When the Cover Overshadows the Original Song

Cowritten by: Brin DeRouen
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Cover songs, original songs, etc etc. Today we're looking at some classic examples of one musician making a song and how another musician enhanced its legacy. Whether it's a genre change, some new lyrics, or whatever it may be, covers are fascinating! These stories will mainly be about when the original song becomes more popular for a different audience or generation. Enjoy.
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Intro Animator: @icarogabriel17 on Twitter
Intro Music Composer: Chase Ceglie
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cover hurt nine inch nails johnny cash music video i will always love you whitney houston dolly parton prince sinead o connor nothing compares 2 u chris cornell respect otis redding aretha franklin childish gambino so into you tamia triple j bbc one live lounge all along the watchtower bob dylan jimi hendrix best worst favorite review reaction

[gabrielhersey]

‘Hold my accordion, I got this’- Weird Al

[atomicgator]

When I first saw Cash's cover of "Hurt", I swear I thought he was really dying in the video. That's how powerful his performance was.

[mateocabral]

I've always thought of the versions of "I Will Always Love You" in this way: You play the Whitney Houston version at your wedding reception, and the Dolly Parton version at your partner's funeral.

[therizinosaurus]

The last we see of Johnny is closing the piano lid - leaving the man, the music, the legend to history.

[XANAX-Pilled]

fun fact: Trent originally said hearing Johnny's version was like "watching someone fuck his girlfriend." The VIDEO birthed the "not my song, anymore" thing, along with with "wow, I just LOST my girlfriend." He also said he was moved to tears and had goosebumps.

[John_P._Buryiak]

You need to include Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" in your next covers video. She owns that song so hard that most people have no idea that it's a cover tune.

[ExtremeAndy]

My jaw hit the floor seeing “Respect” not be Aretha Franklin‘s original, it fits her so well

[MiloTheKid]

Cake’s cover of I Will Survive is one of my personal favorites

[colburn]

It feels weird not mentioning Hallelujah or Mad World. Two songs that have become huge because their covers in media specifically.

[markcarr]

I’ll throw in Bangles version of “Hazy Shade of Winter”. That was GREAT!!

[arthurdurham]

Some other honorable mentions imo:

Valerie - Amy Winehouse
The Man Who Sold The World - Nirvana
Twist and Shout - The Beatles
Piece of My Heart - Janis Joplin
The First Cut is the Deepest - Sheryl Crowe
Knocking on Heaven's Door - Guns N Roses
Hallelujah - Jeff Buckly/Rufus Wainwright
Proud Mary - Tina Turner
Killing Me Softly with His Song - Lauren Hill (Fugees)
Skinny Love - Birdy
Mad World - Gary Jules
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper
Cum On Feel The Noize - Quiet Riot
Free Fallin' - John Mayer (which one is more popular is arguable)
Big Yellow Taxi - Counting Crows
House of the Rising Sun - The Animals
Smooth Criminal - Alien Ant Farm
Mickey - Toni Basil

[merrymary]

I can't listen to Cash's " Hurt" without crying. He breaks my heart every time. It seems fitting that was his last big hit. We'll never hear his like again.

[skillen]

I don't know if it's as famous in the US as the UK but Soft Cell's cover of Tainted Love should absolutely be in this list

[ornj]

So glad you mentioned Chris Cornell’s cover of Nothing Compared 2 U. That whole album is full of absolutely incredible covers and is easily one of my favorite albums of all time, performed by my absolute favorite artist. R.I.P. Chris Cornell

[Mystress]

I'm glad Dolly's getting a huge payday from Whitney's version. That said, some of us are old enough to know that Dolly brought that song to #1 not once, but TWICE. I'd say plenty of people like her OG version too. I liken it to Simon & Garfunkle's The Sound of Silence and Disturb's cover. Both are very, very good in entirely different ways.

[Yoshimitsuprez]

You just showed it for a second, but that Denzel Curry Bulls On Parade cover is SO raw. I knew he was gonna kill it from the first “COME WIT IT NOW”

[natet]

The mere mention of Johnny Cash's cover of Hurt causes me to tear up.

[weirdalfan]

Pet shop boys made 2 covers that are now classics. They did "Always on my mind, " which was a Willie Nelson classic, Elvis and Original Brenda Lee. And Go West was an obscure Village People song that Pet Shop Boys made their own.

[XANAX-Pilled]

I've been an NIN fanatic since age 12 (92) and was at the 94 show where much of the video for their (then) new single, Hurt, was filmed, and it's burned DEEP into my psyche. The older I got, the more it resonated. I'm also a lifelong Cash aficionado. Johnny's version, especially paired with the video, and followed by his escape from this plane, utterly transforms the meaning. It's not even the same song, to me. It's damn near fair use territory. It ALSO impacts me more, the older i get. Neither is better.

[maxpole]

Johnny cash's cover of hurt is just so iconic and powerful. It is still played today and even was in movies and was the song of choise for the logan trailer