Why the Best Cover Songs Succeed From Fast Car to Heartbeats, there's no formula to making a successful cover song. But the best covers answer two important questions.
By
John Mirisola
September 18, 2023
Every great cover song answers two questions: why this song, and why this performance?
When theyre successful, a good cover manages to comment on the original song-its brilliance, its mood, even its shortcomings-while also highlighting the new performers own voice and creative interpretation. As a result, the best cover songs are great music and great music criticism all rolled into one.
Consider one of the undisputed best: Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley.
Why this song? Its Leonard Cohens masterpiece, refined over years, but dated by his '80s synth-driven style. Yet every word, every chord change is a testament to the songs greatness. And why this aching, elemental lightning strike of a performance by one of the nineties most luminous voices and most tragic figures? Because, well, see the previous sentence.
This is only one example, but the paths to creating a great cover song are as wide-ranging as any artists influences and imagination. In this playlist, we look at a small sampling of successful cover songs from the past six decades, and explore the many ways that artists have made something fresh and memorable from songs we might still remember.
1. Fast Car, Luke Combs (Originally by Tracy Chapman)Some moments in a classic recording are sacred-like when the snare drum first enters Tracy Chapmans Fast Car at the lyric, I remember when we were driving. Country singer Luke Combss faithful cover preserves the essence but introduces subtle tweaks-vocal twang, production polish-turning a queer Black womans 1988 folk-rock anthem into a country radio staple and one of 2023s songs of the summer. I never expected to find myself on the country charts, Chapman told Billboard in July, but I'm honored to be there. I'm happy for Luke and his success and grateful that new fans have found and embraced Fast Car.
2. All Along the Watchtower, The Jimi Hendrix Experience (Originally by Bob Dylan)Bob Dylans original version of All Along the Watchtower, simply arranged with a trotting acoustic trio behind him, presents a striking cast of characters: the jaded joker, the pragmatic thief, the princes who watch the vagrants approach from high above it all. Every scene in Dylans rendition is like a silent, close-up shot in black and white. Jimi Hendrixs cover, recorded just a year later, is a panoramic, technicolor masterpiece to rival the original. Hendrix builds upon the cryptic spookiness at the songs core with lush studio overdubs, miles of reverb, and that unmistakable guitar, howling like the wind.
Lost John Coltrane Record Still Sounds Like Freedom
Ethnomusicologist Emmett G. Price III unpacks the enduring power of Coltrane and Dolphys lost collaboration, and the sound so bold and liberated that some critics dismissed it as anti-jazz.
3. My Favorite Things, John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy (Originally by Rodgers and Hammerstein for The Sound of Music)Like Hendrix with All Along the Watchtower, John Coltrane began playing this now-famous show tune just a year after The Sound of Music debuted on Broadway. This freewheeling interpretation became a prime example of the artists ability to turn melodies and chords inside-out and upside-down, transforming the familiar into the utterly new. On this 1961 recording, Coltrane is joined by Eric Dolphy, whose flute adds another level of strangeness to the familiar tune, making the immediately recognizable melody that much sweeter when it finally emerges.
4. Born Under Punches, Ang lique Kidjo (Originally by Talking Heads)On their classic 1980 album, Remain in Light, Talking Heads channeled the trance-like rhythms of Afrobeat and Fela Kuti, an influence thats unmistakable from the opening seconds of Born Under Punches, says Nick Balkin, director of editorial services at Berklee. Beninese singer Ang lique Kidjo's 2018 version [produced by Jeff Bhasker '99] breathes new life into the track, honoring the original while infusing it with the spirit of her African roots.
5. I Will Always Love You, Whitney Houston (Originally by Dolly Parton)Is the cover greater than the original? Is the original greater than the cover? In this instance, both exist in a rare, perfect harmony. With her spellbinding vocal performance, Houston earns the right to call this a signature song-even as it has remained one of Partons most cherished tracks throughout her career. The two versions somehow amplify one another rather than replacing each other. As one YouTube commenter puts it: Listen to Dollys original version when your heart is breaking, listen to Whitneys version when youre ready to move on.
6. Ring of Fire, Johnny Cash (Originally by Anita Carter)It was in 1963 that Johnny Cash first reworked Anita Carters folk ballad (Loves) Ring of Fire (cowritten by future wife June Carter), picking up the pace and giving it a proper backing band with its trademark horns and shuffling drums and cooing back-up singers. With his classic baritone speak-singing, it almost sounds like Cash is less interested in defining love than describing the fire. This version became authoritative, overshadowing Carters earnest, sentimental original in cultural memory.
7. Ring of Fire, Social Distortion (Originally by Anita Carter, by way of Johnny Cash)Punk covers have a way of revealing a songs core. In Social Distortions version of Ring of Fire, Cashs version loses its mariachi trumpets in the flames of chugging distortion, but what emerges is a streamlined, snarling testament to the songs durability. Through every sonic transformation, in those chords, in those words, the same cynical romance burns, burns, burns.
8. Hurt, Johnny Cash (Originally by Nine Inch Nails)Perhaps eve
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it's given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what ...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
AgentPerf from Artificial Analysis, the industry's first agentic AI benchmark, gives developers, enterprises and infrastructure providers a clear way to com...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First-Look Images from Villaflor, Santiago Mitre's New Film
Entertainment
12 June 2026
GlobalArgentina
Link copied to ...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Cross the Boundaries of the Real World into the Spirit Realm i...
12/06/2026
With John Daro, DI Colourist at Warner Bros. Water Tower Color Tuesday 23 June, 10am-1pm or 3-6pm
Restar Corporation
Tokyo
Register here
John Daro is the ...
12/06/2026
Meet The Grumpy Onion Ireland's newest online sensation, all he wants is to ...
12/06/2026
RT stays Up All Night with brand new daily 2026 FIFA World Cup Vodcast
Adding to the fun around 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament, RT has launched a brand new d...
Why the Best Cover Songs Succeed From Fast Car to Heartbeats, there's no formula to making a successful cover song. But the best covers answer two important questions.
