28 Songs You Didn't Know Are Covers

It's easy to not realise that a famous song is actually not the original version. So today we are going to look at 29 songs where the most well-known version isn't actually the original.

📌6:13 "Groupie (Superstar)" by Delaney & Bonnie had to be cut out here due to copyright claim.

This video was edited by Martino Gasparrini.

And, an extra special thanks goes to Chase Heeler, Peter Keller, Douglas Lind, Vidad Flowers, Ivan Pang, Waylon Fairbanks, Jon Dye, Austin Russell, Christopher Ryan, Toot & Paul Peijzel, the channel’s Patreon saints! 😇

[Billy_t__]

How cool is it that Steve Winwood not only granted them permission but actually hopped on the track himself? I love when older artists support later generations of musicians rather than being all pissy about it

[dgemini]

Okay, as a Gen Xer, I can't believe you didn't mention Naked Eyes' version of Always Something There To Remind Me, a HUGE hit in the early 80's and a staple on MTV. Also, Sheena Easton did a great version of Wind Beneath My Wings in 1982.

[donkerbot]

This is one reason why we make music. That hopefully one day, somebody likes one of our songs enough to cover it. We just like making music, and we want others to enjoy making music as well.

[MrSweelinck]

Another one that just hit me, "Tainted Love" covered by Soft Cell, original by Gloria Jones.

[DeltaEntropy]

“Always something there to remind me? I love that Naked Eyes song.”

“Actually it’s by Sandie Shaw.”

“Oh wow. I didn’t know that.”

“Actually it’s by Lou Johnson.”

“…what?”

[monoscopes]

I didn't know the Carpenters much, but hearing these songs they really sound like the biggest influence for Abba in terms of overall sound.

[ambsquared]

Back when I was in junior high, I performed “Always Something There to Remind Me” as a solo performance at a choral competition. It was the Naked Eyes arrangement. I got a great score for it, but about a year later my voice changed, and I couldn’t hold a note anymore. My wife was a music major at college before switching to nursing. She wondered how I could have done well. About a year ago, my mom sent me a bunch of papers she found cleaning up her basement. Among them was my scorecard from that competition. I showed it to my wife and told her, “See that, I could sing well when I was younger.”

[FineArtsMusic]

Love seeing the carpenters and old crooners getting mentioned 😊

[jameshollyoak]

God how good is Luther’s vocals, smooth

[Ngasii]

This is one of my all-time favourite series on the Internet ❤

[JackMcGill-vggx]

"Mas que nada" is a song written by Brazilian musician Jorge Ben and originally recorded in 1963. The song was later covered by Sérgio Mendes in 1966, and became one of his signature songs.

[Xpian]

For some songs, I find myself saying: 'Yeah, I remember the original by (whomever)'... but every once in a while something in my head goes off in shock like the screech of brakes and the sound of a car crash, and it's all I can do not to borrow the American phrase: 'Say it ain't so, Joe!' Your videos are the BEST!

[veggie]

Not sure if these two were used in previous videos but It's My Life by No Doubt is a cover of Talk Talk.

The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead, a popular Crash Test Dummies song, is actually a cover of XTC.

[buzzsmith]

Thanks, David! I'm feeling kinda sentimental today and this was even more appreciated.

[dockerdave]

8:37 I can't hear Wind Beneath My Wings without thinking of Krusty performing it on his comeback special

[sspbrazil]

The Carpenters did many cover versions, but the most odd one they did was the Klaatu song “Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft”, but it really works.

[Sasquiny]

You know what? I'll finally subscribe. It was long overdue!

[FarrellMcGovern]

The Carpenters had a hit with "Calling Occupants (of Interplanetary Craft)", probably one of their stranger hits, that was written and originally performed by Canadian band Klaatu, who named after the character in the movie The Day the Earth Stood Still. They got some unexpected publicity when a 1977 article published in the Providence Journal written by journalist Steve Smith, speculated that 3:47 EST (Klaatu's first album) could actually be a release by a secretly reunited Beatles recording under a pseudonym, leading to widespread rumours. Some of their songs on the album had a Sargent Pepper's like sound, and the fact that Ringo had appeared on as the character Klaatu on his 1974 album "Goodnight Vienna" provided the basis for this rumour.

[Andyvan]

I've heard Paul Williams tell the story about the conversation between Williams and Carpenter about "We've Only Just Begun". According to Paul, there wasn't any more to the song, but he said there was and then had to quickly write more.

[druwk]

Great series. Keep it up! There are so many tunes that made an impression and are then resigned to the memory hole, but are such a delight to recall.
Also, now as an old dude who plays music with friends, these songs are great side roads from the classic rock catalog.