TOP 10: Hits You Didn’t Realize Were Cover Songs
This week we released our Best Celine Dion Song episode, and in it we mention that some of her biggest chart successes — “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now,” “I Drove All Night” — were covers of other artist’s songs. Some of our panelists did not realize they were covers! So we got to thinking, What other cover songs in pop culture are people not aware were originally recorded by another act first?
There are loads of obvious cover hits (“I Will Always Love You,” “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll,” “I Think We’re Alone Now”) — but we wanted to focus on some of the big hits that fewer people realize are do-overs. Read on for our list of the Top 10 hits you didn’t realize were cover songs. Disagree with our list? Want to suggest some additions? Drop them in the comments!
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10. “Macarthur Park”
Donna Summer had a No. 1 Billboard Top 100 hit in 1978 with her disco version of this bonkers song, but it was first recorded as a folk song by Irish singer/actor Richard Harris in 1968, where it climbed the charts up to No. 2. You might better know Harris as the original Dumbledore actor in the Harry Potter movies. Leaving us to wonder, Did Voldemort leave his cake out in the rain?
9. “Respect”
Aretha Franklin’s 1967 version of “Respect” became a No. 1 single, as well as the signature song for the Queen of Soul (her 2021 biopic starring Jennifer Hudson is even named after it!). But it was actually an Otis Redding song, released in 1965, where it hit the Top 5 on Billboard’s Black Singles Chart (that was literally what it was called!) and also achieved crossover success with white audiences. But switching the genders of the singer, especially in the politically charged 1960s, provided a potent message for Aretha’s version, not to mention that electric vocal. BTW, in the chorus, when she sings, “Take out, TCB,” the “TCB” stands for “taking care of business.” Which Aretha unquestionably did with this legendary cover.
8. “What’s Love Got to Do With It?”
Tina Turner cemented her 1980s comeback with this 1984 scorcher, but it had been originally recorded — though not released — by British pop group Bucks Fizz earlier that same year. Bucks Fizz tried a few different versions of the track, first sung by a female lead, then a male, and reportedly the original demo sounded similar to the tone Turner eventually took with it. Funny enough, Turner didn’t even want to do the song at first, but it was the right move, as it topped the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks. When Turner’s version took off, Bucks Fizz shelved their own until 2000, when it was included in a reissue of their album, Are You Ready?
7. “Ray of Light”
“Ray of Light” was the title track from Madonna’s 1998 album, which helped to reinvent the Material Girl as a more mature, spiritual person (but still very much a pop star). The song sounded fresh and exciting — and it remains so — but it was actually an unlikely cover of the 1971 song “Sepheryn” by British folk duo Curtiss Maldoon. The two songs couldn’t sound more different, and some of the lyrics are changed or omitted entirely by Madonna, but the core of the song is very much a cover. Listening to the two back-to-back provides a fascinating glimpse into songwriting, music production, and interpretation.
6. “Alone”
Heart topped the U.S. charts for three weeks in 1987 with this bombastic rock ballad, but it was originally written and recorded by the lesser-known band i-Ten for its 1983 album. The two versions are surprisingly similar, although Heart’s version has more energy and a brighter musical key. And of course, its biggest selling point: Ann Wilson just absolutely owning the vocal, along with sister Nancy Wilson on backing vocals and guitars. It remains just as invigorating nearly 40 years after its release.
5. “Fancy”
Reba McEntire’s 1990 version of “Fancy” has become one of the country legend’s signature songs…except it wasn’t her song initially. It was written and recorded in 1969 by singer-songwriter Bobbie Gentry. The lyrics and melodies remain completely unchanged between the original and the cover, but McEntire’s version replaces the 60s swing (and horns!) with decidedly 90s country-rock trappings. Both versions are excellent, but there’s something remarkable about Gentry singing about a young woman escaping poverty through, literally, prostitution back in the 1960s. Where is the Bobbie Gentry biopic already?
4. “Torn”
Australian actress/singer Natalie Imbruglia had her one smash hit with this song in 1997 (justice for “Wrong Impression”!), but shockingly, “Torn” is a cover of the song originally released in English (long story) in 1995 by American band Ednaswap. The original is heavily steeped in the grunge-music trend of the early 1990s, but the lyrics remain completely unchanged. Both versions are solid, but it’s not surprising that it was Imbruglia’s faster, poppier version that took the world by storm (thanks, VH1!).
3. “That’s What Friends Are For”
In the mid-1980’s, “That’s What Friends Are For” became a massive hit single — the biggest song in America for the entirety of 1986, winner of multiple Grammys — when it was recorded by Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder as a charity single, with all proceeds going to support AIDS research and prevention. But believe it or not, it was originally written and recorded by Rod Stewart in 1982 for the film Night Shift. And to further stretch credulity, Stewart’s version is somehow even slower and more schmaltzy. Astonishing!
2. “Ring of Fire”
Country star Johnny Cash had one of his biggest successes with this song, included on a 1963 best-of album. But it was actually written by the woman who would become his second wife, June Carter, and was originally recorded (as “Love’s Ring of Fire”) by Carter’s sister, Anita Carter. Cash’s version is more rollicking, punctuated by a horn section. Carter’s folkier version focuses on her gorgeous, plaintive voice, and in this author’s opinion, has a more genuine connection to the emotions of the lyrics.
1. “Don’t Cha”
I was today years old when I learned that The Pussycat Dolls’ most-successful song, “Don’t Cha,” was actually released just a year earlier by Tori Alamaze, a back-up singer for OutKast. The two versions are shockingly similar — Alamaze’s version has a different bridge, while the Pussycat Dolls brought in Busta Rhymes for a featured verse — which makes sense because Cee-Lo Green produced both versions. Alamaze’s version did experience some chart success after it was released, but this is a case of a record label believing in a song, and shafting an artist.
What are other cover songs people don’t know are covers? Leave a comment below!