My iTunes collection is full of unique, weird covers, so I’ve been working on a playlist of cool cover songs. It’s difficult, because often I didn’t realize a song I liked was a cover (growing up, I didn’t realize “Pretty Woman” wasn’t an Al Green song. There are also covers like Toxic by Mark Ronson or “Common People” by William Shatner which surpass the original.)
So here are fifty some songs that I know are covers. I may be wrong about the original artist – let me know if I am. Share your favorite covers in the comments section. Click here to see the full list.
On another note – don’t forget to tune into my friend Joey’s show every Monday at 3 PM on Y Rock on XPN .
| Name | Artist | Original Artist (I think) |
| No Surprises | Easy Star All-Stars | Radiohead |
| Reason to Believe | Michael Penn & Aimee Mann | Bruce Springsteen |
| Heroes | Peter Gabriel | David Bowie |
| Mercy Street | Elbow | Peter Gabriel |
| Let Down | Easy Star All-Stars | Radiohead |
| Human Nature | David Mead | Michael Jackson |
| Gone Daddy Gone | Gnarls Barkley | Violent Femmes |
| Sleep To Dream | Bettye Lavette | Fiona Apple |
| Oh, Pretty Woman | Al Green | Roy Orbison |
| Wonderwall | Ryan Adams | Oasis |
| Hurt | Johnny Cash | Nine Inch Nails |
| Crazy Mary | Pearl Jam | Victoria Williams |
| i’m looking through you | The Wallflowers | The Beatles |
| Pennyroyal Tea | Kristin Hersh | Nirvana |
| Lights | The Jayhawks | Victoria Williams |
| They Don’t Know | Tracey Ullman | |
| Lay Lady Lay | Magnet | Bob Dylan |
| Personal Jesus | Johnny Cash | Depeche Mode |
| Handle With Care | Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins | Travelling Wilburys |
| Beautiful | Elvis Costello | Christina Aguilera |
| Paranoid Android | Section | Radiohead |
| Hallelujah | Jeff Buckley | Leonard Cohen |
| Keep the Car Running (BBC Radio 1’s Six Weeks of Summer) | Foo Fighters | Arcade Fire |
| Airbag | Easy Star All-Stars | Radiohead |
| Helter Skelter | U2 | The Beatles |
| The Man Who Sold The World | Nirvana | David Bowie |
| let it be | Nick Cave | The Beatles |
| Crazy | Shawn Colvin | Gnarlz Barkley |
| Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa (Vampire Weekend Cover) | Hot Chip & Peter Gabriel | Vampire Weekend |
| I Want You Back | Discovery | The Jackson 5 |
| Come Talk To Me | Bon Iver | Peter Gabriel |
| Private Eyes | The Bird And The Bee | Hall & Oates |
| Wave of Mutilation | Kristin Hersh | The Pixies |
| Karma Police | Section | Radiohead |
| Hey Ya | Booker T. | Outkast |
| across the universe | Rufus Wainwright | The Beatles |
| Just (featuring Phantom Planet) | Mark Ronson | Radiohead |
| Tenderness On The Block | Shawn Colvin | Jackson Browne |
| Toxic (featuring Ol’ Dirty Bastard & Tiggers) | Mark Ronson | Britney Spears |
| Sea Of Love | Cat Power | Phil Phillips |
| I Don’t Remember | David Byrne | Peter Gabriel |
| Mexican Radio | El Vez | Wall of Voodoo |
| Common People | William Shatner featuring Joe Jackson | Pulp |
| How Am I Different | Bettye Lavette | Aimee Mann |
| Thirteen | Elliott Smith | Big Star |
| I Will Survive | Cake | Gloria Gaynor |
| God Put a Smile On Your Face (featuring The Daptone Horns) | Mark Ronson | Coldplay |
| (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction | Cat Power | Rolling Stones |
| Flume | Peter Gabriel | Bon Iver |
| Hospital Beds | Florence and the Machine | Cold War Kids |
| (Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night | Shawn Colvin | Tom Waits |
| Kiss On My List | The Bird And The Bee | Hall & Oates |
| Four Season in One Day (live) | Mary Chapin Carpenter | Crowded House |
| My Body Is a Cage | Peter Gabriel | Arcade Fire |
| Paranoid Android | Easy Star All-Stars | Radiohead |
| Trouble | Kristin Hersh | Cat Stevens |
| Little Wing | Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble | Jimi Hendrix |
| Stop Me | Mark Ronson | The Smiths |
Hurt is Nine Inch Nails
They Don't Know – Tracey Ullman
Pennyroyal Tea – wasn't that Nirvana?
That Bettye Lavette version of How Am I Different is glorious!
Great list!
Thank you – I thought Pennyroyal Tea was a cover for some reason. They Don't Know is a cover of a girl band – I'll look it up at some point.
Oh, right. Tracey was the first I had heard. Kristy MacColl wrote and recorded that one? Had no idea.
They Don't Know was done by the late Kirsty MacColl.
I did not know that. Damn cool.
Right now I’m loving forever young by audra mae — I’m not sure if rod stewartbwas original version but his was prob most recognized version… xoxo
How about the New Pornographers cover of ELO's Don't Bring Me Down?
Great list Spencer. Wish I could just click on these to hear the ones I hadn't heard! Just listened to Johnny Cash do Personal Jesus. Kind of creepy!
oh yeah..there is a greeeeat cover of cyndi laupers girls just wanna have fun by…greg laswell.. soooo awesome..
btw… you have a great list there!
xoxo