MATT: Brace yourself; these classics you know and love may not be as original as you think.
JONES (singing): Sometimes I feel I've got to run away....
MATT: Welcome to WatchMojo.com,
and today, we're counting down our list for the Top 10 Songs That You Didn't Know Were Covers.
MERRILL (singing): Singin' I love rock 'n' roll, so put another dime in the jukebox, baby....
MATT: For this list, we're looking at songs that have achieved wide acclaim & recognition,
but had been previously recorded by a different artist.
JEAN (singing): If I were a boy....
MATT: We've ranked the entries based on the popularity of the song
and the surprise factor in finding out about its status as a cover.
PARTON (singing): But I will always love you...
MATT: So, in spite of the numerous incarnations of "Hallelujah," it will not be appearing on this list,
because the Leonard Cohen original is just as popular.
COHEN (singing): The baffled king composing Hallelujah....
O'CONNOR (singing): It's been seven hours and fifteen days...
ST. PAUL (singing): I go out every night and sleep all day...
MATT: This song dazzles & wows us with its hypnotic melody and powerful vocals of Sinead O'Connor.
O'CONNOR (singing): 'Cause nothing compares...
MATT: Unknown to most, though, this early 90s gem is actually a cover song of a song by The Family,
a side project of pop superstar Prince.
ST. PAUL & MELVOIN (singing): Nothing compares to you...
MATT: Strangely enough, The Family version of the track was never released as a single
and received almost no attention at the time of its release.
Prince has gone on to adapt the song into some of his solo performances
due to the popularity of the tune later on.
O'CONNOR (singing): Nothing compares to you.
JOPLIN (singing): Busted flat in Baton Rouge, waitin' for a train...
MILLER (singing): Bobby thumbed a diesel down just before it rained...
MATT: Janis Joplin was a perfect embodiment of the blues-infused country rock style
made so popular in the 1970s,
and this song is a perfect example of that sentiment.
JOPLIN (singing): Good enough for me and my Bobby McGee...
MATT: In order to get the country vibe she needed,
she tapped into the source itself with the original Roger Miller tune.
Miller's song was also covered by one of the writers of the track, Kris Kristofferson.
KRISTOFFERSON (singing): Feeling good was easy, Lord, when Bobby sang the blues...
MATT: Joplin's is undoubtedly more popularly remembered
thanks to its upbeat tempo and beefed-up melody.
JOPLIN (singing): Hey, hey, hey, Bobby McGee, Lord, oh!
PLANT (singing): I've been dazed and confused so long, it's not true...
HOLMES (singing): I'm dazed and confused, is it stay, is it go?
MATT: It's no secret that Led Zeppelin is known to not only be one of the best rock bands of all time,
but also a game changer in the birth of hard rock.
PLANT (singing): Ohh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah...
MATT: That's why we were more than a little surprised that one of their biggest hits--"Dazed and Confused"--
is not an original tune.
Just a few years earlier, the folk rock singer released the track,
but the song is most widely remembered for Robert Plant's ear-blasting vocals
and that addictive guitar riff laid down by Jimmy Page.
BEYONCÉ (singing): Drink beer with the guys...
JEAN (singing): If I were a boy,
(singing) I think that I'd understand...
Sasha Fierce's power ballad is a powerful number that draws attention to the cultural disparity
between men and women.
BEYONCÉ (singing): If I were a boy,
(singing) I think I could understand...
MATT: The show-stopping track is one of the most powerful hits from the "I Am... Sasha Fierce" album,
which is why we didn't see it coming that it's a cover song
of a song by BC Jean.
JEAN (singing): I'd put myself first,
(singing) and make the rules as I go...
MATT: Jean wrote the ballad originally but had it denied by a record label.
Jean's track has slightly more raw vocals and feels more personal,
but Beyoncé's talent is undeniable when she open up her pipes.
BEYONCÉ (singing): You don't listen to her,
(singing) You don't care how it hurts....
MATT: This one's a little tricky.
Stevie Wonder did originally write this song, but it was Jeff Beck who made the original recording.
BOGERT (singing): Very superstitious,
(singing) Writings on the wall...
MATT: In almost no time at all,
Wonder repatriated the song and released it on his 1972 album "Talking Book" immediately.
WONDER (singing): You don't wanna save me,
(singing) Sad is my song...
MATT: The recordings sound relatively similar,
with Jeff Beck's being a dominantly rock number with a slight funk & soul edge.
Stevie Wonder's, on the other hand, doesn't hold anything back when it comes to the soul & funk.
WONDER (singing): ...that you don't understand, then you suffer,
(singing) Superstition ain't the way...
MATT: Having reclaimed the credit from Beck,
Wonder is now most readily associated with the hyper-groovy number.
WONDER (singing): If I'm caught at a dance party without my dancin' shoes,
(singing) and everybody dances on my bare feet, shame on me...
BACKUP SINGERS (singing): Superstition ain't the way...
JONES (singing): Sometimes I feel I've got to run away...
MATT: Everyone knows that Marilyn Manson is not the original artist behind the 80s pop track,
MANSON (singing): Take my tears and that's not nearly all... tainted love...
MATT: but neither is the duo Soft Cell.
ALMOND (singing): Oh, tainted love... whoa, tainted love...
MATT: Originally recorded in 1964,
Gloria Jones' original had a groovy, smooth rock sound that captivated listeners.
JONES: Take, not give, and that's not nearly all... tainted love...
MATT: Listening back to it, it's no wonder so many artists decided to try their hand at a cover.
With lyrics that were as potent as they were accessible, and the earworm-y melody,
"Tainted Love" was practically made to be covered.
ALMOND (singing): Tainted love, oh, touch me, baby, tainted love,
(singing) touch me, baby, tainted love....
MARCY (singing): Now, you can tell the world you never was my girl,
(singing) you can burn my clothes up when I'm gone...
MATT: A classic in Billy Ray Cyrus' stable of contemporary pop country songs,
"Achy Breaky Heart" just makes you want to grind your cowboy boots
on the dance floor at your nearest hoedown.
CYRUS (singing): And if you tell my heart, my achy breaky heart,
(singing) he might blow up and kill this man, whoo...
MATT: Just bear in mind, before you go calling Cyrus Sr. some kind of country legend,
remember that this song was originally performed by The Marcy Brothers
and was originally titled "Don't Tell My Heart."
MARCY BROTHERS (singing): But don't tell my heart, my achy, breakin' heart,
(singing) I just don't think he'd understand...
MATT: With ol' Billy putting his stamp to his recording a year later,
the song gained immense popularity and is a must-have at all local country bars.
CYRUS (singing): Don't tell my heart, my achy breaky heart,
(singing) I just don't think he'd understand...
HOUSTON (singing): If I...
PARTON (singing): I would only be in your way...
MATT: This song is so strongly tied to Houston's career,
that hearing it immediately brings back images of her belting out this powerful number,
thanks in no small part to her performing it for the film she starred in, "The Bodyguard."
HOUSTON (singing): And I will always love you...
MATT: And that says something, considering the extent of her formidable career.
Surprisingly enough, the song was originally performed by female country heavyweight Dolly Parton.
PARTON (singing): But I will always love you...
MATT: Although kudos goes out for writing such a powerful song,
Houston still owns it as part of her legacy.
HOUSTON (singing): ...will always love you, I...
MERRILL (singing): I saw her dancin' there by the record machine...
MATT: What? This wasn't a Britney Spears original?
SPEARS (singing): I love rock 'n' roll, so come and spend some time and dance with me...
(singing): Ow!
MATT: All joking aside, the anthemic track by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
is a rock classic and is enough to get anybody's head bobbing.
JETT (singing): Singin' I love rock 'n' roll, so put another dime in the jukebox, baby...
MATT: But the female-led hard rock group doesn't deserve all the credit,
as the song was originally done by 70s rock group The Arrows.
MERRILL (singing): I love rock 'n' roll, so put another dime in the jukebox, baby...
MATT: The original is a rocking track in its own right,
but we still can't get enough of the Blackhearts' steely sound and Jett's unhinged vocals.
JETT (singing): And we'll be movin' on and singin' that same old song, yeah, with me,
(singing) Singin' I love rock 'n' roll, so put another dime in the jukebox, baby...
MATT: Before we blow your mind with our top pick,
here are a few honorable mentions.
CLINE (singing): Crazy for feelin' so blue...
NELSON (singing): Crazy for feelin' so lonely...
BERGGREN (singing): But don't turn around, 'cause you're gonna see my heart breakin', don't turn around...
TURNER (singing): Don't turn around, 'cause you're gonna see my heart breakin', don't turn around....
ROBINSON (singing): Hey, little thing, let me light your candle,
'cause mama, I'm sure hard to handle now, yessir'am...
REDDING (singing): Pretty little thing, let me light your candle,
'cause mama, I'm sure hard to handle now, yessir'am...
IMBRUGLIA (singing): Nothing's fine, I'm torn...
(singing) I'm all out of faith,
(singing) this is how I feel...
PREVEN (singing): I'm cold and I am shamed, lying naked on the floor...
(singing) Illusion never changed...
HAZARD (singing): The phone rings in the middle of the night,
(singing) my father says "My boy, what do you want with your life?"
MATT: This classic 80s pop jam is toe-tapping to the core.
As if the happy-go-lucky style and sound weren't enough to get you hooked,
that uber-catchy melody will have you bobbing your head to the infectious beat.
LAUPER (singing): When the working day is done, oh, girls, they wanna have fun...
MATT: But if electric pop isn't your speed, then you might prefer the little-known original version.
HAZARD (singing): Girls just wanna have fun, these girls just wanna have fun...
MATT: Starkly different from Lauper's more popular version,
this punk tune was the inspiration for the melody and the chorus,
but that grungy, in-your-face attitude had no place in Lauper's style.
LAUPER (singing): Girls just wanna have fun (just wanna, they just wanna)...
MATT: With both versions being excellently made,
we think credit should pretty much be split evenly.
HAZARD (singing): Yeah, girls just wanna have fun....
MATT: Did you agree with our list?
What unknown covers did we miss?
For more Top 10s about your favorite music, subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
LAUPER (singing): They just wanna (girls just wanna have fun), oh, girls, yeah!
(singing) Girls just wanna have fun...