Original photo by Moviestore Collection Ltd/ Alamy Stock Photo
In the music world, it’s often considered an honor when a fellow artist decides to pay homage and cover one of your songs. But on some occasions, the cover version ends up being so popular that people don’t realize it’s not the original. Great musicians such as Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and Aretha Franklin have all recorded new takes on old songs that ended up becoming a part of their musical legacy, overshadowing the original artists. These performers and many others owe a great deal of thanks to the oft-forgotten songs and songwriters who inspired them. Here are seven hit songs that you may not know are actually covers.
Elvis Presley’s “Hound Dog”
Elvis Presley may have popularized “Hound Dog” in 1956, but it was originally written in 1952 for singer Big Mama Thornton. “Hound Dog” was composed by the songwriting team Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who went on to pen other hit tracks such as “Yakety Yak” and “Love Potion No. 9.” In 1952, the duo was asked by bandleader Johnny Otis to write a song for Thornton, who had just signed her first recording contract. Thornton released her original take of “Hound Dog” on August 13, 1952, and it was a huge success, topping the R&B charts for seven weeks.
Three years later, a Las Vegas-based group named Freddie Bell and the Bellboys re-recorded “Hound Dog.” Frontman Freddie Bell rewrote some of the lyrics and also gave the song more of a rock ‘n’ roll vibe compared to the original R&B version. Bell’s version caught the attention of 21-year-old Elvis Presley, who re-recorded and released his own version of “Hound Dog” on July 13, 1956. His version topped the charts for 11 weeks and went on to become one of his signature songs.
The Beatles’ “Twist and Shout”
Long before the Beatles released their legendary 1963 version of “Twist and Shout,” the song was recorded by two different musical acts. It was originally performed by the Top Notes in 1961 and later by the Isley Brothers in 1962. “Twist and Shout” was written by the songwriting duo Phil Medley and Bert Russell, but the Top Notes’ version failed to chart. Music critic Richie Unterberger disparaged the Latin-tinged R&B song as “not very good” and the tune very nearly faded into obscurity. A year later, it was revived by soul group the Isley Brothers, whose cover cracked the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100.
Also in 1962, the Beatles added “Twist and Shout” to their live repertoire, delighting the crowd with their fast-paced rock ‘n’ roll version. The band recorded “Twist and Shout” for their debut studio album Please Please Me on February 11, 1963, and the album was released the following month. Amazingly, the Beatles recorded the song in just one take, which music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine called “the most famous single take in rock history.” The Beatles’ version shot nearly to the top of the charts, nabbing the No. 2 spot in the U.S. on March 2, 1964. The No. 1 song at the time was also a Beatles song: “Can’t Buy Me Love.”
Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good”
Nina Simone’s 1965 version of “Feeling Good” has inspired countless artists to cover the song in the decades since, including Michael Bublé and Muse. But Simone’s version was actually a cover itself, as the song was originally written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley for the 1964 musical The Roar of the Greasepaint — The Smell of the Crowd. That stage version was first recorded by Cy Grant and released in early 1965.
The song caught the attention of the legendary Nina Simone, who was recording her album I Put a Spell on You. Simone reworked the original version, which featured limited musical accompaniment, transforming it into a jazzy number accompanied by a big band. In 2017, NPR deemed I Put a Spell on You the third greatest album ever produced by a female artist and specifically cited Simone’s “Feeling Good” as a standout performance.
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Aretha Franklin’s “Respect”
At just 24 years old, Aretha Franklin released “Respect,” which spent 12 weeks atop the Billboard charts and earned her two Grammy Awards. That version was released in 1967, two years after soul singer Otis Redding recorded his own take on the tune. It’s unclear who originally wrote the song, but according to lore, Redding was introduced to it by fellow musician Earl “Speedo” Sims, who’d planned to record it himself. Redding heard Sims’ version, sped up the tempo, and included “Respect” on his 1965 album Otis Blue. The lyrics in his version centered around a man coming home from work and insisting on getting respect from his wife, and the song ultimately reached No. 4 on the music charts.
On February 14, 1967, Franklin — who had already performed the song live — went into the recording studio and reworked Redding’s version. She transformed the song into a powerful feminist anthem delivered from a woman’s perspective. Franklin also made several notable changes to the music itself, adding a bridge and a call-and-response section featuring her sisters Carolyn and Erma, spelling out the word “respect” (“r-e-s-p-e-c-t”), and rhythmically repeating the phrase “sock it to me.” Her version quickly became the most popular take on the song, though she remained praiseful of Redding’s original.
Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire”
“Ring of Fire” is one of Johnny Cash’s best-known songs, having spent 13 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1963 and reaching certified Gold status. But a year prior to that, the song was written by Cash’s future wife, June Carter. Carter — along with songwriter Merle Kilgore — penned a song titled “(Love’s) Ring of Fire” in 1962. As the story goes, Carter actually wrote the song about her infatuation with Johnny Cash, who had a reputation for being dangerous and wild.
Carter gave the original folksy version of the song to her sister Anita, who recorded it for the 1962 album Folk Songs Old and New. Johnny Cash was an immediate fan of the song and wanted to record his own take, but he also told Anita he would wait a few months before doing so to allow enough time for her version to become a hit. Sure enough, on March 25, 1963, Cash took to the studio and recorded his own “Ring of Fire,” which remains popular today.
Chubby Checker’s “The Twist”
The Twist was a dance craze that became wildly popular during the 1960s, made all the more popular by Chubby Checker’s 1960 song of the same name. But Checker wasn’t the first person to encourage people to do the Twist; that honor belongs to Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, who recorded a version of “The Twist” in 1958 as a B-side to “Teardrops on Your Letter.” This original song achieved mild success, charting at No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960.
But Dick Clark, the host of American Bandstand, saw greater potential in the song. Clark contacted the Philadelphia-based Cameo-Parkway recording label and asked it to produce a new version with Checker, who Clark had worked with before. This version took “The Twist” to new heights, as Checker’s cover held the top spot on the Billboard charts upon its release in August 1960 and again in 1962, ultimately spending a total of 25 weeks as a top 10 hit. This made it only the second song ever to chart at No. 1 on two separate occasions (after Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas”).
Led Zeppelin’s “Dazed and Confused”
“Dazed and Confused” appeared on Led Zeppelin’s eponymous debut album, and thrust the band into the limelight as one of the most powerful forces in rock music. But their version of the song was accompanied by a bit of controversy, as it was purportedly lifted from a lesser-known artist named Jake Holmes. Holmes’ version of “Dazed and Confused” was recorded as a folksy tune for his 1967 album “The Above Ground Sound” of Jake Holmes. On August 25, 1967, Holmes happened to perform his new song in front of Jim McCarty, drummer for the Yardbirds. One of McCarty’s bandmates at that time was Jimmy Page, the future founder of Led Zeppelin.
McCarty was very complimentary of Holmes’ song, saying it had a “very good riff, very haunting, quite interesting.” A day after Holmes’ concert, McCarty showed the riff to Page and his fellow band members, who were all fans. The Yardbirds began performing “Dazed and Confused” during live shows, with the intent of recording it. But soon after, Page left the group to form Led Zeppelin, who recorded “Dazed and Confused” for their eponymous debut album in 1969. This eventually caught the attention of Holmes, who reached out in the 1980s and unsuccessfully asked for songwriting credit. Holmes ended up filing a lawsuit in 2010, which was settled out of court. Nowadays, if you buy a new copy of Led Zeppelin’s debut album, the writing credit for “Dazed and Confused” reads, “Jimmy Page; Inspired by Jake Holmes.”
Bennett Kleinman is a New York City-based staff writer for Optimism Media, and previously contributed to television programs such as "Late Show With David Letterman" and "Impractical Jokers." Bennett is also a devoted New York Yankees and New Jersey Devils fan, and thinks plain seltzer is the best drink ever invented.
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