Like book lists, I love music lists and playlists. I listen to a lot of music and I enjoy learning about new artists and new music. The new year got me thinking about how music allows us to travel back in time, bringing back memories of people, places and events. Music also allows us to move forward and see things with a new perspective.
This may be why we appreciate cover songs - old favourites, reinterpreted by other artists. I especially appreciate when artists do a remake of a favourite song and the new version becomes a favourite too. Sometimes the newer versions are more familiar to us than the original and sometimes it's a case of who sang it best?
It's hard to narrow it down and I had to cut some great songs to make a list of 20. I tried to be diverse and include some that may not be as well known. Some of these songs have seen many covers and hopefully some will be new to you, but alas, here are 20 originals and 20 covers in no particular order. I have included video links to a few of the covers if you care to check them out.
Spoiler alert: Dolly Parton makes the list for an original and a cover! She has covered so many songs and so many of her songs have been covered. The other artist that almost made that list was Ryan Adams, but I cut one out! Sorry Ryan.
Are there any you would add to the list?
1. Bird On A Wire by Leonard Cohen / Covered by The Neville Brothers
2. California Dreamin' by Barry McGuire (background vocals The Mamas & The Papas & later recorded by them) / Covered by Sia
3. Dream Weaver by Gary Wright / Covered by Kevin Quain
4. Gentle On My Mind by John Hartford / Covered by Alison Krauss - A nod to Glen Campbell of course!
5. Halo by Beyonce / Covered by Peter Katz
6. Holding Back The Years by Simply Red / Covered by Train
7. I Drove All Night by Cyndi Lauper (intended for Roy Orbison and a nod to him as he recorded it too) / Covered by Celine Dion
8. I Put A Spell On You by Jalacy "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins / Covered by Annie Lennox
9. I Told You So by Randy Travis / Covered by Carrie Underwood
10. I Want To Know What Love Is by Foreigner / Covered by Wynonna Judd
11. I'm On Fire by Bruce Springsteen / Covered by Whitehorse
12. If I Had A Boat by Lyle Lovett / Covered by Karen Elson
13. Old Flames by Dolly Parton / Covered by Kesha
14. Passionate Kisses by Lucinda Williams / Covered by Mary Chapin Carpenter
15. Somewhere Only We Know by Keane / Covered by Alan Cumming
16. Stay by Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs / Covered by Cat Power - a nod to Jackson Browne on this one.
17. The Story by Brandi Carlile / Covered by Dolly Parton
18. Thriller by Michael Jackson / Covered by Bailey Pelkman
19. When The Stars Go Blue by Ryan Adams / Covered by Tim McGraw
20. Wicked Game by Chris Isaak / Covered by JOHNNYSWIM
Enjoy the cover song adventures!
Thanks Tricia. I don't think Cyndi Lauper wrote the song. She was the first to record and release it. It is on her album A Night To Remember from 1989 and I think YouTube has the official video if you want to check it out. I hope you like it. Orbison recorded it but it wasn't released until the early 90's, after his death.
I love the Whitehouse cover of I'm on fire! Also, I didn't know Cyndi Lauper wrote I drove all night. I must immediately find a recording of her singing it.