5 Songs That Became Iconic After Being Covered By Other Artists

Some songs, when initially conceived, may not have had the makings of a timeless classic. However, when put in the hands of a gifted enough artist, they could catapult a song from obscurity to immortality.

Sometimes a song may already be a success but the artist covering it may be so talented that they could take that song to greater heights still.

Whether it be making hits out of obscure tunes or turning good music into the greatest of all time, here are 5 covered songs that far outshone their original versions to become iconic.

Hurt: Johnny Cash

A profound song written and performed by Trent Rezner and his band, Nine Inch Nails, “Hurt” was a respectable success and was nominated for a Grammy. However, when country legend Johnny Cash released the song just seven months before his death, he turned it into a haunting classic that will live forever in the minds of music fans.

With an accompanying video that is frequently regarded as one of the greatest of all time, Cash’s mesmerizing country rendition of the broody rock song gave him one last big hit before his death. Fans, critics and even Rezner himself were quick to declare Cash’s cover as the superior version of the song. In addition to the praise it received, Cash’s cover won a Grammy and CMA award.

Just like how Cash’s cover illustrated the eerie reflections of an old man who was not long for this world, it seemed almost poetic that his last hit would be a cover. Almost four decades prior, Cash covered his sister in law’s song, “I Walk The Line,” and made it one of his earliest hits. In a way “Hurt” seemed to signify both the career and life of Johnny Cash coming full circle.

Girls Just Want To Have Fun: Cyndi Lauper

An upbeat anthem that spoke to women all over the world, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the chart topping, Grammy winning hit that launched the career of Cyndi Lauper was her own original song.

Initially written and recorded in 1979 by Robert Hazard, the original version of the song was vastly different. Conceived as a song about a young man explaining to his parents why he isn’t able to find a girlfriend, it was more of a conventional rock song with prominent guitar parts and slight lyrical differences.

When Lauper released her cover four years later, she shifted the perspective of the song and turned it into an anthem, calling for all women to go out and have a good time. Replacing the guitars with the distinctive synth sound of the 80s and accompanying the song with an equally memorable music video, she took this relatively unknown song and turned it into a timeless classic

Undoubtedly the better version of the song, Lauper’s rendition of “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” remains popular almost four decades after its release. Being the song that helped propel Cyndi Lauper to superstardom, it remains one of her signature songs which she continues to perform today with as much vigor as she did back in 1983.

Nothing Compares 2 U: Sinead O’Connor

A love song written by Prince as part of a side project, “Nothing Compares 2 U” was meant to be written for the funk band, The Family, who were essentially proteges of Prince himself. While the song itself was excellent musically, it just did not seem to gain traction and was soon forgotten.

However, when Sinead O’Connor covered the song five years later, it was able to firmly plant itself in the minds of fans and critics and has stayed ever since. O’Connor reworked the song slightly from a pop love song to a hard hitting power ballad that departed from the heavy Prince influenced sound found in The Family’s version. Her impressive vocals were also able to more effectively convey the spirit of the song which was the longing of an ex lover to their former partner.

O’ Connor’s rendition of the song launched her into stardom and was recognised as the number 1 hit of the 90s by the Billboard Music Awards. Prince himself was so impressed by O’Connor’s cover of the song that he wrote that he began adding it to his live performances. So good was O’Connor’s chillingly beautiful rendition of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” that she herself has yet to outdo the song that brought her to stardom.

Always On My Mind: Willie Nelson

Another love song, “Always On My Mind” was written by Wayne Carson, Johnny Christopher and Mark James and is one of the most covered songs in history. Initially recorded in 1972 by Gwen Mcrae, the song did not receive much recognition until later in the year when Elvis Presley covered it.

The song became far more successful thanks to the name value of Elvis and resonated with fans after it was released shortly after his separation from his wife Priscilla. However, even the King of Rock himself could not take the song to its greatest success.

Performed by country legend Willie Nelson in 1982, his rendition of the heartfelt ballad quickly climbed up the charts both in the US and internationally. With Nelson’s soothing voice perfectly complimenting the song’s loving lyrics, his version of the song went on to win three Grammy Awards the following year.

Although the song was later covered by other artists such as the Pet Shop Boys to respectable levels of success, it is still most strongly associated with Willie Nelson and it remains to this day one of his signature songs. It takes a lot to outdo a song first performed by the likes of Elvis but few could deny that nobody can perform the song with the emotion and gravitas of Willie Nelson.

I Will Always Love You: Whitney Houston

One of the most iconic songs of all time, it’s chorus alone is instantly recognisable by people of all ages from all over the world. However, less and less people realize that the power ballad synonymous with Whitney Houston was not in fact originally her song.

Originally written and performed by Dolly Parton in 1974, “I Will Always Love You” was a country song and was not considered as obscure as many of the other original songs featured on this list. Peaking on the top of the Country Music Charts and becoming one of the top selling hits of 1974, the song was so acclaimed that even Elvis himself expressed his desire to cover it.

Although the plans of the Elvis cover soon fell through, the song was well known enough to have been covered by a host of other artists. However, none of these covers could come close to the success of the original to the point that it seemed that Parton’s version would remain the preeminent rendition of the song.

That all changed in 1992. In a decision that was made almost by a turn of fate, Whitney Houston was asked to record her cover of the song for the film “The Bodyguard” in which she was also starring in. Initially tasked with covering another song, Houston switched to this after finding out that the earlier intended song was to be used in another movie.

To say that this was a wise decision would be a gross understatement. Houston’s soulful and powerful rendition was met with tremendous success.

Winning two Grammys and spending an impressive 14 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100, Houston’s version of the song became the highest selling single ever by a female artist and it is unlikely that this record will ever be triumphed any time soon.

Taking a song out of obscurity and turning it into something brilliant is a herculean task in itself, but taking it a step up and turning an already reputable song and making it one of the most recognisable songs of all time, takes a level of talent possessed only by the greatest artists who ever lived.

Regarded as Houston’s signature song and a fixture even in today’s popular culture, very, very few artists can say that they reached the level of success that Houston has in making a successful cover of an existing song.

This list goes to show that even the most obscure or unremarkable songs can become things of beauty when put in the right hands. By no means is this list exhaustive and perhaps in time, we shall cover more artists whose covers of songs far outdid the originals.

Until then just remember, you don’t have to sing it first in order to sing it best.