Some songs simply stick and stay in the minds and ears, not only among the fans in the audience, but also among the multitude of artists that simply can’t resist covering or adopting them.
It is not just a form of flattery or adoration, but also a source of inspiration for those artists, with quite a few of them turning these songs into a source for rehashing their best memories, but also for creating something new.
These days with the computing capabilities we have it might seem easy to collect the raw data to find out which rock songs have been most covered and/or most adopted by other artists and it just gives us a clear picture which songs and the artists that made them are the most inspiring to date, and at the moment, the bellow sixteen rule the numbers.
The Beatles still dominate the data with most covered rock songs
The Beatles - “Let It Be”
- Covers: 577
- Adaptations: 16
By the time the Beatles were slowly falling apart. Paul McCartney wrote this ballad, which John Lennon was not so enamored with, and at one point, McCartney offered it to Aretha Franklin to be the first to sing it.
She might be the first to cover it (some data records that the two versions were released close to each other), and possibly remains the best cover around, but the audiences seem to remember the original the most. Nick Cave’s version just might come close to these two.
The Beatles - “Hey Jude”
- Covers: 568
- Adaptations: 23
Back in 1968, when this one was released, it was a challenge for radio stations to play it as it was over 7 minutes long, but it nevertheless became a huge hit, and still remains as one of the Beatles' most beloved songs.
The good covers? It is easy to say that it shouldn’t be a problem to cover a great song, but quite a few were not up to par, with another great soul singer, Wilson Pickett, hitting it out of the ballpark.
The Beatles - “Something”
- Covers: 567
- Adaptations: 9
Yet another song by the Beatles, and possibly the best song George Harrison wrote for *Abbey Road*, one of the best albums by the band. As for Harrison and the versions of the song, he had his faves and the ones he wasn’t so happy with. He likes Smokey Robinson's version, but not so much Frank Sinatra’s.
John Lennon - “Imagine”
- Covers: 565
- Adaptations: 14
Some call this the best song Lennon wrote, while quite a few fans (devoted and not so devoted) would not agree, but by the number of covers it has had, it seems to be his most popular. Some versions are not so hot, with Neil Young’s version as a 9/11 tribute just might stand out.
The Beatles - “Here, There and Everywhere”
- Covers: 562
- Adaptations: 15
Another ballad by the Beatles close to the top? No kidding. This one is possibly one of McCartney’s best and favorite for many, including Lennon. You would really have to try hard to pick a bad one here, and David Gilmour’s psyched-up version certainly comes close to the top.
The Beatles - “Come Together”
- Covers: 461
- Adaptations: 8
Talking about Lennon’s best, you simply cannot miss this one, and it is quite a hard one to cover or beat the original, which is one of the Beatles' leaders as far as the streaming services are concerned. As far as the covers go, Tina Turner and Aerosmith just might top the list for this one.
Bobby Helms - “Jingle Bell Rock”
- Covers: 447
- Adaptations: 10
And yes, you will not miss this one when the Christmas season starts this year, or any other year. Helms recorded this one first, but he didn’t write it - James Ross Boothe, an advertising executive, and Joseph Carleton Beal, a public relations professional, did. As for the best version, well, any will do.
The Beatles - “Here Comes The Sun”
- Covers: 430
- Adaptations: 9
Back to the Beatles, George Harrison and the Abbey Road album, with Harrison getting the idea for the song while trying to get a sun tan in Eric Clapton’s backyard. Great ideas need a great moment, don't they?
The Beatles - “In My Life”
- Covers: 419
- Adaptations: 6
John Lennon might have been at his best when he sourced his memories, and while “Strawberry Fields Forever” is possibly one of the best around, this one comes quite close to it, with quite a few of the covers hitting the mark, as the lyrics left room for other artists to relate to it.
The Beatles - “With A Little Help from My Friends”
- Covers: 397
- Adaptations: 15
An internal joke within the band that Ringo sang turned into one of the most covered songs around, and one of the best call-and-response rock songs around. It might have seemed easy to cover this one, but nobody came close to late Joe Cocker, who, for many, beat the original.
Bill Withers - “Ain’t No Sunshine”
- Covers: 376
- Adaptations: 11
Many might wonder how a man who made airplane toilet seats for Boeing became one of the most covered songwriters around, but looking (and listening) to Withers’ complete opus, including this song, they shouldn’t, with even a songwriter like McCartney taking a shot at it.
Elton John - “Your Song”
- Covers: 363
- Adaptations: 14
So many fans prefer Elton John’s earlier songs to his latter, more commercial ones, and this one should rightfully top the list, as the number of covers and adaptations clearly shows. Rod Stewart and his raspy voice did it justice, and so did Ellie Goulding with her version.
The Rolling Stones - “Satisfaction”
- Covers: 357
- Adaptations: 14
No wonder this one’s here with its rock rebel theme and that always recognizable and inescapable fuzz guitar riff intro. And if you want to pin a true rock badge to any song, this one would be it, with so many great versions around with or without that fuzz intro.
The Beatles - “A Hard Day’s Night”
- Covers: 354
- Adaptations: 19
All those doing hard day’s work related to this song, whether they only heard it first or saw it in one of the still best music films around. And who would understand it better than a hard-working man like Otis Redding, as his version probably tops the list of covers for this one.
The Beatles - “The Long And Winding Road”
- Covers: 352
- Adaptations: 6
One of the final songs by the Beatles and one of their finest deserves to be covered so many times, with a master who was Ray Charles, coming so close in quality to the original.
Creedence Clearwater Revival - “Proud Mary”
- Covers: 337
- Adaptations: 31
CCR and John Fogerty were not the critics' faves when prog rock ruled, but the wide audience acceptance and such wide coverage of one of their best surely proved them wrong. It hit number one in 1969, with Ike & Tina Turner rightfully repeating the same feat with this one only a year later.