When we think of most artistic or creative work being copied, it’s difficult to get very far into the conversation without considering the topic of plagiarism. And rightly so, as it’s never usually acceptable to present the work of another person as your own.
But music is one of the few available avenueswhere it’s possible to duplicate andturnreplication into inspiration through cover songs; the troubling instead becomes a thoughtful tribute. Think of all the times you enjoyed and resonated with a song only to later find out it was originally created by another artist. And that tribute can grow to be so dynamically and soul-bearinglytrueto another musician that the result can wind up feeling and seeming pseudo-original.
1Nirvana, “The Man Who Sold The World”
Taking Bowie To The Grunge’s Edge
Written and recorded byDavid Bowiefor his third studio album of the same name in 1970, “The Man Who Sold The World” has a certainBritish-leaning, lightly psychedelic edge with a youthful sense of mysterythat would prove typical of Bowie’s style in the years that followed. This was not Bowie at his peak, but it showed a young man who was already willing to go against the grain.
The Batman: 10 Best Uses Of Nirvana Songs In Film & TV
The Batman uses ‘Something in the Way’ to brilliant effect, but it’s not the first time a filmmaker has included a Nirvana song on their soundtrack.
Nirvana and lead man Kurt Cobaincertainly had the same grain-resistant ideology when they recorded their cover of “The Man Who Sold The World” in 1993 forMTV Unplugged. Though, in Cobain’s case,he takes on the visage of the older soul here in this grittier take, who is wistful at where this path has brought him. He’s like the man who’s sold his world with regrets to get here, and with his death not long after this recording, that weight feels even more moving to listen to now compared to Bowie’s original.
2Ryan Adams, “Wonderwall”
Slowing Down Oasis' Pop With Emotion
Famously prickly English rock-and-rollersOasisdropped one of the biggest and arguably most overplayed tracks of their career (and the ’90s) with “Wonderwall,” from 1995’s(What’s The Story) Morning Glory?. “Wonderwall” has a brightly infectious Britpop arrangementthat feels hopefully optimistic in a lyrical depiction of someone close to the narratorwhose closeness is keeping them afloat through rough waters.
Meanwhile, the depiction of “Wonderwall” by equally prickly alt-country troubadourRyan Adamsoff of his 2004 albumLove Is Hellflips the script of this song’s story intentions. Adams slows “Wonderwall” down and delivers it with more doubt, more worry about the supposed support this narrator feels their close person is giving them. Adams still expresses his belief in being saved, butin a way that feels like someone falling down a pit of slow-gathering despair. Adams put such a convincing twist on “Wonderwall” that even Oasis themselves were impressed with the reinterpretation’s definitive feeling.
3Johnny Cash, “Hurt”
Taking Reznor’s Darkness Darker
Nine Inch Nailsoriginated the song “Hurt” on their 1994 albumThe Downward Spiral. Lead singer Trent Reznor wrote the closing track around dark themes, includingdrug addiction, self-harm, and a young man trying to keep control of himselfas his vices are spinning him out again and again. It’s a song of harshness and struggle.
Johnny Cash’s Reason For Wearing All Black Was A Lot Deeper Than Fashion
The Man in Black moniker was about much more than just a clothing color preference when it came to the life and philosophy of Johnny Cash.
When country music legendJohnny Cashcovered “Hurt” in 2002 during his storied series ofAmerican Recordingscollaborations with famed producer Rick Rubin, it was nothing short of a revelation. The prolific darkness in Reznor’s words turned from a young man’s trials to the regrets of an old man facing down the specter of death. Cash’s music video only injects more power into this imagery, going from visions of his youth back to his now-wizened exterior,more experienced but hardened and scarred by a thousand wounds. Reznor and Cash give “Hurt” the harsh full circle of life’s two sides.
4Jeff Buckley, “Hallelujah”
Cohen’s Spiritual Ascends To Buckley’s Heaven
The great Canadian singer-songwriterLeonard Cohencreated his shambling spiritual “Hallelujah” for his 1984 albumVarious Positions, which lyrically seems to reside somewhere between the Biblical and the bodily physical. It has a certain knack for secular-type poeticism that tendsto reside with one foot in and one foot outside the chapel, guided by Cohen’s trademark baritone storyteller as the steeple preacher.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League Ending Is Scored To Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah
Zack Snyder’s Justice League will end with Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” a song that holds special significance for Snyder and his work on the film.
Jeff Buckley, meanwhile, took his own crack at “Hallelujah” on the only studio album he’d wind up recording during his lifetime, 1994’sGrace. Layered by a plucked electric guitar and a sprightly voice that could reach from the floor to the float of the rafters, Buckley had a certain type of magic to his talent that was tragically cut short by his 1997 drowning death. “Hallelujah"became otherworldly under the sharp steel of Buckley’s gazing sword, and over three decades later, it feels like he still owns the pure soul of “Hallelujah.”
5Whitney Houston, “I Will Always Love You”
Uplifting A Somber Country Croon
The song “I Will Always Love You” was first brought to life bycountry music matriarchDolly Partonin 1973, often stated to have been written on the same day (or close to) Parton’s writing of her hit song “Jolene.” Parton had written the song as a farewellto her beloved business partner of the time and mentor, Porter Wagoner, a country music icon in his own right. Parton’s original has a winsome sweetness to it that echoes with all of Dolly’s usual musical charms.
ButWhitney Houstontook “I Will Always Love You” to the next level with her 1992 rearrangement of the track for thesoundtrack of her film debut,The Bodyguard. Houston had a voice of pure gold in her prime performing years, and this song is arguablyher brightest diamond from that time. The R&B arrangement of it never plays too aggressively and allows Houston’s voice to carry the weight of “I Will Always Love You” all the way to the promised land. And heaven came down to Earth with Houston’s pure ability here.
6Janis Joplin, “Me And Bobby McGee”
The Gritty Drifter’s Lament
The timeless traveler’s anthem “Me and Bobby McGee” was written by musician and actorKris Kristoffersonand first recorded by musicianRoger Millerin 1969, with Kristofferson bringing his own version to tape in 1970. Kristofferson’s take is a gentle thing on the acoustic guitar,lending more to the compass direction of the lyrics and his soft voicethan to any overwhelming musicality.
Janis Joplinrecorded her own “Me and Bobby McGee” in 1970, not long before her death, and released posthumously in 1971 on her albumPearl. And while the storytelling element of these lovelorn drifters feels largely the same on Joplin’s recording, she adds another layer to its powerthrough the aggressive, no-nonsense pull of the sand-grit vocals that made her so unique. Joplin’s take became so definitive because of how much it grabs your ear and makes you listen to this story’s path.
7Tina Turner, “Proud Mary”
Taking The R&B To CCR
Creedence Clearwater Revivaland lead singerJohn Fogertycertainly had their fair share of highlight hit songs written over their relatively short tenure as a band, with “Proud Mary” shining as one of the brighter gems in their crown. The track succeeds in the band’s typical Southern-fried rock style, with Fogerty’s gruff narrator telling the tale ofescaping a steady but unfulfilling job to hitch a ride on a boatand finally start seeing “the good side of the city.” This is Creedence doing Creedence well.
But whenTina Turnertook on “Proud Mary,” the song rolled into a seismic new shift. Tina first recorded the song in 1971 as a duo with her then-husband Ike, but later re-recorded the song as a solo act after divorcing Ike and escaping from the relationship’s abuse. Not only did Tina take the arrangement of “Proud Mary” into unprecedented fast and slow turns, she alsofilled the song with the emotion of her real life (or so it felt like anyway).
Fogerty made up the narrator escaping an unfulfilling life to find better things; Tina Turner lived leaving it all behind to find her better world. And she got the chance to turnhardship and career uncertainty into the explosion of triumph with “Proud Mary.”
8Joe Cocker, “With A Little Help From My Friends”
The Beatles Hit With A Thundershock Of Blues
The Beatlesdebuted “With a Little Help from My Friends” on their more conceptually toned albumSgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Bandin 1967, as one of the few songs in the Liverpool group’s catalog to have drummer Ringo Starr on lead vocals. The original is a twee, bouncing bit of Britpop anthem, certainly not at the top of deeper Beatles works, but it showed that The Fab Fourstill knew how to have fun and show off their lighter sideas their depth as a serious band grew.
10 Beatles Covers That Improve On The Originals
There’s no question the Fab Four wrote incredible songs, but in the years since, quite a few musicians have put an incredible new spin on things.
A year later, in 1968, soulful blues singerJoe Cockertook “With a Little Help from My Friends” and recorded it for his 1969 album of the same name with an entirely flipped arrangement. Instead of a track with a sweet swing to it, Cocker’s versionis deep, dark, and soulfully torn up inside.That happy pep of the original becomes a moody twilight and evokes whole new layers never imagined in the conception of Starr’s take on it.
9Ray Charles, “Georgia On My Mind”
A State’s Deep Ode
Jazz musician and composerHoagy Carmichaelfirst created the lyrics to the song “Georgia On My Mind” in 1930 along with roommate Stuart Gorrell. Carmichael recorded the light, swingy jazz song the same year, with some debate over whether the words refer to the state of Georgia or Carmichael’s sister, whose name was Georgia. But “Georgia On My Mind” would truly begin to find its popular footing three decades later in the hands of a Georgia-born icon.
Ray Charles' The Nanny Character Explained
Besides being one of the most important figures in music history, Ray Charles also played a small but pivotal role in the classic sitcom The Nanny.
In 1960, renowned singer and piano playerRay Charleschose to cover the song for his album that year calledThe Genius Hits the Road. And as with other covers Charles delivered throughout his career, he could sell them definitively as his own because Charlescould just about sing the phone book and do it with emotional conviction. His rendition of “That Lucky Old Sun” is similar; “Georgia On My Mind” feels like a love letter to his home. It’s no wonder Georgia itself chose to make this version the state song.
The Funk Turns Pop Crooner
In 1984, famed funkateerPrincerecorded a demo for a song called “Nothing Compares 2 U” that he later gave to a band he helped form called the Family. The group recorded the song for an album calledThe Familyin 1985, and Prince’s demo of the track was ultimately released on a 2019 compilation calledOriginals. Butwhile each of those versions have their basic synth-pop merits, it was a small Irish singer-songwriter with a big voice that put “Nothing Compares 2 U” on the map.
Sinead O’Connor’s1990 studio albumI Do Not Want What I Haven’t Gotprominently featured this song as a single, and with its release came global acclaim. “Nothing Compares 2 U” lives on as O’Connor’s most successful single, and deservedly so. The track’s themes of loss were amplifiedby such real pain and heartbreak in O’Connor’s voice that no other version has ever begun to touch. Her inspiration was supposedly brought on by the loss of her mother to a car accident, and the vocal take echoes this with such saddening brilliance.
