00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for songs that proved to be
00:11huge commercial successes for two or more interpreters.
00:1510. All Along the Watchtower, Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix
00:27Is there a better example of turning a song on its head than Jimi Hendrix's take on All Along the Watchtower?
00:41Don't get us wrong, Bob Dylan's original was a lyrical tour de force.
00:44No reason to get excited, the thief he kindly spoke.
00:51But Jimi brought a level of energy that transformed it into something entirely new.
00:56Both songs are among each artist's most listened-to tracks of all time,
01:00and Dylan has performed it live more than any other song he's ever written.
01:04All Along the Watchtower, princes kept the view.
01:10It also became Hendrix's highest-charting single in the U.S.,
01:14and the only Top 40 Billboard hit he ever managed.
01:17In many ways, it's the gold standard for how to produce a cover song.
01:219. I Heard It Through The Grapevine,
01:31Gladys Knight and The Pips, and Marvin Gaye
01:41Most people know this legendary track due to the timeless version that
01:45sent Marvin Gaye to the top of the charts for seven weeks in 1968.
01:49However, even though he technically recorded it before Gladys Knight and The Pips,
01:53it was her version that was released first.
01:55You know that I heard it through the grapevine,
01:58I heard it through the grapevine,
02:00I must know the one to be mine.
02:03Knight also went to number one on the R&B charts.
02:05In fact, it was Motown's biggest-selling single ever at the time.
02:09It has indeed been covered by several notable artists in the time since,
02:18but these two versions are the ones that have broken through in the biggest way.
02:318. Tainted Love, Gloria Jones, Soft Cell, and Marilyn Manson
02:36A great song will stand up, no matter what the arrangement consists of.
02:47For Tainted Love, its original form was as the B-side to a commercial flop by Gloria Jones,
02:53My Bad Boys Coming Home.
02:54For I toss and turn, I can't sleep at night, which I read to you.
03:01The song would eventually pick up steam, though, when the new wave makeover by Soft Cell hit the
03:06top spot in the UK charts in 1981. This led to renewed interest in Jones' original.
03:128. Tainted Love, Tainted Love, Tainted Love, Tainted Love.
03:19The song fits so comfortably into the synth-pop stylings of the time that people were shocked to
03:24learn that it originally came out in the early 60s, when Marilyn Manson got his hands on it in 2001.
03:30It once again returned to the charts globally.
03:397. Mad World, Tears for Fears, and Michael Andrews featuring Gary Jules
03:45Tears for Fears were truly one of the great pop acts of the 1980s, but for as much as they found a
03:59run of success later in the decade, 1982's Mad World started it all.
04:038. Mad World, Tears for Fears, and Michael Andrews, and Michael Andrews, and Michael Andrews,
04:07and Gary Jules re-recorded the track for the 2001 film Donnie Darko, it took on a totally new level
04:23of cultural significance. This version was a smash hit, taking the original and revamping it into
04:36something bleak yet beautiful. These days, in many ways, it has become the most recognizable
04:41version of Tears for Fears' initial composition.
04:496. I Shot the Sheriff, Bob Marley, and Eric Clapton
05:01Eric Clapton covering a bona fide classic of the reggae genre was probably not on too many people's
05:07bingo cards in the mid-70s, when Bob Marley and the Wailers put out I Shot the Sheriff in 1973.
05:12It was instantly acclaimed as one of his strongest releases to date.
05:24It took British guitar maestro Eric Clapton about a year to follow it with his own version,
05:28and lo and behold, it became his only number one hit in the U.S. to date.
05:328. Clapton kept the spirit of Marley's work alive, introducing the Jamaican legend's music to an
05:43entirely new audience, without losing any of the soul that drives its rhythm.
05:555. Proud Mary, Credence Clearwater Revival, and Ike and Tina Turner
06:007. Clapton put job in the city, wakin' for the man every night and day.
06:08Credence Clearwater Revival had about four years of domination on the charts before
06:12eventually calling it a day in 1972. It's hard to nail down any one's song as their
06:17definitive moment, but Proud Mary isn't just in the conversation for hitting number two in the
06:22Billboard Hot 100 in 1969. It became a huge hit for Ike and Tina Turner two years later,
06:34hitting number four in the U.S. chart, subsequently becoming a signature song for Tina.
06:39They even won a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a group. Tina would go on to re-record Proud Mary for
06:50several live albums in the years that followed.
06:574. Always On My Mind Elvis Presley, Brenda Lee, Willie Nelson, and Pet Shop Boys
07:07Few songs have had this many iterations for such a wide array of genres as the legendary
07:13Always On My Mind. It was first released by Brenda Lee in 1972, reaching number 45 on the U.S. country
07:20charts.
07:31Over the course of the next few decades, it would be recorded by more than 300 other artists.
07:36Standout commercial performers include Elvis Presley, who turned it into a top 10 hit,
07:40and Willie Nelson, who went to number one on the country charts and won a Grammy.
07:44Tell me that your sweet love hasn't died. Perhaps the most utterly transformative
07:50version came from Pet Shop Boys, who topped the U.K. charts with it in 1987 by adding their
07:56unique synth-pop flair.
07:57I guess I never told you I'm so happy to find
08:043. Respect Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin
08:15Ask anyone who the first artist to record the song Respect was, and many would say Aretha Franklin,
08:20but as much as Franklin revamped the song into the defiant anthem it is today,
08:25it was actually first put out by Otis Redding.
08:27His version didn't have the famous R-E-S-B-E-C-T refrain that Aretha added later,
08:37but it still became a huge crossover hit for Redding. Make no mistake, though,
08:41the song as we all know it and love it today truly came alive when Franklin got a hold of it.
08:46R-E-S-B-E-C-T
08:48R-E-S-B-E-C-T
08:53It instantly turned her into a star, and Otis himself was quick to admit that she had perfected
08:58his composition.
09:03Number 2. Hallelujah
09:05Leonard Cohen and Jeff Buckley
09:07I've heard there was a secret chord that David played and it pleased the Lord.
09:16Leonard Cohen struck gold when he put pen to paper and wrote Hallelujah.
09:20Eventually, it took him quite a long time to get it right.
09:24And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah.
09:30But as much as his raw and honest-sounding version is incredible,
09:34it was Jeff Buckley who brought it into a totally different stratosphere.
09:38After hearing the former Velvet Underground member John Cale's version in 1991,
09:42Buckley was inspired to create what is considered one of the most beautiful covers of all time.
09:47It wasn't an instant hit, but after his untimely death in 1997, it became a standard in modern music.
10:00These days, hearing someone record a version of Hallelujah is as common as can be,
10:04and you can thank Cohen and Buckley for that.
10:06Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
10:18Killing Me Softly with his song, Roberta Flack and Fugees, an R&B classic updated for a modern audience.
10:25Killing Me Softly with his song, Killing Me Softly
10:32Smooth Criminal, Michael Jackson, and Alien Ant Farm, a funk metal cover that fires up the original jam.
10:39Annie, you okay? You okay? You okay, Annie? Annie, you okay? You okay?
10:45Twist and Shout, The Isley Brothers, and The Beatles, one of the finest 60s dance floor fillers.
10:52Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, baby! Come on, I'm working on that!
10:59Hound Dog, Big Mama Thornton, and Elvis Presley, a long-running No. 1 hit for two legendary artists.
11:06Yeah, you ain't never gonna land behind me, you ain't no fear, you ain't no fear, you ain't no fear!
11:11With a little help from my friends, The Beatles and Joe Cocker,
11:15The Beatles get injected with a healthy dose of soul.
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11:401. I Will Always Love You, Dolly Parton and Whitney Houston
11:53According to the myth, Dolly Parton wrote the song I Will Always Love You on the same day she wrote
11:58Jolene. That's one seriously productive evening by any metric.
12:10The song was one of the best-selling tracks of 1974, becoming one of Parton's most adored compositions.
12:16When Whitney Houston decided to cover it for the soundtrack of the 1992 film The Bodyguard,
12:20it brought Dolly's initial creation to a whole new era.
12:232. I Will Always Love You
12:30This version soared to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, holding that spot for 14 weeks.
12:36It was also a sensation internationally, hitting No. 1 in the vast majority of countries it charted in.
12:423. I Will Always Love You
12:51What do you think is a song that can hit in any genre? Let us know in the comments below.
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