| SONG | ORIGINAL ARTIST | FAMOUS COVER |
|---|---|---|
| (There's) Always Something There To Remind Me | Lou Johnson | Sandie Shaw |
| A Groovy Kind Of Love | Diane & Annita | The Mindbenders |
| Act Naturally | Buck Owens | Beatles |
| All Along the Watchtower | Bob Dylan | Jimi Hendrix |
| All My Love | Sonny West | Buddy Holly, as "Oh Boy" |
| Alone (Why Must I Be Alone) | Shepherd Sisters | Four Seasons |
| Angel Of The Morning | Evie Sands | Merilee Rush |
| Any Way That You Want Me | Tina Mason | Troggs |
| Apache | The Shadows | Jorgen Ingmann |
| Baby, It's You | Shirelles | The Beatles, 1963; Smith, 1969 |
| Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor) | Moon Martin | Robert Palmer |
| Barbara-Ann | The Regents | The Beach Boys as "Barbara Ann" |
| Beg, Borrow and Steal | Rare Breed | Ohio Express |
| Bend Me, Shape Me | Outsiders | American Breed |
| Bette Davis Eyes | Jackie DeShannon | Kim Carnes |
| Back Magic Woman | Fleetwood Mac | Santana |
| Blame It On The Boogie | Mick Jackson | The Jacksons |
| Blinded by the Light | Bruce Springsteen | Manfred Mann |
| Blue Moon | Shirley Ross as "The Bad In Every Man" then Glen Gray and his Casa Loma Orchestra as "Blue Moon" | The Marcels |
| Boots | Lee Hazlewood | Nancy Sinatra |
| Brandy | Scott English | Barry Manilow as "Mandy" |
| By The Time I Get To Phoenix | Johnny Rivers | Glen Campbell |
| Cadillac | Bo Diddley | New Colony Six, Kinks |
| California Dreaming | Barry McGuire | Mamas and Papas |
| California Sun | Joe Jones | Rivieras |
| Chains | Cookies | Beatles |
| (They Long To Be) Close To You | Richard Chamberlain | Carpenters |
| Cocaine | J. J. Cale | Eric Clapton |
| Come See About Me | Nella Dodds | Supremes |
| Daddy Cool | The Rays | Darts |
| Dandy | Kinks | Herman's Hermits |
| Dazed and Confused | Jake Holmes | Led Zeppelin |
| Dedicated To The One I Love | The '5' Royales | Mamas and Papas |
| Deep Purple | Paul Whiteman | Nino Temple and April Stevens |
| Devil With A Blue Dress On | Shorty Long | Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels |
| Devil Woman | Kristine Sparkle | Cliff Richard |
| Different Drum (written by Michael Nesmith) | Greenbriar Boys | Stone Poneys |
| Dizzy Miss Lizzie | Larry Williams | Beatles |
| Do-Wah-Diddy | Exciters | Mannfred Mann |
| Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood | Nina Simone | Eric Burdon and the Animals |
| Don't Throw Your Love Away | Orlons | Searchers |
| Dream A Little Dream Of Me | Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra | Mama Cass |
| Drift Away | John Henry Kurtz | Dobie Gray |
| Early Morning Rain | Ian & Sylvia | Gordon Lightfoot |
| Everybody Needs Somebody to Love | Solomon Burke | Rolling Stones, Wilson Pickett, Blues Brothers |
| Everybody's Talkin' | Fred Neil | Harry Nilsson |
| Evil Ways | Willie Bobo | Santana |
| Fernando | Anni-Frid Lyngstad | ABBA |
| The First Cut Is the Deepest | P. P. Arnold | Cat Stevens, Rod Stewart, others |
| The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face | Ewan MacColl & Peggy Seeger | Roberta Flack |
| For Ever And Ever | Kenny | Slik |
| Galveston | Don Ho with the Oak Ridge Strings | Glen Campbell |
| Gentle On My Mind | John Hartford | Glen Campbell |
| Georgianna | Critters | Princetons |
| Get Together | Kingston Trio as "Let's Get Together" | Youngbloods |
| Gimme Some Lovin' | Homer Banks as "(Ain't That) A Lot of Love" | Spencer Davis Group |
| Girls Just Want To Have Fun | Robert Hazard | Cyndi Lauper |
| Gloria | Umberto Tozzi | Laura Branigan |
| Go Now | Bessie Banks | Moody Blues |
| Go Where You Wanna Go | Mamas and Papas | Fifth Dimension |
| Going Up The Country | Henry "Ragtime Texas" Thomas, as "Bull Doze Blues" (1928) | Canned Heat |
| Got My Mind Set On You | James Ray (w/Hutch Davie Orchestra) | George Harrison |
| Got My Mojo Working | Ann Cole | Muddy Waters |
| Handbags And Gladrags | Chris Farlowe | Rod Stewart |
| Hang on Sloopy | Vibrations as "My Girl Sloopy" | McCoys |
| Hanging On The Telephone | The Nerves | Blondie |
| Hanky Panky | The Raindrops | Tommy James and the Shondells |
| He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother | Kelly Gordon | Hollies |
| Hello Mary Lou | Johnny Duncan | Ricky Nelson |
| Here Comes The Night | Lulu and the Luvvers | Van Morrison and Them |
| Hi Ho Silver Lining | The Attack | Jeff Beck |
| Honey Don't | Carl Perkins | Beatles |
| House of the Rising Sun | Clarence "Tom" Ashley and Gwen Foster as "Rising Sun Blues" (1933) | Animals |
| Hush | Billy Joe Royal | Deep Purple |
| I Call Your Name | Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas (Written by John Lennon) | Beatles |
| I Can Hear Music | Ronettes | Beach Boys |
| I Can't Let Go | Evie Sands | Hollies |
| I Can't Turn You Loose | Otis Redding | Chambers Brothers |
| I Fought The Law | Crickets | Bobby Fuller Four |
| I Hear You Knocking | Smiley Lewis | Dave Edmunds |
| I Heard It Through the Grapevine | Gladys Knight and the Pips (Sept 1967) | Marvin Gaye (Oct 1968) Creedence Clearwater Revival (1970) |
| I Love Rock & Roll | The Arrows | Joat Jett |
| I Never Promised You a Rose Garden | Joe South | Lynn Anderson |
| I Only Have Eyes for You | 1934 movie "Dames" | The Flamingos |
| I Remember You | Dorothy Lamour (in "The Fleet's In" (1942)) | Frank Ifield |
| I Shot the Sheriff | Bob Marley & Wailers | Eric Clapton |
| I Will Always Love You | Dolly Parton | Whitney Houston |
| I'll Be There | Bobby Darin | Gerry and the Pacemakers |
| I'll Never Fall In Love Again | Jill O'Hara & Jerry Orbach | Bobbie Gentry, 1969; Dionne Warwick, 1970 |
| I'm a Man | Bo Diddley | Yardbirds |
| I'm Gonna Make You Love Me | Dee Dee Warwick | Supremes and Temptations |
| I'm Into Something Good | Earl-Jean (McCree) (of the Cookies) | Herman's Hermits |
| Indian Reservation | Marvin Rainwater as "The Pale Faced Indian" | Don Fardon |
| It's All Over Now | Valentinos | Rolling Stones |
| It's In His Kiss | Merry Clayton | Betty Everett as "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)" |
| It's My Party | Helen Shapiro | Lesley Gore |
| Jesus Is Just All Right | Art Reynolds Singers | Doobie Brothers |
| Jock-A-Mo | James Sugarboy Crawford & his Cane Cutters | Dixie Cups as "Iko Iko" |
| Killing Me Softly With His Song | Lori Lieberman | Roberta Flack |
| Kitty | Racey | Toni Basil as "Hey Mickey" |
| Knock on Wood | Eddie Floyd | Otis Redding & Carla Thomas |
| Lady Marmalade (Voulez Vous Couche Avec Moi) | Eleventh Hour | Patti LaBelle |
| Last Kiss | Wayne Cochran | J. Frank Wilson |
| Leaning On A Lamp Post | George Formby (1937) (click for info) | Herman's Hermits |
| Let's Live For Today |
Original hook in The Drifters' "I Count the Tears" (1961) Original song by The Rokes (1966) | Grass Roots (1967) |
| Let's Work Together | Wilbert Harrison | Canned Heat |
| Let Your Love Flow | Gene Cotton | The Bellamy Brothers |
| Little Bit O' Soul | Little Darlings | Music Explosion |
| Little Darlin' | Gladiolas | Diamonds |
| Little Honda (click for info) | Beach Boys (album release) | Hondells (first single release and hit) |
| The Look Of Love | Dusty Springfield | Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 |
| Louie Louie | Richard Berry | Kingsmen |
| Love Hurts | Everly Brothers | Nazareth |
| Love In Vain | Robert Johnson | Rolling Stones |
| Love Potion No. 9 | Clovers | Searchers |
| Lovin' Things | Marmalade | Grass Roots |
| Make it Easy on Yourself | Jerry Butler | Walker Brothers, and then Dionne Warwick |
| The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance | Fairmount Singers | Gene Pitney |
| Matchbox | Carl Perkins | Beatles |
| Mbube | Solomon Linda's Original Evening Birds | The Weavers as "Wimoweh", The Tokens as "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" |
| Me About You | Jackie DeShannon | The Turtles |
| Me And Bobby McGee | Roger Miller (first recording) Kris Kristofferson (composer) | Janis Joplin |
| Mercy, Mercy, Mercy | Cannonball Adderley | Buckinghams |
| Message To Martha | Jerry Butler | Adam Faith, then Dionne Warwick as "Message to Michael" |
| Midnight Train To Georgia (click for info) | Jim Weatherly as "Midnight Plane To Houston", then Cissy Houston as "Midnight Train To Georgia" | Gladys Knight |
| Money (That's What I Want) | Barrett Strong | Beatles |
| Mountain of Love | Harold Dorman | Johnny Rivers |
| Mustang Sally | Sir Mack Rice | Wilson Pickett |
| My Boy Lollypop | Barbie Gaye | Millie Small as "My Boy Lollipop" |
| My Girl Sloopy | Vibrations | McCoys as "Hang On Sloopy" |
| My Little Red Book | Manfred Mann | Love |
| My Sweet Lord | Billy Preston (Written by George Harrison for Preston, who was first to record it. Harrison was sued by the Chiffons for the song's alleged similarity to their "He's So Fine".) | George Harrison |
| My World Fell Down | The Ivy League | Sagittarius |
| Needles And Pins | Jackie DeShannon | Searchers |
| Nobody But Me | Isley Brothers | Human Beinz |
| On Broadway | The Cookies (unreleased original) Crystals (first release) | Drifters |
| One (Is the Loneliest Number) | Harry Nilsson | Three Dog Night |
| One Less Bell To Answer | Keely Smith | The 5th Dimension |
| Over and Over | Bobby Day | Dave Clark Five |
| Papa Was a Rolling Stone | Undisputed Truth | Temptations |
| Personality | Lloyd Price | (many) |
| Queen of Hearts | Dave Edmunds | Juice Newton |
| Rave On | Sonny West | Buddy Holly |
| Reach Out For Me | Lou Johnson | Dionne Warwick |
| Reason To Believe | Tim Hardin | Rod Stewart |
| Respect | Otis Redding | Aretha Franklin |
| Respectable | Isley Brothers | Outsiders |
| Rhinestone Cowboy | Larry Weiss | Glenn Campbell |
| Ring of Fire | Anita Carter | Johnny Cash |
| River Deep, Mountain High | Ike & Tina Turner | Eric Burdon and the Animals |
| Rock Around The Clock | Sonny Dae & His Knights | Bill Haley & Comets |
| Rockin' All Over The World | John Fogerty | Status Quo |
| Sailing | Sutherland Brothers | Rod Stewart |
| Sealed with a Kiss | The Four Voices | Brian Hyland |
| See You in September | The Tempos | The Happenings |
| Shake a Tail Feather | Five Du-Tones | Ray Charles in "The Blues Brothers" |
| Shambala | B. W. Stevenson | Three Dog Night |
| Shame, Shame | Keith Colley | Magic Lanterns |
| Shout | Isley Brothers | Joey Dee and the Starliters, Lulu, others |
| Sloop John B | The Kingston Trio (1st recording under this title) | Beach Boys |
| Slow Down | Larry Williams | Beatles |
| Soul Deep | Wayne Carson | Box Tops |
| Smiling Faces Sometimes | Temptations | Undisputed Truth |
| Someday We'll Be Together | Johnny & Jackey | Diana Ross and the Supremes |
| Something Stupid | Carson & Gaile | Frank and Nancy Sinatra |
| Sonny | Mieko Hirota | Bobby Hebb (who was the composer) |
| Sookie Sookie | Don Covay | Steppenwolf |
| Sorrow | McCoys | Merseys |
| Stop Your Sobbing | Kinks | Pretenders |
| Sugar and Spice | Searchers | Cryan' Shames |
| Sweets For My Sweet | Drifters | Searchers, and the Riddles |
| Tainted Love | Gloria Jones | Soft Cell |
| Take Me For A Little While | Evie Sands | Jackie Ross, and later, Vanilla Fudge |
| Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While) | Kim Weston | Doobie Brothers |
| Take Me to the River | Al Green | Syl Johnson, then Talking Heads |
| Tell Her | Gil Hamilton (aka Johnny Thunder) | Exciters (US) and Billie Davis (UK) as "Tell Him" |
| The Air That I Breathe | Albert Hammond | Hollies |
| The Candy Man | Anthony Newley | Sammy Davis Jr |
| The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore) | Frankie Valli | Walker Brothers |
| The Tide Is High | The Paragons | Blondie |
| The Twist | Hank Ballard | Chubby Checkers |
| That Guy's in Love | Danny Williams | Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass as "This Guy's in Love With You" |
| Time Is On My Side | Irma Thomas | Rolling Stones |
| Trains And Boats And Planes | Burt Bacharach & Orch | Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas |
| True Love And Apple Pie | Susan Shirley | New Seekers as "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" |
| Try a Little Tenderness | Ray Noble Orchestra (1932) | The contemporary format of a slow start and rollicking ending was first recorded by Otis Redding (1966) and covered by Three Dog Night (1969) |
| Turn Around, Look At Me | Glen Campbell | Vogues |
| Twist and Shout | Top Notes | Isley Brothers, and then the Beatles |
| Unchained Melody | Todd Duncan | Righteous Brothers |
| Valleri | Pineapple Heard (first to record the song) | Monkees (on TV show before they recorded it) |
| Video Killed the Radio Star | Bruce Woolley & the Camera Club | Buggles |
| Walk Tall (Like a Man) | Verdelle Smith | 2 of Clubs |
| We've Only Just Begun | Crocker Bank TV commercial, first recorded as single by Freddie Allen | Carpenters |
| What Kind Of Fool (Do You Think I Am) | Tams | Bill Deal and the Rhondels |
| When I Need You | Albert Hammond | Leo Sayer |
| When You Walk in the Room | Jackie DeShannon | Searchers |
| Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On | Roy Hall | Jerry Lee Lewis |
| Wild One (1958) | Johnny O'Keefe | (numerous)" |
| Wild Thing | Wild Ones | The Troggs |
| Willow Weep For Me | Ted Fio Rito (1934) | Many, especially Chad & Jeremy (1964) |
| Wishin' And Hopin' | Dionne Warwick | Dusty Springfield, 1964; Merseybeats, 1964 |
| Without You | Badfinger | Harry Nilsson |
| Woodstock | Joni Mitchell | Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young |
| Workin' on a Groovy Thing | Patti Drew | Fifth Dimension |
| Worst That Could Happen | Fifth Dimension | Brooklyn Bridge |
| You Are So Beautiful | Billy Preston | Joe Cocker |
| You Got What It Takes | Marv Johnson | Dave Clark Five |
| You Need Love | Muddy Waters | Led Zeppelin as "Whole Lotta Love" |
| You Showed Me | The Byrds (as "The Jet Set") | The Turtles |
| You'll Never Get To Heaven | Dionne Warwick | Stylistics |
| You're No Good | First recording: Dee Dee Warwick First charting: Betty Everett | Linda Ronstadt |
| You're the One | Petula Clark | Vogues |
| You've Made Me So Very Happy | Brenda Holloway | Blood, Sweat, & Tears |
| You've Really Got A Hold On Me | Miracles | Beatles |
| Young Love | Ric Cartey | Sonny James, Tab Hunter |
| | ||
| Ain't That Loving You Baby | Eddie Riff (1956) | Elvis Presley |
| Any Day Now | Chuck Jackson | Elvis Presley, 1969, Ronnie Milsap, 1978 |
| Are You Lonesome Tonight | First release by Charles Hart (1927) | Elvis Presley |
| Blue Christmas | Doye O'Dell | Elvis Presley |
| Blue Moon Of Kentucky | Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys (1947) | Elvis Presley |
| Blue Suede Shoes | Carl Perkins (1956) | Elvis Presley |
| Burning Love | Arthur Alexander | Elvis Presley |
| Crying in the Chapel | Darrell Glenn | Elvis Presley |
| Good Rockin' Tonight | Roy Brown (1947) | Elvis Presley |
| Heartbreak Hotel | Glen Reeves | Elvis Presley |
| Hound Dog | Big Mama Thornton (1953) Freddie Bell & the Bellboys (1956) | Elvis Presley |
| I Feel So Bad | Chuck Wills (1954) | Elvis Presley |
| Love Me | Willy & Ruth (1954) | Elvis Presley |
| Love Me Tender | "Aura Lee" copyrighted in 1861, recorded by Frances Farmer in 1936 | Elvis Presley |
| My Baby Left Me | Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup (1950) | Elvis Presley |
| Mystery Train | Little Junior & the Blue Flames (1953) | Elvis Presley |
| Now And Then There's A Fool Such As I | Hank Snow (1952) | Elvis Presley |
| Old Shep | Red Foley (1941) | Elvis Presley |
| One Night Of Sin | Smiley Lewis (1956) | Elvis Presley |
| Peace In The Valley | Flying Clouds Of Detroit (1947) | Elvis Presley |
| Such A Night | Clyde McPhatter and The Drifters (1954) | Elvis Presley |
| Suspicious Minds | Mark James | Elvis Presley |
| That's All Right | Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup (1947) | Elvis Presley |
| That's When Your Heartaches Begin | Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm (1937) | Elvis Presley |
| Too Much | Bernard Hardison (1956) | Elvis Presley |
| When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again | Wiley Walker & Gene Sullivan (1941) | Elvis Presley |
Corrections? Additions?
Please let me know (click here)!
-- Kevin Killion
Here are some invaluable sources for info on originals and their covers: