Some of the most famous songs in music history are cover versions – whether it’s The Beatles doing Motown hits, Elvis tackling R&B tunes or just about everyone covering Bob Dylan songs. In honor of the artists who didn’t write the songs, but recorded legendary versions of them, Gibson.com is counting down the Top 50 Cover Songs of All Time.
Gibson.com recently enlisted its editors, writers and you, the readers, to vote for the greatest cover songs ever released. After announcing #50-41, we’re revealing another 10 on the list – with the original artist, or, in some cases, the most famous previous artist in parentheses. Check back each day this week, as we unveil 10 more classic covers – with the Top 10 arriving on Friday.
40. “How High the Moon,” Les Paul and Mary Ford (Benny Goodman)
Les Paul’s name lives on via Gibson’s legendary electric, but he was also a master of recording. “How High the Moon” (1951) was the most influential side ever cut by Les Paul and singer Mary Ford. The sound was uptempo jazz-pop, but the 24-track concepts that Les pioneered here pretty much invented the modern studio. B.B. King reckoned that Les had a better tone than Charlie Christian, and LP also had crazy chops – the speedy guitar breaks of “How High the Moon” remain silky smooth. – Michael Leonard
39. “You Shook Me” Led Zeppelin (Muddy Waters)
When Led Zeppelin recoded this cover of a Muddy Waters classic for their debut album in 1969, Jimmy Page had no idea that former Yardbirds bandmate and old friend Jeff Beck had just recorded his own version. John Paul Jones knew though: he played organ on Beck’s version. Nonetheless, the Led Zep version had enough of its own character to stand on its own. The song is also noteworthy for its innovative use of backwards echo. – Peter Hodgson
38. “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” Otis Redding (The Rolling Stones)
"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" set the rock & roll world ablaze when Mick Jagger and Keith Richards spit out the racy hit, sensual hit with the Rolling Stones. At first, the song was deemed too hot for radio, but that soon changed and it shot up the charts. With that kind of power and controversy, it’s no wonder countless artists have covered the track, from Vanilla Ice to Bill Cosby to Devo. In 1965, Stax vocalist Otis Redding put his own spin on the then-new single for his album, Otis Blue. His soul take on the song featured horns playing the signature guitar riff, and the ensuing success showed Jagger how to really get some satisfaction. –Anne Erickson
37. “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” Gerry and the Pacemakers (Rogers and Hammerstein from Carousel)
It’s tempting to think of it solely as a sports chant, but the rousing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” actually began as a Broadway show tune. Though covered by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and scores of other heavy hitters, the song’s definitive version came from the unlikely source of Liverpudlian beat band, Gerry and the Pacemakers. Summoning a subtlety and nuance only glimpsed a handful of times in his recording career, Gerry Marsden shepherds the track for the quietest of beginnings to an absolute blockbuster ending. Absolutely spine-tingling. – Michael Wright
36. “Gloria,” Patti Smith (Them)
Patti Smith could hardly have chosen a more perfect song than “Gloria” to announce herself to the rock world. Written by Van Morrison and recorded more than a decade earlier by Morrison’s band, Them, the track embodied garage rock’s primal energy even in its original state. By prefacing her version with a lengthy section rife with poetic imagery, Smith came off as the pioneering punk priestess she was. – Russell Hall
35. “Come Together,” Aerosmith (The Beatles)
Written primarily by John Lennon and appearing as the opening track to The Beatles’ 1969 album, Abbey Road, “Come Together” was recorded by Aerosmith nine years later for the soundtrack to the Bee Gees/Peter Frampton trainwreck (nee film) Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Where the movie flopped, Aerosmith’s outstanding cover of “Come Together” soared, especially Steven Tyler’s angry vocals and Joe Perry’s staccato guitar punctuations, both of which breathed a sinister, almost manic, air into the song. You can almost feel Aerosmith’s own self-inflicted wounds – wounds that would lead to their eventual doom as a band. At least for a while. – Sean Patrick Dooley
34. “American Woman,” Lenny Kravitz (The Guess Who)
Those born post-1980 may not even associate “American Woman” with The Guess Who. When Lenny Kravitz covered the shaggy track for the soundtrack of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, adding a funk-jam flair, it all but took over American pop culture. The single also scored the retro rock performer a Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance at the 2000 ceremony. –Anne Erickson
33. “Oh, Pretty Woman,” Van Halen (Roy Orbison)
The Big O’s 1964 original made #1 on both sides of the Atlantic. Nearly 20 years later, Van Halen decided it was ripe for a party-metal makeover. Hey, why not? They had already mashed The Kinks, to devastating effect. Van Halen’s version walks a fine Spinal Tap line of clever/stupid, but it somehow works. EVH’s riffing sounds super-steely and David Lee Roth adds a comedic “grrrrrrrrr.” A hit was guaranteed. The fact remains, more wannabe bands rock Van Halen’s version than Orbison’s original. Mercy! – Michael Leonard
32. “Rockin’ in the Free World,” Pearl Jam (Neil Young)
Released in the summer of 1989, Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World,” from his Freedom album, was an unveiled critique of the policies and rhetoric of President Bush’s administration (“We got a thousand points of light/For the homeless man/We got a kinder, gentler/Machine gun hand”). Pearl Jam, who by all accounts began collaborating with Young in 1992 when they both performed at a Bob Dylan tribute, deliver a spot-on cover that loses neither tenor nor impact. The real treat remains seeing the double-barrel shotgun blast of Young and Pearl Jam performing the song together. – Sean Patrick Dooley
31. “That’s All Right,” Elvis Presley (Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup)
If judged on sheer cultural importance, Presley’s cover of Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup’s “That’s All Right, Mama” would surely top the list. Sam Phillips’s 1954 session with a local truck driver was going nowhere when the young Presley busted out this blues classic. Suddenly, Phillips had found the sound and the star he’d been looking for to take rhythm and blues to the masses. The rest, as they say, is history. – Michael Wright
Votes for the Top 50 Covers of All Time were included from Michael Wright, Bryan Wawzenek, Andrew Vaughan, Sean Patrick Dooley, Cesar Acevedo, Paul Burch, Arlen Roth, Ted Drozdowski, Russell Hall, Peter Hodgson, Anne Erickson, Michael Leonard, Paolo Bassotti and the Gibson.com Readers Poll.
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