10) Urge Overkill: 'Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon'
Original Version: Neil Diamond, 1967
Diamond's original peaked at No. 10 on the pop charts, while Urge Overkill's cover peaked at No. 10 on the charts in France. Diamond originally did not want the song used in Quentin Tarantino's film 'Pulp Fiction,' but he eventually allowed it. The cover not only got Urge Overkill noticed but introduced Diamond to a new generation.
9) Guns N' Roses: 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door'
Original Version: Bob Dylan, 1973
The band recorded the song for the film 'Days of Thunder' and soon began including it in its concert sets. G N' R also performed it at the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert.
8) Manfred Mann's Earth Band: 'Blinded by the Light'
Original Version: Bruce Springsteen, 1973
Springsteen's original failed to chart, but the Manfred Mann version reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. On VH1 'Storytellers,' Springsteen said the popularity of the Manfred Mann version was partially because of singer Chris Thompson's enunciation of the lyrics "rewed up like a deuce" instead of the original "cut loose like a deuce."
7) Foo Fighters: 'Darling Nikki'
Original Version: Prince, 1984
In February 2007, Prince performed the Foo Fighters' song 'Best of You' at Super Bowl XLI. Many fans see this as retaliation because Prince objected to having 'Darling Nikki' covered by the Foos.
6) Joey Ramone: 'What a Wonderful World'
Original Version: Louis Armstrong, 1968
This recording was released a year after Ramone's death on his only solo album. It was made just weeks before the legend passed away. This cover plays over the end credits of Michael Moore's film 'Bowling for Columbine.'
5) Seether: 'Careless Whisper'Original Version: Wham!, 1984
Seether was approached by their management to contribute to a Valentine's Day album for iTunes. The band decided to take a humorous approach and turned what they believed to be a cheesy '80s ballads into a hard rock song. Seether did not expect the massive positive response they have received from their fans.
4) Alien Ant Farm: 'Smooth Criminal'
Original Version: Michael Jackson, 1987
Alien Ant Farm did not intend for 'Smooth Criminal' to be a single, let alone their first. A radio station picked it up without the band's permission and began playing it. Instead of taking offense, Alien Ant Farm went with the flow and decided to release it to the public as their very first single.
3) Metallica : 'Turn the Page'
Original Version: Bob Seger, 1973
Drummer Lars Urlich heard the song while driving home and knew his bandmate James Hetfield could do something magical with it. 'Turn the Page' gave the band its longest-lasting streak on top of the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks.
2) Jimi Hendrix: 'All Along the Watchtower'
Original Version: Bob Dylan, 1967
Within the booklet of his 'Biograph' album, Bob Dylan said, "I liked Jimi Hendrix's record of this and ever since he died I've been doing it that way... Strange how when I sing it, I always feel it's a tribute to him in some kind of way."
1) Johnny Cash: 'Hurt'
Original Version: Nine Inch Nails, 1994
In issue 194 of Alternative Press, Trent Reznor said, "I pop the video in, and wow... Tears welling, silence, goose-bumps... Wow. [I felt like] I just lost my girlfriend, because that song isn't mine anymore... It really made me think about how powerful music is as a medium and art form. I wrote some words and music in my bedroom as a way of staying sane, about a bleak and desperate place I was in, totally isolated and alone. [Somehow] that winds up reinterpreted by a music legend from a radically different era/genre and still retains sincerity and meaning -- different, but every bit as pure."
1. Seether's cover of Careless Whisper is just amazing,
Amazing cover of an old amazing tune. Love
Posted at 6:27PM on Jul 13th 2009 by smilinbiggirl