Stranglers - "Walk On By".  Not only a cover of a Burt Bacharach song, but also contains organ and guitar solo tributes to the Doors' "Light my Fire".

This artist’s ability to turn Walk On By and other soft pop hits inside-out was, in every way, epic.

Isley Bros. very muscular excellent cover of Summer Breeze:

ml1 said:

The Clash were really good at bringing something new and fresh to their covers:

I Fought The Law

Police On My Back

Pressure Drop

Brand New Cadillac

 ALso, Police & Thieves.  Also, under 50...

We could probably have a thread for songs you didn't realize were covers like these.

We did.

https://maplewood.worldwebs.com/forums/discussion/songs-you-probably-didn-t-know-were-covers

(Behold the very first video.)

ah - thought it sounded familiar.   

I give high marks to Disturbed's "Sound of Silence."

Train_of_Thought said:

I give high marks to Disturbed's "Sound of Silence."

 Yup.

Love this one!

this is an awesome version of Creep

So many good ones.  Here are a few that haven't been mentioned:

Boys of Summer - The Ataris
Venus - Bananarama
Because the Night - Patti Smith
Ice Cream Man - Van Halen
Polka on the Banjo - Bela Fleck
Me and my Bobby McGee - Janis Joplin
How Soon is Now - Love Spit Love
Jersey Girl - Bruce Springsteen
Peter Gunn - Art of Noise

I have to confess I haven’t read the entire thread. However I suspect it doesn’t contain Yesterday sung entirely in Latin. (Admittedly, not the world’s greatest singer, but his pronunciation is v good)

You might also appreciate the self-deprecating humour in the dancing PhD thesis.

https://www.improbable.com/2020/02/05/latin-language-performance-of-the-beatles-song-yesterday-academically/

Train_of_Thought said:

I give high marks to Disturbed's "Sound of Silence."

 I was going to mention this one; also any of Joe Cocker’s.

The Ramones!  They were, arguably, the greatest cover band ever:

Palisades Park, Substitute, The Shape of Things to Come, When I was Young, Baby I Love You, Let's Dance, Time has Come Today, Street Fighting Man, 7 and 7 is, Journey to the Center of the Mind, ...

The list goes on, but ends with What a Wonderful World.

Rethfernhim said:

The Ramones!  They were, arguably, the greatest cover band ever:

Palisades Park, Substitute, The Shape of Things to Come, When I was Young, Baby I Love You, Let's Dance, Time has Come Today, Street Fighting Man, 7 and 7 is, Journey to the Center of the Mind, ...

The list goes on, but ends with What a Wonderful World.

When I saw your list I had to hear the Ramones do 7 and 7 Is. Found it, and while it’s great, I gotta say Love’s original packs just as many kilotons, decades earlier. Reaffirms what a visionary Arthur Lee was.

Rethfernhim said:

The Ramones!  They were, arguably, the greatest cover band ever:

Palisades Park, Substitute, The Shape of Things to Come, When I was Young, Baby I Love You, Let's Dance, Time has Come Today, Street Fighting Man, 7 and 7 is, Journey to the Center of the Mind, ...

The list goes on, but ends with What a Wonderful World.

 not to mention California Sun and Do You Wanna Dance

Perhaps not the best, but a contender for the most unusual:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=meq2lx-wMy0

Although she is not the headliner, Jorja Chalmers is the star.

I've listened to this about 15 times over the last week. He finally made me cry.

dave 

Reminded me that I went to see Eric Johnson at The Bottom Line many years ago.  Turns out the show is on YouTube.  Cliffs of Dover is around 35 minutes in.

Joe Cocker  ..With a Little Help from my Friends.

drummerboy said:

I've listened to this about 15 times over the last week. He finally made me cry.

 WOW!

here's the live version on Conan. Draiman (the singer) was said to be sick during this performance.

And if you want to have some fun, go on youtube and search for "first reactions" to this song and watch a few

bettyd said:

Stranglers - "Walk On By".  Not only a cover of a Burt Bacharach song, but also contains organ and guitar solo tributes to the Doors' "Light my Fire".

 That would be my pick. Also Annie Lennox's "I Can't Get Next To You".https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ksimiFvvoE

One of my hobbies is listening to covers of Uncomfortably Numb and this is one the most unique I've come across. Listen to the piano - every now and then he starts playing at a slightly faster tempo than everyone else. It's very unnerving. 

A musician from Maplewood does a pretty good cover.