
Original Artist: The Crickets

The Crickets released “I Fought the Law” as a single in 1960, but nothing much happened with it. Six years later, the Bobby Fuller Four’s cover got all the way up to No. 9 in the U.S., and then the Clash covered it in 1979 and got it to No. 29 in the U.K. From then on, “I Fought the Law” became a staple of the Clash’s set lists.

12. “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” Marvin Gaye
Original Artist: Gladys Knight & the Pips

In all fairness, the original recording of “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” released in 1967 by Gladys Knight & the Pips was a hit. It went to No. 2 in the U.S., which is obviously great but does leave room for improvement. Marvin Gaye‘s 1968 version finished the job and took the song to the No. 1 spot in both the U.S. and U.K.

13. “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll,” Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
Original Artist: Arrows

“I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” has become practically synonymous with Joan Jett‘s name. That’s for good reason — it was her highest-charting hit with the Blackhearts, landing at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. But the original is by a band called the Arrows, who released it in 1975. “Everyone knows Joan’s version of ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll,’ but ironically that wasn’t the one that made me a lot of money,” the song’s co-writer and lead singer Alan Merrill told Guitar World in 2019. “I do think Joan did a great job on it, but I think maybe my favorite is L.A. Guns‘ take. There are so many covers out there that I probably haven’t even heard half of them — but I’m glad I wrote it!”

14. “Got My Mind Set On You,” George Harrison
Original Artist: James Ray

George Harrison holds the title as having been the first Beatle to visit America. He did so to visit his sister in Benton, Illinois approximately five months before the Beatles came to the U.S. for the first time. It was on that trip that Harrison discovered a host of American artists, including James Ray, who was the first to record the song “Got My Mind Set on You” in 1962. Harrison made it into a hit when he included it on his 1987 album Cloud Nine — it went to No. 1 in the U.S. and No. 2 in the U.K.

15. “Let’s Stick Together,” Bryan Ferry
Original Artist: Wilbert Harrison

Wilbert Harrison released not just one, but two versions of “Let’s Stick Together,” the second of which wound up going to No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970. But that same year, Canned Heat recorded a version that went to No. 2 in the U.K. and 26 in the States. And as if that wasn’t enough, Bryan Ferry put his spin on the R&B track in 1976, bringing it back up to No. 4 in the U.K.

16. “Make You Feel My Love,” Adele
Original Artist: Bob Dylan

Here’s another Dylan cover. The original appeared on Dylan’s 1997 album Time Out of Mind, which won three Grammys including Album of the Year. Though Dylan has played it live well over 300 times, his version wasn’t a hit. However, Billy Joel covered the song a month before it appeared on Dylan’s album and got it to No. 50 on the Billboard Hot 100. Over a decade later, Adele‘s cover helped make it into a Top 30 British hit.

17. “Me and Bobby McGee,” Janis Joplin
Original Artist: Roger Miller

Written by Kris Kristofferson and originally performed by Roger Miller, “Me and Bobby McGee” was a No. 1 hit on the Canadian country chart in 1970 thanks to Gordon Lightfoot. Then it was a No. 1 hit on the American country chart thanks to Jerry Lee Lewis. But it was a posthumous version by Janis Joplin that finally got it to No. 1 on the overall Billboard Hot 100.

18. “New York Groove,” Ace Frehley
Original Artist: Hello

The British glam rock band Hello did manage to make a hit out of a song called “New York Groove,” sending it to No. 9 in the U.K. But then Ace Frehley entered the picture, whose cover of it went to No. 13 in America, making it the highest-charting solo song by a member of Kiss.

19. “Nothing Compares 2 U,” Sinead O’Connor
Original Artist: Prince

Prince‘s “Nothing Compares 2 U” appeared on the Family’s singular album, released in 1985. Five years later, Sinead O’Connor breathed new life into the song when she covered it for her 1990 album I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got. It was an astronomical hit, landing at No. 1 in the following countries: Ireland, Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K. and the U .S.

20. “Red Red Wine,” UB40
Original Artist: Neil Diamond

Neil Diamond‘s recording of his song “Red Red Wine” did get to No. 62 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1968, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. The English reggae band first released their cover in 1983, where it went to No. 1 in the U.K. and No. 34 in the U.S. Five years later, it got a second wind when it was reissued, finally grabbing the No. 1 spot in the U.K.

21. “Respect,” Aretha Franklin
Original Artist: Otis Redding

“Respect” sounds like it was made for Aretha Franklin to sing. Her 1967 version of it was a No. 1 American hit and earned Franklin two Grammy Awards for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording and Best Rhythm & Blues Solo Vocal Performance, Female. But it was actually Otis Redding who wrote and first recorded the song in 1965. Redding’s version, to be fair, did make it to No. 35.

22. “Some Kind of Wonderful,” Grand Funk Railroad
Original Artist: Soul Brothers Six

In 1967, the Soul Brothers Six, an R&B band out of Rochester, New York, cracked the Top 100 with “Some Kind of Wonderful.” (It went to No. 91 on the Billboard Hot 100.) Then in 1974, Grand Funk Railroad tried their hand at the song. “We all grew up in Flint, Michigan,” drummer Don Brewer told Songfacts in 2004. “We used to listen to a station called W-A-M-M, which was a Black station in Flint. We grew up on R&B and gospel and soul music. And they used to play the Soul Brothers Six version of that song all the time on WAMM radio in the ’60s.” Their version blasted it up to No. 3 on the same chart.

23. “Tainted Love,” Soft Cell
Original Artist: Gloria Jones

You might not think that a soul song could make such a great synth-heavy single, but “Tainted Love” disproves that. The original was recorded by the singer Gloria Jones and released in 1965, but it didn’t chart. A little over a decade later in 1976, the song found some new life thanks to an English DJ named Richard Searling who started incorporating it into his sets. Jones recorded the song again hoping to capitalize on the new momentum, but it still didn’t chart. It wasn’t until Soft Cell released their one-of-a-kind cover of it in 1981 that the song finally was a hit, going to No. 8 in the U.S. and No. 1 in the U.K.

24. “The First Cut Is the Deepest,” Sheryl Crow
Original Artist: Cat Stevens

The first cut may be the deepest but the first recording of a song is not always the biggest hit. The singer P. P. Arnold was the first person to record Cat Stevens‘ “The First Cut Is the Deepest,” getting it to No. 18 on the U.K. charts. Steven’s own version followed shortly after, though it didn’t chart. However, several more artists would take a crack at the song and turn it into a bigger and bigger hit: Rod Stewart’s version went to No. 1 in the U.K. and No. 21 in the U.S., while Sheryl Crow‘s rendition bumped it up even further to No. 14 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

25. “The Man Who Sold the World,” Lulu
Original Artist: David Bowie

When you think of “The Man Who Sold the World,” you probably think of either David Bowie‘s original 1970 version or Nirvana‘s 1995 cover of it. In reality, neither of those were charting hits, even though Nirvana’s version got a lot of attention on MTV. It was actually a 1974 cover by the Scottish singer Lulu that took the song to No. 3 in the U.K.

26. “The Tide Is High,” Blondie
Original Artist: The Paragons

There is a reason Blondie‘s 1980 No. 1 hit “The Tide Is High” has a reggae feel. That’s because the original song was recorded by the Jamaican band the Paragons. “The original was so fantastic,” guitarist Chris Stein said to Vulture in 2022. “I knew what our position was at the time: If we had the ear of the public and if we did a successful version of this thing, it would be successful.”

27. “This Flight Tonight,” Nazareth
Original Artist: Joni Mitchell

It sounds a little bit insane — what could Joni Mitchell possibly have in common with the Scottish hard rock band Nazareth? The answer is the song “This Flight Tonight,” penned by Mitchell and included on her 1971 album Blue. But apparently the members of Nazareth would listen to Mitchell as they toured in their van and two years later, they covered “This Flight Tonight” and made it into a No. 11 U.K. hit.

28. “Time Is on My Side,” The Rolling Stones
Original Artist: Kai Winding

Leave it to the Rolling Stones to take what was originally a jazz-tinged R&B song and turn it into a rock ‘n’ roll-inspired No. 6 hit in America. We’re talking about “Time Is on My Side,” first recorded by the trombonist Kai Winding and his orchestra in 1963. Irma Thomas covered it next, followed by the Stones.

29. “Twist and Shout,” The Beatles
Original Artist: The Top Notes

“Twist and Shout” has become so associated with the Beatles that you’d be forgiven if you weren’t aware it was actually originally recorded by a group called the Top Notes in 1961. To be fair, the Isley Brothers did have a Top 20 hit with it in 1962, but it was the Beatles’ version that charted the highest: No. 2 in the U.S.

30. “With a Little Help From My Friends,” Joe Cocker
Original Artist: The Beatles

“With a Little Help from My Friends” may be a well-known Beatles song, but it was not a charting song. However, Joe Cocker‘s soulful 1968 cover of it went to No. 1 in the U.K., a recording Paul McCartney would later describe as “very imaginative.”