Better Known as Covers
The idea is to include original versions of songs made famous by the cover artist. I've tried as far as possible to exclude songs that were big hits at the time, but whose newer version is better known by those of later generations. For example The Shoop Shoop Song, which was a big deal first time around even if to a lot of younger people (I'm 27, but my musical taste skews older) the Cher cover is better known. I've also tried to exclude as far as possible geographical covers, for example a US song that was a hit there for the original, but then recorded in the UK by someone else and a hit there. As always add more below if you feel I've missed anything! Thanks to Claus D. and other SongPop Addicts for suggestions!
| Dedicated to the One I Love | 5 Royales |
| Southern Nights | Allen Toussaint |
| Ring of Fire | Anita Carter |
| I Love Rock 'n' Roll | Arrows |
| Burning Love | Arthur Alexander |
| Without You | Badfinger |
| Night They Drove Old Dixie Down | Band |
| My Boy Lollipop | Barbie Gaye |
| Money | Barrett Strong |
| California Dreaming | Barry McGuire |
| Shake Rattle & Roll | Big Joe Turner |
| Baby Please Don't Go | Big Joe Williams |
| Hound Dog | Big Mama Thornton |
| Whole Lotta Shakin' Go On | Big Maybelle |
| Hooked on a Feeling | BJ Thomas |
| Delia (Delia's Gone) | Blind Willie McTell |
| All Along the Watchtower | Bob Dylan |
| If Not for You | Bob Dylan |
| Mr. Tambourine Man | Bob Dylan |
| Quinn the Eskimo (Mighty Quinn) | Bob Dylan |
| Stir It Up | Bob Marley |
| Turn the Page | Bob Seger |
| We've Got Tonight | Bob Seger |
| In the Army Now | Bolland & Bolland |
| Money Changes Everything | Brains |
| Always on My Mind | Brenda Lee |
| Smoking in the Boys' Room | Brownsville Station |
| Blinded by the Light | Bruce Springsteen |
| Video Killed the Radio Star | Bruce Woolley and The Camera Club |
| Universal Soldier | Buffy Sainte-Marie |
| Blue Suede Shoes | Carl Perkins |
| You've Got a Friend | Carole King |
| I'm Every Woman | Chaka Khan |
| You'll Never Walk Alone | Christine Johnson |
| Love Potion #9 | Clovers |
| Blue Moon | Connee Boswell |
| I Fought the Law | Crickets |
| It's So Easy | Crickets |
| Susie Q | Dale Hawkins |
| Rudy, A Message to You | Dandy Livingstone |
| Cara Mia | David Whitfield |
| Groovy Kind of Love | Diane & Annita |
| I Will Always Love You | Dolly Parton |
| Mister Moonlight | Dr Feelgood and the Interns |
| I'm into Something Good | Earl Jean |
| Torn | Ednaswap |
| Piece of My Heart | Erma Franklin |
| Wimoweh | Evening Birds |
| Love Hurts | Everly Brothers |
| Angel of the Morning | Evie Sands |
| Dirty Old Town | Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger |
| Do Wah Diddy Diddy | Exciters |
| Der Kommissar | Falco |
| Nothing Compares 2 U | Family |
| Black Magic Woman | Fleetwood Mac |
| Silence Is Golden | Four Seasons |
| Everybody's Talkin' | Fred Neil |
| Greatest Love of All | George Benson |
| Little Darlin' | Gladiolas |
| Tainted Love | Gloria Jones |
| Night Nurse | Gregory Isaacs |
| Everytime You Go Away | Hall & Oates |
| Twist | Hank Ballard and the Midnighters |
| Don't Leave Me This Way | Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes |
| I'm Henry The VIII I Am | Harry Champion |
| Once Bitten, Twice Shy | Ian Hunter |
| China Girl | Iggy Pop |
| Needles and Pins | Jackie DeShannon |
| When You Walk in the Room | Jackie DeShannon |
| Dazed and Confused | Jake Holmes |
| Got My Mind Set on You | James Ray |
| Superstition | Jeff Beck |
| After Midnight | JJ Cale |
| Cocaine | JJ Cale |
| Fire of Love | Jody Reynolds |
| Tobacco Road | John D. Loudermilk |
| Rockin' All over the World | John Fogerty |
| Drift Away | John Henry Kurtz |
| He's Gonna Step On You Again (Step On) | John Kongos |
| Jealous Guy | John Lennon |
| Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town | Johnny Darrell |
| Wild One (Real Wild Child) | Johnny O'Keefe |
| Walk Don't Run | Johnny Smith |
| Police and Thieves | Junior Murvin |
| Time Is on My Side | Kai Winding and his Orchestra |
| When the Levee Breaks | Kansas Joe McCoy & Memphis Minnie |
| Let's Get Together (Get Together) | Kingston Trio |
| It Must Be Love | Labi Siffre |
| I Found Someone | Laura Branigan |
| Eli's Comin' | Laura Nyro |
| Stoned Soul Picnic | Laura Nyro |
| Cotton Fields | Leadbelly |
| Goodnight Irene | Leadbelly |
| Hey Joe | Leaves |
| Good Lovin' | Lemme B Good |
| Hallelujah | Leonard Cohen |
| Unchained Melody | Les Baxter |
| Turn Turn Turn | Limelighters |
| Fever | Little Willie John |
| Killing Me Softly with His Song | Lori Lieberman |
| Moon of Alabama (Alabama Song) | Lotte Lenya |
| I've Been Everywhere | Lucky Starr |
| See See Rider (CC Rider) | Ma Rainey |
| Mustang Sally | Mack Rice |
| Saving All My Love for You | Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr. |
| Sorrow | McCoys |
| Plateau | Meat Puppets |
| Rivers of Babylon | Melodians |
| Sixteen Tons | Merle Travis |
| I Heard It through the Grapevine | Miracles |
| Red Red Wine | Neil Diamond |
| Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood | Nina Simone |
| Respect | Otis Redding |
| Bend Me Shape Me | Outsiders |
| It's All Coming Back to Me Now | Pandora's Box |
| Tide Is High | Paragons |
| Jet Airliner | Paul Pena |
| The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face | Peggy Seeger |
| Tempted | Peter Frampton |
| First Cut Is the Deepest | PP Arnold |
| Some Guys Have All the Luck | Pursuaders |
| Kitty (Mickey) | Racey |
| Denise | Randy & the Rainbows |
| Barbara Ann | Regents |
| Young Love | Ric Cartey |
| Louie Louie | Richard Berry and the Pharaohs |
| They Long To Be Close to You | Richard Chamberlain |
| La Bamba | Ritchie Valens |
| Girls Just Wanna Have Fun | Robert Hazard |
| Me & Bobby McGee | Roger Miller |
| Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain | Roy Acuff |
| Brandy (Mandy) | Scott English |
| You Raise Me Up | Secret Garden |
| Venus | Shocking Blue |
| Rock around the Clock | Sonny Dae and the Knights |
| Rave On! | Sonny West |
| A Rockin' Good Way | Spaniels |
| Ghost Riders in the Sky | Stan Jones |
| City of New Orleans | Steve Goodman |
| I Want Candy | Strangeloves |
| Jock-a-mo (Iko Iko) | Sugar Boy Crawford |
| It's My Life | Talk Talk |
| Misirlou | Tetos Demetriades |
| If I Were a Carpenter | Tim Hardin |
| Don't Turn Around | Tina Turner |
| Oye Como Va | Tito Puente |
| Jersey Girl | Tom Waits |
| I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself | Tommy Hunt |
| Twist and Shout | Top Notes |
| Gloria | Umberto Tozzi |
| It's All Over Now | Valentinos |
| Jesus Doesn't Want Me for a Sunbeam | Vaselines |
| Go West | Village People |
| Brand New Cadillac | Vince Taylor |
| Poor Poor Pitiful Me | Warren Zevon |
| Last Kiss | Wayne Cochran |
| Cocaine Blues | Western Aces |
| Wild Thing | Wild Ones |
| Evil Ways | Willie Bobo |
| She's the One | World Party |
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Here are a few additions to an already great list:
Harry Nilsson - One [Covered by Three Dog Night]
Strawberry Letter 23 - Shuggie Otis [Covered by Brothers Johnson]
Watermelon Man - Herbie Hancock [Covered by Mongo Santamaria]
Cry Baby - Garnet Mims [Covered by Janis Joplin]
The Equals - Police On My Back [Covered by The Clash]
Ian And Sylvia - Four Strong Winds [Covered by Neil Young]
Iggy Pop - The Passenger [Covered by Siouxsie & The Banshees]
The Persuaders - Some Guys Have All The Luck [Covered by Rod Stewart]
The Nerves - Hanging On The Telephone [Covered by Blondie]
The Supremes - You Keep Me Hangin' On [Covered by Kim Wilde]
Toots & The Maytals - Pressure Drop [Covered by The Clash]
The Byrds - You Showed Me [Covered by The Turtles]
Red Sovine - Phantom 309 [Covered by Tom Waits]
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