Did you know your favorite version of a song might not be the original? From “Little Drummer Boy” to “Yesterday” here are the most covered songs of all time.
If you agree with the old proverb that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then cover songs serve as tributes to their original artists. Sometimes, a cover version vastly outshined its original. Such is the case with “Summertime,” originally written for the 1935 George Gershwin opera Porgy and Bess, which Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong put a jazz spin on in 1957 to make it an international hit. To learn more about the most covered songs in musical history, Stacker mined data from WhoSampled.com, whose goal is to build the most comprehensive database for music. The site features more than 653,000 songs and more than 215,000 artists as of February 26, 2020. Aside from Beatles tunes, Christmas music accounts for a number of the most covered songs, including Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” in 1942: the second-most covered holiday song with more than 50 million copies sold internationally to date. Along with each song, you will find information about the song’s meaning, some of the more notable or unique covers, as well as reasons behind the song’s success. Beatles fans will enjoy going down “The Long and Winding Road” of the most covered songs, as the Fab Four of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr are featured prominently in this list. In fact, the Beatles penned the basis for more than 4,000 cover versions of their songs through the years. One of their most popular, “Yesterday,” almost never saw the light of day because McCartney found it so easy to write, he thought he had stolen it from someone. It would go on to be covered by the likes of Frank Sinatra and Marvin Gaye and inspired a 2019 movie of the same name. Continue reading to find out which songs are among the most covered of all time—and check out Stacker’s playlist on Spotify, inspired by this story. You may also like: Ranking the best years in movie history – Covers: 118 “Help!” is off the 1965 soundtrack album of the same name, which was nominated by the Grammys for album of the year and produced by George Martin. The tune has been covered by a range of iconic artists including the Carpenters in 1970, Dolly Parton in 1979 and Tina Turner in 1984. – Covers: 118 From Ella Fitzgerald to a Kidz Bop cover, the quintessential Christmas song first released in 1934 has many do-overs. More than 100 artists have belted out the song since, including the likes of Bruce Springsteen, The Beach Boys, Justin Bieber, Natalie Grant and Faith Hill. The song also served as the title for a 1970 film narrated by Fred Astaire, starring Mickey Rooney. – Covers: 119 Nearly four decades after the original 1984 release, “Hallelujah” has been covered many times over, from Bob Dylan performing it at a few shows in 1988 to Bono performing a tribute to Leonard Cohen in 1995. Other notable covers include Jeff Buckley in 1994 and Willie Nelson in 2006. Rolling Stone in 2019 marveled at Cohen’s ability to bring together concepts surrounding sex and religion into the song’s lyrics. – Covers: 119 Since the 1958 original, this classic Christmas song telling the story of a poor drummer boy at the feet of baby Jesus had years of reprisals: It was featured in a rare Jimi Hendrix rendition in 1969 and found its way into dozens of holiday compilation albums from artists as wide-ranging as Whitney Houston in 2003 and Justin Bieber in 2011. – Covers: 122 Off of the 1970 Let it Be Album, the Beatles classic “The Long and Winding Road” has been covered by the likes of George Michael, Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles with Count Basie. Coincidentally, as the Beatles 20th and final #1 hit together, the song’s lyrics depict the long and winding road of a broken love story—much like the group’s end. Paul McCartney, who wrote the song, had Ray Charles in mind while composing and did not approve of track’s final take that included dozens of violins, cellos, harps and trumpets. Nevertheless, Charles covered it in 1971 on his own. – Covers: 122 The title of this song, written by Irving Berlin, is one question of many pondered throughout the 1932 tune by the famous composer. Eric Clapton, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Liza Minnelli, Bing Crosby and Pat Boone have all added their own touch to the tune since. – Covers: 123 While the ultimate meaning of “The House of the Rising Sun” being a brothel or prison in this traditional 1964 folk song remains a mystery, artists continue to cover it decade after decade. “King and Queen of Folk” Bob Dylan and Joan Baez each recorded a solo version of the song, country legend Dolly Parton performed it with a twang, and Jimi Hendrix along with psychedelic band Frijid Pink lengthened the tune and put their own spins on it. – Covers: 124 Written by Beatle George Harrison while reading the oldest Chinese text, “I Ching,” “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” features Eric Clapton on lead guitar. A year after the original 1968 recording, Harrison walked out of the recording studio and told his bandmates he was done with the Beatles. John Lennon immediately suggested swapping Clapton in to take Harrison’s place—a move that never happened as the band slowly dissolved over the next several years. “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” has been performed in a variety of settings from a 1980 Muppet Show episode to the 2019 Carlos Santana version featuring India Arie and Yo-Yo Mama. – Covers: 124 Paul McCartney first composed music and lyrics for “All My Loving” in 1963, when the band toured with Roy Orbison. It was also the Beatles’ debut performance on The Ed Sullivan Show, which notably kicked off the group’s stateside fame. Renditions of “All My Loving” range from Annette Funicello in 1964 to the Smithereens in 2007. – Covers: 126 Though professionally covered 126 times, the 1779 Christian hymn “Amazing Grace” is reportedly performed at least 10,000 times annually and has appeared on more than 11,000 albums. While some renditions of the song are considered superior, including the Harlem Gospel Choir, Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Leann Rhimes and Steven Tyler, other, less famous covers were recorded by the Dropkick Murphys, U2 and Willie Nelson. The song, written by an atheist slave trader named John Newton, ironically reemerged as a civil rights anthem and has been sung publicly by U.S. Presidents Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama. You may also like: 100 Best Rock Albums of All Time – Covers: 127 Of the 127 “Billie Jean” covers, LA Weekly counted Coldplay, Chris Cornell and Alvin and the Chipmunks in the strangest top 10. The autobiographical lyrics of the tune tell the story of a stalker who claimed Michael Jackson fathered her child. – Covers: 127 Paul McCartney said it was an honor for Ella Fitzgerald to cover “Can’t Buy Me Love,” a 1964 Beatles song about material possession. Since the tune’s release, which was co-authored by McCartney and John Lennon, renditions by the Supremes, Peter Sellers, Johnny Rivers, Count Basie, Kidz Bop Kidz and even Michael Buble. The song title is also the name of a famous 1980s teen romance starring Patrick Dempsey and the late Amanda Peterson. – Covers: 127 Though a big hit for Tom Jones in 1967, “Green, Green, Grass of Home” actually comes from Porter Wagoner in 1965. The country tune tells the story of a prisoner longing for freedom in the lawn of his childhood home. “Green, Green, Grass of Home” was also famously covered by rocker Jerry Lee Lewis, Bobby Bare, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and George Jones. Other, less widely known covers include those by The Grateful Dead, Merle Haggard, Joan Baez and Kenny Rogers. – Covers: 128 There have been some unlikely duo covers of Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel,” including Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman in 2006 and Neil Diamond and Kim Carnes in 1992. While famous solo covers of the song by Conway Twitty, Billy Joel, Connie Francis, Johnny Cash, Tanya Tucker, Lawrence Welk and Ann-Margret kept the tune alive since the 1957 release, band versions come from The Cramps in 1987, The Residents in 1989, Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1994 and the Grassmasters in 2006. Lyrics—including “I get so lonely baby I could die”—were reportedly inspired by a hotel suicide in 1955. – Covers: 134 It may be a 1934 classic, but the 2015 rendition of “Winter Wonderland” by Snoop Dogg and Anna Kendrick in Pitch Perfect 2 is one of the most popular versions of the Christmas tune today.
