Best Cover Songs of All Time

Joan Jett covering Gary Glitter's 'Do You Want to Touch Me' -- Such a great song, such a wonderfully transparent ode to perversion.

The Damned always did fun covers: Ballroom Blitz (Sweet), The Citadel (Stones), White Rabbit (Jeff Air).

Similarly, The Dickies were jokester kings of the cover with two absolute classics, 'The Banana Splits Theme,' and the theme to 'Gigantor.' They also did 'Paranoid' (Sabb) and 'Knights in White Satin' (Moody Blues).

Speaking of Yo La Du, Husker Du did some good covers all those years ago: 'Sunshine Superman' by Donovan and 'Eight Miles High' by the Byrds. That's how we figured out that, at heart, they wanted to be the Fairport Convention.

BTW, Yo La Du, I don't recall Bauhaus covering 'Lucifer Sam,' though they should have, and perhaps did while I was not looking. I do recall them doing a well worn version of T.Rex's 'Telegram Sam.' OK -- it comes to me, Lucifer Sam, the zion cat, was worked over by Love and Rockets. Never mind.

The Butthole Surfers also got in a shot on Donovan with a credible version of 'Hurdy Gurdy Man,' which is a creepy number. They also made alot of hay with the riff from Sabb's 'Sweet Leaf' in their song 'Sweat Loaf,' which, when played live, was for years brilliantly intro'd with a riff on Jim Morrison's once controversial monologue during the meandering bridge on 'The End.'

The Dead Kennedys' famous rip of 'Viva Las Vegas' remains charming all this time later.

Scratch Acid did a pretty cool rendition of Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Damned for All Time.' Prolly getting to esoteric with that. Might as well mention Rapeman doing ZZ's 'Just Got Paid' and the theme music from the WB Looney Tune character, Inki, who was the little black kid in the prehistoric bush hunting with a spear and being followed by a black bird -- prolly a classical piece the name of which I simply do not know.
 
Judas Priest - The Green Manalishi with the Two-Pronged Crown.

Thought this was a Fleetwood Mac song, but its by Peter Green. Great song.
 
The Turtles once did a completely kick *** version of "Stairway to Heaven" in French, followed up by stuff from "Flashdance" with Flo dressed up in sweats and the silly socks and frantically dancing.
 
seriously...

Cocteau Twins - "Frosty The Snowman"

If there was ever a band to do a cover of this song it is the Cocteau Twins.. Absolutely beautiful ...

can you say shimmering?

check it out. Please. It really is beautiful.

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I really like Leonard Cohen but I do think that Jeff Buckley's version of Hallelujah is by far the best version of that song.

Harry Nilsson - Without You

Wade Bowen's - Please Come To Boston

Paul Newman's - Plastic Jesus

Iggy Pop's - Heroin
 
Another one came to me,

Mama Cass version of "Dream a Little Dream of Me" much better then Ozzie's or the other big band ones.
 
David Gray's cover of Say Hello And Wave Goodbye by Soft Cell. Had never heard the Soft Cell original until today, and Gray's cover immediately struck me as the greatest cover ever because I thought Soft Cell's version was damn near unlistenable.
 
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