34 Songs You Didn't Know Are Covers 

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Jimmi Hendrix’s “Star Spangled Banner” was originally written for an 18th century men’s club

I think you came up with the word "outshadowed" (a cross between "overshadowed" and "outshone"?), which I've never heard before. We'll have to see whether it catches on and anyone covers it.

"Istanbul, not Constantinopel" is commonly known for the They Might Be Giants version, but was originally by The Four Lads

I once talked to a UB40 fan, who regretted that "the only original song they did was Red Red Wine". I had to let him down, and point out the fact that it was actually written and originally recorded by Neil Diamond.

this whole video is just a big "well ackshually" and i love it

Every time I start to think it's the original, there's always something there to remind me.

"Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", made famous by Cyndi Lauper in 1983, was originally recorded in 1979. Ironically, the only original song on "She's So Unusual" (Lauper's first album), is "Time After Time". "Time After Time" is the most covered song from the 1980's.

I noticed how Otis Redding sang "a little respect when I come home" while Aretha Franklin changed it to "have a little respect when YOU come home" highlighting the obvious change in perspective.

I just realised that the record sleeve of London Calling by The Clash is a copy of Blue Suede Shoes by Elvis. That's a cover of a cover.

I didn't even know "I put a spell on you" was covered. the Screamin' Jay Hawkins original is so iconic!

Finally a list of covers that I actually didn't know were covers... Congratulations.

The Tommy James version of "I Think We're Alone Now" was actually well know at the time of Tiffany's re-make and was in fact enjoying a minor resurgence at the time owing to the whole "Big Chill" revival of 60s music in the 80s. I think that's one of the reasons Tiffany did it.

When I learned that 'It Must Be Love' and 'Something Inside So Strong' were made by the same person I was floored. Labbi Siffre is one of the greatest musicians of his time and really isn't talked about enough

"Tainted Love" by Soft Cell was originally recorded by Gloria Jones. Gloria was also romantically involved and had a child with Marc Bolen of T. Rex. She was driving the car that crashed and fatally injured Marc in 1977.

Every time I hear Otis Redding, it still breaks my heart. An artist and songwriter with that immense talent, and by all accounts a really great guy, gone way, way, way too soon. He managed to do so much in such a short time, that the mind fairly boggles at how much he could achieved, had he gotten to live into his old age.

Fun fact: there is footage out there of George Harrison in 1964 requesting that I Got My Mind Set On You be played on the radio station he was listening to. That was a whole 24 years before he released his cover

The instrumental half of "Black Magic Woman" is "Gypsy Queen", originally by Hungarian jazz guitarist Gabor Szabo. His work is well worth checking into.

"The First Cut Is the Deepest" was a hit for Rod Stewart, then Sheryl Crow, but was originally done by its writer, Cat Stevens.

"Just a Giggalo/I Ain't Got Nobody" by David Lee Roth is a cover of a song done by Louis Prima back in 1956. It was a combination of two songs. The "Just a Giggalo" part went way back to 1924, and stared as an Austrian tango. It was adapted in to English in 1929.

The one that surprised me the most was the most iconic song of the early '80s, which was actually a cover of a 1964 R&B song by Gloria Jones, which Soft Cell covered rather faithfully: "Tainted Love."

It's crazy how often I see "All Along the Watchtower" referred to as a Jimi Hendrix song, by people apparently unaware of Bob Dylan

one of my favourite cover songs is "The Door's: Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar)." It was actually a cover of The German opera song written in 1929 by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht.

My favourite cover story is how Dusty Springfield's "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" was originally Italian. Springfield heard it performed and it brought her to tears without understanding the lyrics.

One song that blew my mind that was NOT an original was The Supremes final hit, before Diana Ross left for a solo career, Someday, We'll Be Together (1969). The song was written by Johnny Bristol, Jackey Beavers, and Harvey Fuqua in 1961; Bristol and Beavers recorded the song together as "Johnny & Jackey" for the Tri-Phi label that same year. "Someday" was a moderate success in the Midwestern United States, but gained little notice in other venues. The song was a United States number-one hit on both the Billboard Hot 100 popular singles chart and the R&B singles chart, as well as charting in the top twenty at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart.

"Unchained Melody" was originally recorded as a song track for the 1955 movie "Unchained". Recorded by Todd Duncan, an African-American opera singer, the version we are all most familiar with is the 1965 cover by the Righteous Brothers.

Johnny Cash last gold before he died, Hurt, was originally from Nine Inch Nails

FINALLY! Someone who actually has done the research and credits Lis Sørensen with OG song "Brændt" THANK YOU!

In addition to the "Simply the Best" connection between Tina Turner and Bonnie Tyler, there's also another song that connects them. Tina Turner also wrote "Don't Turn Around" that was covered by Bonnie Tyler, then covered reggae-style by Aswad and then that reggae cover became the basis for Ace of Base's version of "Don't Turn Around" (the version of the song everyone has heard). Kind of amusing, Bonnie Tyler sings one song saying "turn around" and another song saying "don't turn around".

Blondie's The Tide is High is another song I didn't realise until quite recently was a cover.

Slight correction: “I Fought the Law” was written by Sonny Curtis of The Crickets and recorded after Buddy Holly’s death.

In the 1950s, there were a lot of covers of old songs from the 20s, 30s and 40s. One group that did lots of them was The Platters.

Shoutout to the fact that this video moves at the speed of light and wastes absolutely no time before moving to the next song.

There's a crazy back story about the writing of Dancing in the Moonlight

Barbara Ann was a cover?!?! That one blew my mind.

It’s actually crazy how many mainstream hits were just songs written by black artists, covered by white artists to 100x the popularity and success.

My favorite fact is that “Gansta’s Paradise” by Coolio was actually a cover of “Pastime Paradise” by Stevie Wonder

Thanks David! "I Fought the Law" was indeed originally recorded by the Crickets, but in 1960, after the death of Buddy Holly. Written by Sonny Curtis who by then had joined the Crickets on guitar.

"Nothing Compares 2 U" by Sinead O'Connor is originally by Prince's band, The Family

Two of Quiet Riot’s hits, Cum on Feel the Noize and Mama Weer all Crazee now, we’re both performed by a British band called Slade. When Quiet Riot covered Cum on Feel the Noize, they at first didn’t want to record it because they wanted to write all their own music. Their version was the first time they had ever played the song; they didn’t practice it in hopes that it would flop.

You asked for other covers, I was today old when I learned Laura Branigan's Self Control is a cover. Originally done by Raf. Might not be a very well known song anymore but I recently heard it again in some movie trailer.

some more off my covers spotify playlist. I like adding them whenever I stumble upon these things "The Tide is High" The Paragons, 1964 "Alone" (Heart) I-Ten, 1983 "Beggin'" Frankie Valli & The Four Seaons, 1967 "Police on my Back" The Equals, 1967 "California Sun" Joe Jones, 1960 "You Keep Me Hangin' On" The Supremes, 1967 "All Along the Watchtower" Bob Dylan, 1967 (some people still don't know) "Cum on Feel the Noize" Slade, 1973 Not reeeaally a cover but "Video Killed the Radio Star" has a version before it also Buddy Holly was dead by the time I Fought the Law was recorded

To make a note to “Hound Dog,” Elvis’s version of the song was more so a “cover of a cover.” *Freddie Bell and the Bellboys* modified the lyrics to center around a literal dog (less a dissatisfied lover), added a more “rock n roll” rhythm, and released a cover in 1955. Elvis learned the song when he saw Freddie Bell’s band perform it in Vegas and decided to “Elvis-ify” the version by the Bellboys, even using their exact lyrics.

Some others of note: Take Me To The River by Al Green then Talking Heads; California Sun by Joe Jones then The Ramones; Red Red Wine by Neil Diamond then UB40.

"Where did you sleep last night" of Nirvana, comes from Leadbelly, an old folksinger

As someone who is often fed up with today's remake/cover culture (especially with the songs coming out only 2-3 years later), it's very calming to realize it has essentially always been that way. I didn't know that covers came out so soon after the original in the past.

“Without You“ is another candidate for a song where people think they know the original but in fact not even that is the original. And for a recent one, I was surprised that Beyoncé’s “If I were a Boy” was a cover.

Almost always, when i see a title like this, turns out that i already knew all of them (bc i love this stuff.) This time, there were lots i didn't know! Thank you.

I am so old that King Harvest was already past their prime and performing "Dancing in the Moonlight" on my high school grad night in 1977.

"You'll never walk alone". The popular version by Gerry And The Pacemakers, played at Anfield Road for FC Liverpool, is a cover from a 1940s musical called "Carousel". The first single record was by Frank Sinatra.

It really blew my mind when I found out that The Flamingo's' "I Only Have Eyes for You" was originally from some old Hollywood musical.

"Black Betty", perhaps most well known from the Ram Jam version, is so old that no one even knows for sure where the name originated. The pre-rock-n-roll version by Lead Belly (Huddie Ledbetter) from the 20's is amazing. It's also a great example of the path that was taken from the Blues to most other American music.

Also, "The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd" is one of the best names ever.

CCR also had a minor hit with "I Put a Spell on You"

feels like half of these are covers of classic r&b and soul numbers

To make matters worse I’ve just found out my duvet is a cover.

Having lived through the 60s and a bit of the 50s, many of these were no surprise. Throughout history, musicians get started playing other people’s songs, and it’s common for them to record cover versions. Thanks for sharing this list. 🎶

Gloria Jones originally recorded Tainted Love, later a hit by Soft Cell.

This gets a little ambiguous when you're talking about songs that were never performed by their songwriter. For example, Bonnie Tyler's "The Best" was written Mike Chapman and Holly Knight. So what makes that version an original and Tina Turner's version a "cover"? Is it simply that Bonnie Tyler's version came first? When you have a song written by non-performing songwriters and released and re-released by multiple pop stars, it feels like the term "interpretation" feels more appropriate than "cover." This was super common in the '50s and '60s. You'd get the same song performed by like 10 different artists.

Another song that I was surprised to find out was a cover is Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft by The Carpenters. It was originally written and performed by a Canadian duo called Klaatu.

David - you are spot on about the many levels of covers, recovers in the musical industry. Although I tend to gravitate toward the versions closest to my age, I dig all versions.

This video reminded me of how much I love the original version of She's the One by World Party. This prompted me to search for World Party, and sadly I've just learned that Karl Wallinger died a few months ago. He had so many great songs. RIP.

Surfin' Bird by The Trashmen is also a cover, of two songs in fact! It's a combination of two songs by The Rivngtons: "The Bird's the Word" and "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow", although these two songs were relatively succesful before the Trashmen version

Absolutely brilliant list, love how you avoided the obvious ones. She's the One is a little less surprising as Guy Chambers was part of World Party, who also wrote many of Robbie Williams' songs. So weird, I was thinking about how no-one seems to know that It Must Be Love by Madness is a cover just 10 minutes before seeing this video.

I have a whole playlist of these songs but here are some you missed that you might find interesting: "Piece of my Heart" - Erma Franklin (later covered by Janis Joplin/Big Brother and the Holding Company. And yes, Erma is Aretha's sister who, along withe Carolyn, did backup on "Respect") "I Just Want to Make Love to You" - Muddy Waters (most people associate it with Etta James) "Jock-A-Mo" - Sugar Boy Crawford (later done by the Dixie Cups and also the Belle Stars as "Iko Iko") "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" - Solomon Burke (covered by Wilson Pickett and many others. Blues Brothers mistakenly gave credit to Wilson Pickett) "What a Man" - Linda Lyndell (covered by Salt N Pepa) "Tainted Love" - Gloria Jones (covered by Soft Cell. Side trivia: Gloria Jones was in a relationship with Marc Bolan (T. Rex) and was the one driving the car which resulted in the tragic accident which took Bolan's life) "Strawberry Letter 23" - Shuggie Otis (made famous by Brothers Johnson) "Hey Joe" - The Leaves (covered by many but Jimi Hendrix's is the most famous) "Gloria" - Them (Van Morrison's band. Later covered by Patti Smith) "Cum On Feel the Noize" - Slade (covered by Quiet Riot) "Hanging on the Telephone - The Nerves (covered by Blondie) "Tide is High" - The Paragons (also covered by Blondie) "Police on my Back" - The Equals (covered by the Clash. Equals frontman Eddy Grant would later have a successful solo career) "Going Down to Liverpool" - The Waves (later becoming Katrina & the Waves. The Bangles covered this with the resulting music video featuring Leonard Nimoy) "Superman" - The Clique (covered by REM) "Stop Your Sobbing" - The Kinks (covered by the Pretenders. Chrissy Hynde would later have a relationship with Ray Davies) You could also do a whole video consisting solely of songs the Rolling Stones covered.

A lot of the 2 tone hits in the 70's and 80's were covers of Jamaican ska by artists like Prince Buster

I’m not sure if this was mentioned in one of your previous videos on the subject, but the song “Georgia On My Mind” which most people associate with the 1960 Ray Charles version, was originally released all the way back in 1930, written & performed by Tin Pan Alley singer-songwriter Hoagy Carmichael

We Five's hit "You Were On My Mind" was actually written and performed by (Canadian) Sylvia Tyson of folk group Ian & Sylvia.

Well researched and presented ! there were a few surprises in there for me ..😯

"Midnight Train to Georgia" is a cover of the obscure "Midnight Plane to Houston" recorded a year or so earlier.

"Wild Thing" by The Troggs is an honorable mention. The song was first released by the american band The Wild Ones.

You had to play Barbara Ann. Every time I hear that song it gets stuck in my brain and doesn’t go away for months on end. Thanks so much!

One night, I was out singing karaoke, and a man sang I Fought The Law. Then the KJ came on the microphone and announced that that had been DeWayne Quirico, the drummer for the Bobby Fuller Four. I was so excited to meet him because I love that song. We had a nice conversation. That's one of my favorite karaoke memories.

Hi David, was hoping you might mention ‘I Don’t Want to Talk About It’…I play it a lot and I’m fed up with having to explain it’s not written by Rod Stewart. Original was by Crazy Horse a few years earlier (yes, Neil Young’s backing band). Sung by the writer himself, Danny Whitten and featuring gorgeous slide guitar solo by Ry Cooder. Nils Lofgren and Jack Nietzsche were also in the band at the time as well as CH stalwarts Billy Talbot and Ralph Molina

"Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" is probably most well known from They Might be Giants, but was written in 1953 by Jimmy Kennedy with music by Nat Simon and first recorded by The Four Lads.

Laura Nyro released her debut album More Than a New Discovery in1967 when she was 19. That album with songs she wrote included “Wedding Bell Blues” (a hit for the Fifth Dimension) and “Stoney End” (a hit for Barbra Streisand). Nyro also wrote and recorded “And When I Die (a hit for Blood, Sweat, and Tears), but she sold the song to Peter, Paul, and Mary who released their recording in 1966. Her debut album was re-released in 1973 with the title First Songs. She died of cancer in 1997.

There are plenty of English classics that are actually covers of songs in other languages. Sinatra's "My Way" is an obvious example, but also "Tell Him" by The Exciters, made famous in the early 2000s by Vonda Shephard for the Ally McBeal soundtrack, is originally by Argentinian singwriter Juan Ramón. ETA - "English-language songs that you didn't know were originally in another language" would be a cool idea for a video too!

Guy Chambers who was in World Party produced the Robbie Williams version of ‘She’s the One’ and used musicians from World Party to record the cover. So it’s not surprising it sounds similar. Williams has repeatedly claimed he wrote the song, upsetting Karl Wallinger, the actual writer, who was recovering from a brain aneurysm when the cover version became a hit.

Great deep dive. BTW - The Arrows were American who had a British drummer...and stayed in England because they caught fire there first through BBC TV appearances.

I'm surprised that Slade's "Get Down With It" has been missed. I only learned a few days ago that it was a cover of the 1965 song by Bobby Marchan.

The clip cutting just as the Animals’ singer hits the high note for House of the Rising Sun made me laugh far more than it should have

Oh, hello, I actually knew Screamin' Jay Hawkins' version of I Put A Spell On You. It goes hard.

The 80s synthpop track, “always something there to remind me,” made famous by Naked Eyes, was actually written by Burt Bacharach and first performed by Dionne Warwick in the 60s. I didn’t learn that until recently and it blew my mind

There's a song by Van Halen called "You Really Got Me" from the 70's which was a cover of The Kink's version of the same name from the 60's. (I feel like The Kinks version is more popular though)

Correction: The original I Fought the Law was not sung by Buddy Holly, it was recorded after the plane crash, with a new lead singer. Also of note, the album it came from also included the original version of "More Than I Can Say," later a hit for Leo Sayer.

Awesome list David, I knew some of these of course but also, of course, not all of them. My vast knowledge is expanding!!

You missed a couple of big ones; "I will always love you' made popular (again) covered by Whitney Houston is a Dolly Parton song. "Me and Bobby MgGee" made famous by Janis Jopin was originally a county song written by Kris Kristofferson.

"Jet Airliner" by the Steve Miller Band was a cover of "Jet Airliner" by Paul Peña. Peña recorded it for his 1975 album, New Train, but his label refused to release the album until 2000, just 5 years before his death.

Anither example is Mad World, most people think of Gary Jules cover when it was originally by tears for fears

'First Time Ever I Saw Your Face' by Ewan MacColl covered by Roberta Flack. While we're at it let's also go for 'Dirty Old Town' covered by the Pogues.

The Rolling Stones’ “Imagination” from “Some Girls” was originally a song by the Temptations. Judy Collins’s “Both Sides Now” was written by Joni Mitchell. Aretha Franklin’s “You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman” was written by Carole King. The Monkees’ “Pleasant Valley Sunday” was also written by Carole King, and “I Saw Her Face” was written by Neil Diamond. Manfred Mann’s “Blinded by the Light” was written by Bruce Springsteen. The Faitport Convention’s “Percy’s Song” was written by Bob Dylan, as was The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s “All along the Watchtower.” “Wooden Ships” appears in one version by Jefferson Airplane and one by Crosby, Stills, and Nash because it was jointly written by members of both groups.

"Always Something There to Remind Me" was a 1960s song (Bacharach/David, sung by a Lou Johnson) before the Naked Eyes cover of 1983.

“It's Oh So Quiet - björk” it’s one I was surprised to know it was a cover song. 😅

Sherman Kelly is the main member of King Harvest - I think he just happened to perform it with both groups, not sure that saying King Harvest did a cover of it is the best way to describe that situation.

I thought surely "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" would have made the list.

The Miracles were the first to record I Heard it Through the Grapevine, in 1966, but their version was not released until August 1968, when it was included on their album Special Occasion.

I knew quite a few. Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft by The Carpenters was originally by Klaatu, although the original was a minor hit in Canada and the USA so maybe that’s just my U.K. perspective that I didn’t know it. Private Life by Grace Jones I didn’t realise for years was a cover of a song by The Pretenders, although maybe plenty of other people did realise that one. Since You’ve Been Gone by Rainbow was originally released as a solo record by songwriter Russ Ballard and covered by Clout (known in the U.K. as the South African band with the one hit wonder Substitute)before becoming a hit for Ritchie Blackmore et al. The Tide is High by Blondie originally by ska band The Paragons. And children’s favourite Mah Na Mah Na by The Muppets originally on the soundtrack of Sweden:Heaven and Hell which was a 1960s sort of soft porn Italian film.

Funnily enough, my first exposure to The Beatles was through a cover version of their song, which I didn't know was a cover at the time (or even who were The Beatles). My parents had a Joe Cocker CD and "With a little help from my friends" was on it. I still think it's one of the best covers ever made. Amazing example of how the same lyrics can be conveyed in completely different ways.

Loved this!! One of favorite songs that most people don't realize is a cover is the Faith Hill song "cry". It was originally done by Angie Aparo on his album the American.

I wouldn't say it's more popular than the original, but I've seen quite a few people think that Van Halen's cover of Oh, Pretty Woman released in 1982 is the original when in reality the original was released by Roy Orbison in 1964.