Original vs Cover Versions

Over the years there have been thousands of cover versions of songs recorded and released. I wanted to ask you all: what is your favourite cover of a song and what original song do you think cannot ever be beaten?

I’ve listed my top three choices below:

Favourite cover
  1. Sam Cooke – Blowin’ in the Wind (original: Bob Dylan)
  2. Will Smith – Just the Two of Us (sampled from the original by Grover Washington Jr)
  3. All-4-One – I Swear (original: John Michael Montgomery)
Original is best:
  1. Otis Redding – Respect (cover: Aretha Franklin)
  2. Dean Martin – Ain’t That a Kick in the Head (cover: Westlife)
  3. Ben E King – Stand By Me (cover: over 400 recorded versions (!) including: John Lennon, Cassius Clay and Otis Redding)
Other suggestions for you to listen to and enjoy. Feel free to send me any other good originals vs covers to add:
SongOriginal recordingCover versions
Greatest Love of AllGeorge BensonWhitney Houston
Father and SonCat StevensBoyzone
I Will Always Love YouDolly PartonWhitney Houston
Killing Me SoftlyRoberta FlackThe Fugees
Free Fallin’Tom PettyJohn Mayer
Close to YouRichard ChamberlainThe Carpenters
When the Going Gets ToughBilly OceanBoyzone
Make You Feel My LoveBob DylanAdele
Against All Odds Phil CollinsMariah Carey
I Hope You DanceLee Ann WomackRonan Keating