10 Iconic Rock Covers That Outshined The Originals

Rock music has always thrived on reinvention. Many of the early rock tunes were covers of blues and R&B songs. Rock guitarists were notorious for borrowing licks from blues songs and powering them through electric guitars and amplifiers, giving these sounds the rock ‘n’ roll treatment that appealed to a younger generation.

In the early ‘60s, bands, including The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, were expected to play mostly covers. The industry then didn’t have faith that these young bands were capable of writing songs that would sell records. There was a structure that dictated that sanctioned songwriters would write hit songs and that the bands would record them.

That all started to change when The Beatles and the Stones managed to record some of their own songs, and those songs became hugely popular. Now, covers are done willfully by artists, and while most covers are simply thought of as covers, some have managed to completely overshadow the original.

I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll—Joan Jett

“I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” is Joan Jett’s signature tune. When she burst onto the scene in 1981 singing “I love rock ‘n’ roll” with utter conviction, it was a revelation. This was a woman who rocked hard and sang about taking home an underage teenager. She was dangerous, and so was the song.

The original version was done by a little-known New York City band called The Arrows. Jett heard it when she was still in The Runaways and decided to record it with her new band, The Blackhearts. Great choice! It’s not just her signature song—it’s a rock anthem.

Live And Let Die—Guns N’ Roses

“Live and Let Die” was, of course, a major hit song for Paul McCartney and Wings, who did a good version of it. McCartney wrote the song for the James Bond movie of the same name. It’s a menacing song. But the thing is, Paul McCartney just isn’t a menacing guy. He’s a pussycat, and the song calls for a darker, more explosive tone.

Enter Guns N’ Roses. Those cats can be quite intimidating, so it’s right up their alley. As much as I love Paul, G n’ R does a better version of this song because they made it darker, more intense, and more explosive—the way it was meant to sound.

All Along The Watchtower—The Jimi Hendrix Experience

OK, let’s get this over with. I say that because this is the one song that everyone expects to be on this list, as it’s one of the greatest cover versions ever.

Many artists have covered Bob Dylan songs, and some, like The Byrds, did it extremely well. Dylan is a master songwriter, but his voice is an acquired taste, which is why his songs lend themselves so well to other artists.

Jim Hendrix, of course, was a phenomenal guitarist, possibly the GOAT. He took Dylan’s little folk-rock tune, drenched it in acid, cranked it up to 11, and let his fingers fly all over it, turning it into a timeless, psychedelic masterpiece.

Rock And Roll Music—The Beatles

Chuck Berry wrote the song and did a great job with it, but The Beatles did it better. They played it faster and gave it a frantic energy more conducive to the subject at hand. John Lennon’s coarse vocals and frantic delivery exemplify the spirit of rock n’ roll. They’re shouted as much as sung, and they sound like he could be tearing his larynx.

I could just as easily have picked “Twist and Shout” for this list because the effect was the same. Lennon’s vocal performance was just as impressive on this one, but “Rock and Roll Music” gets the nod here because it puts shivers down my spine every time I hear it.

Hanging On The Telephone—Blondie

This Blondie hit was originally written by Jack Lee and performed by his influential, but little-known power pop band The Nerves. Blondie’s version is the opening cut on their breakthrough album Parallel Lines and begins with the sound of an old rotary pay phone being dialed.

Originally sung by a man, Blondie’s version gives the song a twist by making singer Debbie Harry the sexual aggressor. She’s pleading with someone to come over to satisfy her sexual needs. With Harry’s inspired vocals and Clem Burke’s airtight drumming, Blondie made it their own.

The band rips through the song with punk energy, and, at just under two and a half minutes, it leaves you wanting more.

Piece of My Heart—Big Brother And The Holding Company

This song, written by a male songwriting duo, was originally recorded by Erma Franklin, the older sister of Aretha, in 1967. Franklin did a serviceable job with it, but Janis Joplin, Big Brother’s lead singer, sang the holy hell out of it the following year and turned it into a classic. With her raspy wail and uncanny delivery, Joplin injected the song with raw emotion and a pure blues feel.

She wasn’t much of a songwriter, but Joplin was one of the most electrifying performers of the ‘60s. Her vocal prowess was so great that she outgrew the band with which she rose to fame, and “Piece of My Heart” was the crown jewel that pushed her to the next level.

Nothing Compares To You—Sinead O’Connor

This is one of the most achingly sad songs of all time. It was Prince who wrote it, but O’Connor who turned it into a hit. It’s more than a hit, though. It’s an elegy for a relationship—a felt and shared experience, the weight of which cannot adequately be put into words.

The video for the song is almost exclusively a close-up of O’Connor’s face as she sings. You can see the agony on her face and hear it in her voice as she navigates through the feelings of being cast aside by the one she loves. It doesn’t sound like someone singing a song so much as it sounds like someone experiencing her pain in real time.

Nothing compares to Sinead’s version of this song.

Without You—Harry Nilsson

Harry Nilsson was a songwriter. A damn good one, as a matter of fact. So, it’s surprising and ironic that Nilsson didn’t write his two biggest hits. “Everybody’s Talkin’,” which Nilsson recorded for the movie Midnight Cowboy, was written by Fred Neil, while “Without You” was written by Tom Evans and Peter Ham, the songwriting duo from Badfinger, who each committed suicide.

Badfinger was an excellent band, but their version of “Without You” was uninspired. Nilsson took it and used his beautiful, powerful voice to make the song sound dramatic. He ended up creating a baroque pop masterpiece that went to #1. Mariah Carey covered the song 23 years later, also scoring a #1.

Mony Mony—Billy Idol

Upon first listen, there’s not a lot of difference between Billy Idol’s version of “Mony Mony” and Tommy James and the Shondells’ original 1968 version. But Idol’s version is more aggressive and features sharp guitar riffs and a stronger rock beat. Drenched with attitude, Idol’s raspy, snarling vocals give his version a more rebellious feel.

The lyrics are nearly the same, but Idol ad-libs throughout, shouting “Come on” and “Yeah” a lot more. And he changes the lyrics from “like a pony” to “ride the pony,” giving the song a hefty dose of sexual energy. When a live version was released six years after Idol’s first version, fans and partygoers added a call-and-response to it that was pretty dang nasty (but fun).

Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)—Marilyn Manson

The Eurythmics had a major hit with “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)”—the original version of this song. In fact, it’s their most popular song on Spotify with over 1.7 billion streams. So, obviously, they did a pretty good job executing their own tune. It’s a risk, then, to say that anyone has topped it.

I think Marilyn Manson did just that because he intensified the song and made it sound like a nightmare. In doing so, he highlighted the irony of the title. Manson’s vocals are ultra-creepy, and there’s some trippy lead guitar work. He shouts the lines, “Some of them want to use you,” and “some of them want to abuse you” to great effect.

Manson turned the song from a pop hit into a haunting rock anthem.