10 Cover Songs Better Than the Original

by Mara Tatevosian

Everyone’s idea of a good cover song is different. What criteria should it meet? Should the artist alter the lyrics? Keep them the same? Quite frankly it doesn’t matter. The idea of a good anything is subjective. Instead of discussing what makes a cover song a good one, here are ten cover songs that are (subjectively) better than the original: 

Respect - Aretha Franklin 

Originally written and sung by Otis Redding in 1965, Redding’s version is about a desperate man pleading for respect from his woman. Backed with funky horns and Redding’s seductive raspy voice, the original is riddled with patriarchal motifs and lyrics that reinforce men as sole breadwinners. The 1965 version reached the top 5 on Billboard’s Black Singles Chart and was moderately successful outside of the R&B and blues fan base. 

Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul herself, went on to cover this song two years after its initial release. The song was released on Valentine’s Day, ten months before Otis Redding would tragically pass on at the age of 26. Franklin’s version shifted the initial implications of the song, adding phrases and bars that emphasized a different form of respect. Aretha and her sisters, Erma and Carolyn, sparked a revolution by flipping the gender of the lyrics and changing the syncopation of the rhythm section. The now-iconic lyrics, “sock it to me” and “R-E-S-P-E-C-T” were ideas generated by Franklin in the studio. The song’s fervent guitar hook and the added saxophone solo all came from Franklin’s renowned ability to improvise and reinvent. 

It seems wrong to even call this a cover because Franklin had such rich contributions to the 1967 version. It spent two weeks on top of the Billboard Pop Singles chart, eight weeks on the Billboard Black Singles chart, and became a permanent symbol of women’s empowerment. Her lyrics were an anthem for Civil Rights and Women’s Rights movements – veering from the original’s misogyny to one of liberation.

Sea of Love - Cat Power

Written in Lake Charles, Louisiana in 1959 by Phil Phillips about a love interest, the original only encountered modest fame. Phillips’ song is basic in execution but powerful nonetheless. The song opens with typical doo-wop hums and bops that accompany Phillips’ vocals. To me, the simplicity of the original is perhaps accidentally genius because it leaves room to emphasize the touching lyrics that drown in adoration for another being.  

What makes Cat Power’s 2000 version better than the eleven other covers of this song is that she is possibly the only one who achieves Phillips’s same balance between melancholy and desire. Most notably, the song has been covered by Iggy Pop, Robert Plant, and Tom Waits. Only the latter of the list comes close to Cat Power. Her saccharine and despairing voice paired with basic harp chords beg “her love” to come to the “sea of love.” Power is known for her soft, bluesy sound but she’s also carved a place for herself in the punk/riot grrrl scene. What makes any cover song better than the original is when the artist understands the original essence and uses her distinct tools to retell the story. Power does this better than anyone else. 

I Go to Sleep - Anika 

Though the song was never recorded by the full band, Ray Davies, the band’s lead singer and songwriter, recorded the demo and later added it as a bonus track in the reissues of their 1965 studio album, Kinda Kinks. Most notably, the song was covered by The Pretenders and Cher. However, there are over twenty different recordings of the song. 

Davies’ version functions as a container for its beguiling lyrics. Yet Anika reconstructs the original piano keys and dubs them electronically. As her British German accent creeps in with each word, the lyrics, “I look around me and feel you are ever so close to me. Each tear that flows from my eye brings back memories of you to me” sound like a lullaby and embody a new sense of melancholy that the previous versions could not achieve.

Chelsea Hotel No. 2 - Lana Del Rey 

Written for Leonard Cohen’s fourth studio album, New Skin for the Old Ceremony, “Chelsea Hotel No. 2” makes its listeners miss something they never had. The song tells a story about a sexual encounter Cohen had with a woman in New York City’s Chelsea Hotel. For years, Cohen would preface this song with an anecdote about the real encounter, speaking endlessly about the woman in the song. As it happens, that woman was Janis Joplin. 

It’s difficult to take a song that is undoubtedly genius and communicate its rich history in a cover. Frankly, Cohen’s version is unparalleled, but Lana Del Rey’s approach deserves applause. She is the only artist of the 21st Century who could rival Cohen’s original and for that, her version belongs on this list. Not only was Cohen’s original nostalgic tone present in Del Rey’s cover, but her honeyed voice strengthens the story being told. Cohen has his listeners yearning for an experience they’ve already failed to catch; Lana narrates the nostalgia the listeners are experiencing.  

Heard it Through the Grapevine - The Slits 

No, Marvin Gaye didn’t sing the original because there is no original! 

The first recording of this song to be released was in 1967 by Gladys Knight and the Pips, an R&B act best known for their song, “Midnight Train to Georgia.” Although The Miracles also recorded the song the same year, it was released two years after. After hearing Aretha’s version of “Respect,” Norman Whitfield, the producer, and writer of the song mimicked similar funk elements of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section in his recording with Gladys Knight on June 17. 

Months prior, Whitfield recorded the song with Marvin Gaye over five sessions, finishing in April 1967. The song took so long to record because Gaye’s voice was overdubbed with The Andantes’ background vocals, a female session group for Motown Records. Additionally, the track was mixed with the Funk Brothers on the rhythm track and a string section arranged by Paul Riser was added later. Despite the month-long recording process and tension with Marvin Gaye, Whitfield was confident this would become a hit. Unfortunately, Berry Gordy, the head of Motown Records, blocked Gaye’s version from being released until 1968. 

Even without the support of Motown Records, the Gladys Knight version reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart and remained there for six weeks. However, because the song was already a hit, Gordy refused to release Gaye’s version as a single. Despite this, Gaye put the song on his new album in 1968 and its popularity outsold Gladys Knight’s, cementing him as the song’s associated act.

More than ten years later, British punk band The Slits, recorded it as a track on their album Cut.  The power in this version is that its genre bends – it’s not exactly disco, nor is it punk, or tribal – it’s all of the above. It’s somewhat comparable to Television’s “See No Evil” but that wouldn’t do it justice. “Grapevine” was also recorded by Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1970 and because this song has been performed so many times, the defining feature of what makes a version better is when the act leans into the songs idiosyncrasies. The Slits reinvented the song, making it more perverted and distinctive to their sound. But they did so without neglecting the song’s history and “cordial familiarity” as Brian Boone writes. 

One - Aimee Mann 

The song was originally written by Harry Nilsson, the true master among all the sorrowful songwriters that came out of the late 60s and 70s. In recent years, Nilsson’s “Gotta Get Up” made a resurgence in Natasha Lyonne’s Russian Doll. “One” was written after an attempted phone call was met with a busy signal. The “beep, beep, beep, beep..” tone is a lingering note throughout the song and cradles his melancholic lyrics about loneliness. Although Nilsson has written and sung many of his own songs, “One” was made famous by the 60s rock band Three Dog Night. Their version reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100. 

Aimee Mann recorded the song for a Harry Nilsson tribute album after his death in 1995, but it also made an appearance on the soundtrack for Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia. Her version includes many references to different Nilsson songs as well. The song opens with Nilsson’s voice saying, “Okay, Mr. Mix!” from his song “Cuddle Toy” and includes lyrics from his song “Together” amongst other obscure references throughout. Perhaps the song's presence in the film is what makes Mann’s better than the original because it uses the lyrics to set the stage for the film. In fact, her version is played during the first five minutes. Magnolia is a busy film with a large ensemble cast, but it’s also an incredibly lonely film. Any viewing requires deep mental preparation and a therapist’s number on speed dial. Mann’s version of “One” isn’t just complementary to the film's tone, but shines on its own. 

The Time They Are A Changin - Nina Simone 

The original was written by Bob Dylan for his album of the same name in 1964. With lyrics like: “Come senators, congressmen, please heed the call,” the song became an anthem of Greenwich Village politics. Regardless, his lyrics aren’t pointed in a certain direction. Without context, the song feels prototypical of other protest songs of its time.  

Dylan’s voice does not render a call to action and although the song was recorded by several well-known performers, Nina Simone’s version soars above the others. Dylan’s, The Byrds’, or even Simon and Garfunkel’s versions require a certain frame of reference to awaken pathos amongst listeners. Simone’s authoritative yet desolate voice gives context to the lyrics. In her image, this song feels timeless  – where Dylan’s remains a time capsule for 60s underground folk.

Then He Kissed Me - Afshin Moghaddam

Originally written and produced by the now-infamous Phil Spector, the song was released by The Crystals in 1963. The original lyrics tell a story about a young woman’s romance and engagement to a man who’s been pursuing her. In 1965, the Beach Boys released a different version of the song titled, “Then I Kissed Her '' with new lyrics added as well. Today, the song represents one of the most defining songs of the girl group era in the ‘60s. 

In 2011, the record label Vampisoul released the compilation album titled Rangarang. The album includes songs recorded before the revolution in 1979, featuring Iran’s most popular musicians who either fled during Ayatollah Khomeini's regime or those who were forced to uphold a vow of silence and quit making music. Western knowledge of Iran’s popular music is fickle but before the revolution, Iran had an active and wide-ranging music scene. Redefining Western genres, the Iranian music scene took part in folk, rock, pop and funk music. One melody that stands out in this album is Moghaddam’s version of “Then I Kissed Her” (titled Gharibooneh on the album). Although the rock 'n' roll music scene in Iran can stand on its own with its innovative musical melodies, there is something beautiful about hearing a song that was lost for over five decades. There’s a sentiment to Afshin Moghaddam’s recording because he was killed in a car accident in 1976, three years before the Iranian Revolution. To Moghaddam, Iran was a place of flourishing music and arts – this song is a symbol of that freedom. 

Farewell, Angelina - Joan Baez

Here’s another Bob Dylan cover that’s better than the original! This time, it’s one of Dylan’s lesser-known songs that was written in the mid-60s. He’s only ever attempted to record it once in 1965 for Bringing it All Back Home but abandoned the song until it was issued on one of The Bootleg Series albums which is how I first heard it. Versions of the song have been sung in French and German by various singers and Jeff Buckley has also recorded a version. 

No other compared to Joan Baez’s. Absolutely no one, emphasis on no one, has a voice like Baez. Her version only uses a string bass which gives it a pure folk essence and leaves room for her voice to be its own instrument. It’s one of those moments where the voice is better solo. The song makes you want to weep for a reason that’s unknown but her sweet, sweet voice soothes your sadness. It’s nearly perfect. 

Rock Lobster - Sleater Kinney (ft. Fred Armisen) 

The song was originally released by the New Wave band, the B-52s, in 1978 and was met with moderate success on the charts. However, the song’s impact on popular culture endured its original release. In fact, John Lennon credits this song as the inspiration for his album Double Fantasy. The B-52s are like an act from a John Waters movie and outdoing them in camp and glamour is not an easy job. 

This isn’t an officially recorded cover, but Sleater Kinney has played this live a handful of times. Although SK credits the B-52s as the biggest influence on their music, anyone who’s heard The Woods or Hot Rock or really any other Sleater Kinney record would find this fact surprising. SK isn’t necessarily a campy band but its individual members embody a certain punk kitschiness that is often overlooked. Corin Tucker performed a version of “Rock Lobster” in a pink wig while Carrie Brownstein stood in the background joyfully playing a guitar twice the size of her body – and Fred Armisen showed up! It does not get better than that.