20 Song Covers You Need To Listen To

Song Covers You Need to Listen To

When I originally came up with the idea to create a list of song covers you need to listen to I initially thought I’d stop at 10. Then when I actually started compiling a list of tunes it quickly grew to 12 and then 15.

Satisfied with 15 I thought that I had a healthy dose of different sounds, artists, and inspirations but then I stumbled upon another song, remembered another that I meant to include, and then added more.

Before I knew it the number of song covers shot up to 20. At that point, I had to put a stop to the madness so I closed the rest of my browser tabs and began writing.

In an effort to prevent this list from becoming absurdly long I’m employing olympian levels of restraint.

More writing and less music library browsing. Even now I’m tempted to see if there is a song I may have overlooked or forgotten to add. #Thestruggleisreal

The Beauty of a Song Cover

Song covers can be pretty tricky. The person performing the cover is already starting at a disadvantage. If they’re creating their cover for public consumption every note they hit, every rhythm they tweak will be critiqued and compared to the original work.

Most of the songs on this list feature a cover of a song that still has a popular original. A few of them, like the one by The Fugees, The Clash or Natalie Imbruglia were covers that arguably surpassed the popularity of the originals.

I personally love covers. Each one is full of surprises and when an artist truly makes a song their own it’s incredibly impressive.

We can also learn a creative lesson from it. For instance, you must have a lot of creative confidence to even attempt to cover a Whitney Houston song. Sam Smith does a wonderful job of holding his own while still paying homage to the original and offering something new.

It boils down to creativity. Ten people can cover the same song and you’ll get ten different outcomes.

Taking inspiration from something else and molding it to fit your own personal vision is at the core of creativity. (Click to Tweet)

The Covers

Keep in mind that some of the songs featured are relatively new, some are old and from varying music styles. This week scroll on down and give your ears a bit of bliss in the form of Gallant, Daughter, Maroon 5, John Mayer, Jeff Buckley, No doubt and more! You can listen to more playlists and all featured artists on Spotify!