Original writer's/performers of popular songs....

[HellToupee]

Blondie's Hanging on the Telephone

was originally done by The Nerves

Bowie's early 80 hit China Girl was originally done & co-written by Iggy Pop. I like Iggy's gritty & darker version .

[chancellor]

[cough]And did them better than Dylan.[/cough]

Well, of course. They could sing.

[swampdragon]

John Hiatt wrote a lot of songs done by others (as said before) here is a solid example

another version that still rocks

[Lucky]

Hendrix, despite being hugely creative, loved cover songs. Everyone knows some of the most well known covers, like "All Along the Watchtower", but Jimi actually covered over two dozen songs originally covered by other artists.

One of my faves is "Hey Joe", written by Billy Roberts and, I think, originally recorded a year or so before Jimi by a band called The Leaves.

[Gregg]

Get bye with a Little Help from My Friends- Beatles - Joe Cocker

Feelin All Right- Traffic- Joe Cocker

Hey Joe -The Leaves - Hendrix

Blue Suede Shoes- Carl Perkins- Elvis

Take Me to the River- Al Green - Talking Heads

Hallelujah- Leonard Cohen- Everybody

[schlesinj]

Take Me to the River- Al Green - Talking Heads

Big Mouth Bill Bass

[overkill94]

"Red Red Wine" is my favorite surprising cover song - I think both versions are awesome.

Some others people might not be aware of:

"Hard to Handle" - made popular by The Black Crowes but originally done by Otis Redding
"Tainted Love" - megahit by Soft Cell in the early 80's, but actually a Gloria Jones song
"Sweet Jane" - I actually heard the Velvet Underground original first, but the Cowboy Junkies version is the most popular
"I Love Rock 'n Roll" - somebody already mentioned Joan Jett, but few know that her signature hit is also a cover, originally done by The Arrows
"Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" - while Led Zeppelin took a lot of flack for all their ripped-off blues songs, this one was an actual cover of a Joan Baez song, though Zep's version has a far superior arrangement

Then of course there's that hack Elton John ripping off William Shatner's classic "Rocketman"

[heyelander]

Then of course there's that hack Elton John ripping off William Shatner's classic "Rocketman"

nice.

[BuckyBuckner]

Not nearly as famous (probably) as some of the others mentioned here, but check out the original "Breadfan" before Metallica turned it into a single.

Budgie (Welsh band from the 1970s) doing Breadfan.



....and Metallica

I didn't think I'd ever see anyone post a Budgie song. I love it.

[Lucky]

Three Dog Night may have been the masters of the pop cover songs. They used songs from tons of bands, from The Band to Free.

That puts me in mind of one of my favorite relatively "unknown" songwriters, Hoyt Axton. His compositions ranged from "Heartbreak Hotel" (Elvis) and "The Pusher" (Steppenwolf) to "Joy To The World" (Three Dog Night).

[Mithrandir]

Not nearly as famous (probably) as some of the others mentioned here, but check out the original "Breadfan" before Metallica turned it into a single.

Budgie (Welsh band from the 1970s) doing Breadfan.



....and Metallica

I love the Mercyful Fate covers done by Metallica on this cd.