These cover songs surpass the originals in terms of popularity and or commercial success, and in some cases people would later associate those songs with the artists who did the cover, instead of the original artists.

Man, I didn't know "No More I Love Yous" was a cover.

"One" by Three Dog Night was more popular than Harry Nilsson's.

Chaka Kahn's "I Feel 4 U" was more popular than Prince's.

Sinead's "Nothing Compares 2 U" was more popular than The Family's.

That's all I can think of right now.

I don't agree with This Woman's Work, Higher Ground or Easy.

Soft Cell - Tainted Love (cover of a 60s song by Gloria Jones)

Natalie Imbruglia - Torn (cover of a song by band Ednaswap)

Hudson said:

I don't agree with This Woman's Work, Higher Ground or Easy.

Soft Cell - Tainted Love (cover of a 60s song by Gloria Jones)

Natalie Imbruglia - Torn (cover of a song by band Ednaswap)

"You Keep Me Hangin' On"- Kim Wilde

[Edited 4/16/15 17:10pm]

Hudson said:

I don't agree with This Woman's Work, Higher Ground or Easy.

Soft Cell - Tainted Love (cover of a 60s song by Gloria Jones)

Natalie Imbruglia - Torn (cover of a song by band Ednaswap)

More "popular" doesn't neccesarily mean "better". Sometimes I prefer the originals and sometimes I'm in favor of the covers. Example, I'd pick Paul Revere's original version of Steppin' Stone over The Monkees'. OTOH, I must admit that if Jeff didn't cover Hallelujah, that song would've been just another obscure Cohen tune. Annie Lennox's version of No More I Love You's is also way more refined compared to the original.

Of course, RHCP can't touch Stevie's original version, but unfortunately their version is way more popular, that's just the way it is.

[Edited 4/16/15 9:15am]

Aretha Franklin ~ Respect (Otis Redding)

George Harrison ~ Got My Mind Set On You (James Ray)

Elvis Presley ~ Burning Love (Arthur Alexander)

Motley Crue ~ Smoking In The Boys Room (Brownsville Station)

En Vogue ~ Givin' Him Something He Can Feel (Aretha Franklin)

Eric Clapton ~ I Shot The Sherriff (Bob Marley)

Al Wilson ~ Show And Tell (Johnny Mathis)

New Edition ~ Mr. Telephone Man (Junior Tucker)

Stevie Wonder ~ All I Do (Tammy Terrell)

Jackson 5 ~ Who's Lovin' You (The Miracles)

Juice Newton ~ Angel Of The Morning (Evie Sands)

Whitney Houston ~ The Greatest Love Of All (George Benson)

Whitney Houston ~ All The Man I Need (Linda Clifford)

Glenn Mederios ~ Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You (George Benson)

George Benson ~ Breezin' (Gabor Szabo & Bobby Womack)

Paul Young ~ Everytime You Go Away (Hall & Oates)

Luther Vandross & Cheryl Lynn ~ If This World Were Mine (Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell)

Al Green ~ For The Good Times (Kris Kristofferson)

Thelma Houston ~ Don't Leave Me This Way (Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes)

Blondie ~ The Tide Is High (The Paragons)

UB40 ~ Red Red Wine (Neil Diamond)

Lloyd Price ~ Stagger Lee (traditional)

Stevie Wonder ~ For Once In My Life (Jean DuShon)

Cyndi Lauper ~ Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Robert Hazard)

Roberta Flack ~ Killing Me Softly With His Song (Lori Lieberman)

Kim Fields ~ Dear Michael (Michael Jackson)

Steve Miller Band ~ Gangster Of Love (Johnny "Guitar" Watson)

Chicago ~ Street Player (Rufus)

Jimi Hendrix ~ Hey Joe (The Leaves)

Chubby Checker ~ The Twist (Hank Ballard & The Midnighters)

Ram Jam ~ Black Betty (Leadbelly)

Brothers Johnson ~ Strawberry Letter 22 (Shuggie Otis)

Run DMC ~ Walk This Way (Aerosmith)

Isley Brothers ~ Twist And Shout (originally titled Shake It Up, Baby by the Top Notes)

nuttynutmeg said:

Hudson said:

I don't agree with This Woman's Work, Higher Ground or Easy.

Soft Cell - Tainted Love (cover of a 60s song by Gloria Jones)

Natalie Imbruglia - Torn (cover of a song by band Ednaswap)

More "popular" doesn't neccesarily mean "better". Sometimes I prefer the originals and sometimes I'm in favor of the covers. Example, I'd pick Paul Revere's original version of Steppin' Stone over The Monkees'. OTOH, I must admit that if Jeff didn't cover Hallelujah, that song would've been just another obscure Cohen tune. Annie Lennox's version of No More I Love You's is also way more refined compared to the original.

Of course, RHCP can't touch Stevie's original version, but unfortunately their version is way more popular, that's just the way it is.

[Edited 4/16/15 9:15am]

I read the thread title. I don't agree that the covers are more popular. How many times I've seen Stevie's HG used in tv and film plus the countless televised performances. I've never heard the RHCP's version.

David Lee Roth ~ Just A Gigolo (Louis Armstrong, although technically this was a German song translated into English, which is the original) / I Ain't Got Nobody (Marion Harris)

Marvin Gaye ~ I Heard It Through The Grapevine (Gladys Knight & The Pips, although it is popular too)

Madonna ~ Ray Of Light (Curtiss Maldoon)

Donny Osmond ~ Puppy Love (Paul Anka)

Donny Osmond ~ Go Away Little Girl/Marlena Shaw ~ Go Away Little Boy (Bobby Vee)

Sheryl Crow ~ The First Cut Is The Deepest (P.P. Arnold)

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts ~ I Love Rock N Roll (The Arrows)

Phil Collins ~ Groovy Kind Of Love (Diane and Annita)

Tina Turner ~ Better Be Good To Me (Spider)

GQ ~ I Do Love You / Sitting In The Park (Billy Stewart)

Richard "Dimples" Fields ~ Jazzy Lady (Richard's 1984 re-recorded version is more popular than his 1977 version)

Salt n Pepa & En Vogue ~ Whatta Man (Linda Lyndell as What A Man)

Janet Jackson ~ What'll I Do (Johnny Daye)

B.B. King ~ The Thrill Is Gone (Roy Hawkins)

Randy Travis ~ It's Just A Matter Of Time (Brook Benton)

After The Fire ~ Der Kommissar (Falco)

Doobie Brothers ~ What A Fool Believes (Kenny Loggins)

Isley Brothers ~ Hello It's Me (The Nazz)

Swing Out Sister ~ Am I The Same Girl (Barbara Acklin)

[Edited 4/16/15 12:48pm]

Melissa Manchester- You Should Hear How She Talks About You- Originally recorded by Charlie Dore in 1981. It was Melissa's highest charting single, peaking at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart in 1982.

[Edited 4/16/15 14:24pm]

Rolling Stones ~ Harlem Shuffle (Bob & Earl)

Billy Idol ~ To Be A Lover (William Bell as Forgot To Be Your Lover)

Roberta Flack & Maxi Priest ~ Set The Night To Music (Starship)

Johnnie Taylor ~ Testify (The Parliaments)

5th Dimension ~ Stoned Soul Picnic / Wedding Bell Blues (Laura Nyro)

5th Dimension ~ Workin' On A Groovy Thing (Patti Drew)

Peggy Lee ~ Why Don't You Do Right (Lil Green)

Isaac Hayes ~ Don't Let Go (Roy Hamilton)

Nancy Sinatra ~ Bang Bang (Sonny & Cher)

Manfred Mann's Earth Band ~ Blinded By The Light (Bruce Springsteen)

The Monkees ~ D.W. Washburn (The Coasters)

Oak Ridge Boys ~ Elvira (Dallas Frazier)

Elvis Presley ~ Suspicious Minds (Mark James)

Elvis Presley ~ Are You Lonesome Tonight (Charles Hart)

Otis Redding ~ Try A Little Tenderness (Ray Noble)

Dorothy Moore ~ Misty Blue (Wilma Burgess)

George Benson ~ This Masquerade (Leon Russell)

Pointer Sisters ~ Fire (Robert Gordon)

Pointer Sisters ~ Yes We Can Can (Lee Dorsey)

Toni Basil ~ Mickey (Racey as Kitty)

Bananarama ~ Venus (Shocking Blue)

Terry Jacks ~ Seasons In The Sun (Rod McKuen)

Donna Summer ~ MacArthur Park (Richard Harris)

George Michael ~ Killer (Seal)

New Birth ~ Wildflower (Skylark)

Deniece Williams ~ It's Gonna Take A Miracle (The Royalettes)

The Moments / Stacy Lattisaw ~ Love On A Two Way Street (Lezli Valentine)

Joss Stone ~ Super Duper Love (Sugar Billy)

John Coltrane / Julie Andrews ~ My Favorite Things (Mary Martin & Patricia Neway)

A Taste Of Honey ~ Sukiyaki (Kyu Sakamoto)

shorttrini said:

Third World's cover of, "The O'Jays" song, "Now That We've Found Love", has become more popular. UB40's version of Neil Diamond's, "Red, Red, Wine", has also become more popular.

UB40 didn't even know it was a Neil Diamond song, apparently! They knew it from a previous reggae cover version by Tony Tribe.

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Robert Palmer ~ I Didn't Mean To Turn You On (Cherrelle)

Robert Palmer ~ Bad Case Of Lovin' You (Moon Martin)

Van Halen ~ Ice Cream Man (John Brim)

New Kids On The Block ~ Step By Step (The Superiors)

Heart ~ Alone (I-Ten)

Santana ~ Black Magic Woman (Fleetwood Mac)

Militant said:

Tesla - Signs (Five Man Electrical Jam)
Laura Branigan - How Am I Supposed To Live Without You (Michael Bolton)
Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You (Dolly Parton)

Chaka Khan - I Feel For You (Prince)

Sinead O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U (Prince)

Alicia Keys - How Come You Don't Call Me (Prince)

The Bangles - Hazy Shade of Winter (Simon & Garfunkel)
Tavares - More Than a Woman (Bee Gees)

Moodswings feat. Chrissie Hynde - Natural High (State of Independence) (Donna Summer)

Gary Jules - Mad World (Tears For Fears)

Quiet Riot - Cum On Feel The Noize (Slade)

Leann Rimes - How Do I Live (Trisha Yearwood)

Mark Ronson feat. Daniel Merriweather - Stop Me (The Smiths)

Got To Get You Into My Life - Earth Wind & Fire (The Beatles)

Me & My Girlfriend - JayZ & Beyonce (Tupac)

Amii Stewart: "Knock On Wood" what is a wonderful disco classic,


- much better and much more popular than the 1960s original by Eddie Floyd..

"Tainted Love" by Soft Cell was a world hit....

Better than the original by Gloria Jones, back then a rather tame somg..

Edit.. mentioned above already by Hudson, (sorry)

[Edited 4/18/15 5:03am]

thedance said:

Kim Carnes recorded two cover versions that did considerably better than the original versions. Her version of More Love was a top 10 hit single on Billboard Hot 100 Singles in 1980. The original by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles which peaked at #23 was recorded in 1967. Carnes scored another top 10 hit with her cover of Bette Davis Eyes in 1981 which spent 9 weeks at the top spot. It was originally recorded and co-written by Jackie DeShannon in 1974.

The handful of hits Cyndi Lauper scored...

Surprised that no one posted this one yet:

Troop ~ All I Do Is Think Of You (Jackson 5)

Aaliyah ~ At Your Best (Isley Brothers)

MickyDolenz said:

Aretha Franklin ~ Respect (Otis Redding)

Stevie Wonder ~ All I Do (Tammy Terrell)

Whitney Houston ~ The Greatest Love Of All (George Benson)

Brothers Johnson ~ Strawberry Letter 23 (Shuggie Otis)

Run DMC ~ Walk This Way (Aerosmith)

These, and of course,

(as Huey mentioned) Chaka Khan -- I Feel For You (Prince)

Sinead O'Conner -- Nothing Compares 2 U (The Family)

[Edited 4/21/15 14:07pm]

728huey said:

Tesla - Signs (Five Man Electrical Jam)
Laura Branigan - How Am I Supposed To Live Without You (Michael Bolton)
Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You (Dolly Parton)

Chaka Khan - I Feel For You (Prince)

Sinead O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U (Prince)

Alicia Keys - How Come You Don't Call Me (Prince)

The Bangles - Hazy Shade of Winter (Simon & Garfunkel)
Tavares - More Than a Woman (Bee Gees)

Moodswings feat. Chrissie Hynde - Natural High (State of Independence) (Donna Summer)

Gary Jules - Mad World (Tears For Fears)

Quiet Riot - Cum On Feel The Noize (Slade)

Leann Rimes - How Do I Live (Trisha Yearwood)

Mark Ronson feat. Daniel Merriweather - Stop Me (The Smiths)

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Hell, half of Whitney's early hits were covers. Never knew better until I got older.

I thought that "Stop Me" melody sounded familiar.

Don't think I've seen this one on anyone's list...

Jimi Hendrix - All Along The Watchtower (Bob Dylan)