Top 10 Songs That Were MASSIVE Hits For Multiple Artists

WatchMojo

Same song, different artist, same success! Join us as we explore the most iconic tracks that topped charts for multiple performers. Our countdown features classics reimagined across genres and decades, from soulful originals to powerful reinterpretations that sometimes overshadowed their predecessors. Which version do you prefer?

Transcript

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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