Celebrated songwriters whose biggest hits were cover versions

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Vince Clarke: Wrote several hit songs for Depeche Mode, Yazoo and Erasure, but scored his biggest hit with the Andersson/Ulväus penned "Take a Chance On Me", on an EP together with three other Andersson/Ulväus songs.

Harry Nilsson: Extensive album career of mainly original material, yet his two biggest hits were "Everybody's Talking" and "Without You", none of which were his own.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 13:11 (twenty years ago)

Cathy Dennis!

― edward o (edwardo), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 13:23 (twenty years ago)

Wet Wet Wet.

i celebrate their entire catalogue.

― Lee F# (fsharp), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 13:25 (twenty years ago)

To the extent that anyone (besides me) celebrates him, Evan Dando. Biggest hits were "Mrs. Robinson" and "Luka." Sadly.

― BlastsOfStatic (BlastsofStatic), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 13:27 (twenty years ago)

Barry Manilow. "I Write The Songs," written by Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys, might not be his biggest hit technically but it's the one song many of us indentify w/ol' Baz. "I am music..."

― m coleman (lovebug starski), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 13:31 (twenty years ago)

Sinead O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 13:32 (twenty years ago)

Bobby Bare

― Will(iam), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 13:36 (twenty years ago)

I wonder about The Birds. Critically McGuinn, Crosby, etc get enough respect for their songcraft and vision, but were "Turn Turn Turn" or "eight Miles High" as successful as "Mr. Tambourine Man" or "My Back Pages"?

― b b, Wednesday, 6 April 2005 13:36 (twenty years ago)

Turn Turn Turn wasn't theirs either

― dave225 (Dave225), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 13:39 (twenty years ago)

The Byrds definitely - that's who i was on the way to say when i came here. 'Turn, Turn, Turn' and 'Mr Tambourine Man' were by far their biggest hits, together or individually, and remain probably their best known songs.

― Lee F# (fsharp), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 13:48 (twenty years ago)

To the extent that anyone (besides me) celebrates him, Evan Dando. Biggest hits were "Mrs. Robinson" and "Luka." Sadly.

but that makes perfect sense, 'cause dando (who i like quite a bit) has spent his entire career working off other songwriters. most celebrated song off it's a shame about way -- co-written by the great australian tom morgan. most celebrated song off come on feel... -- an obscure australian cover. most celebrated song off car button cloth -- co-written by the great scot eugene kelly. and that's not to mention original lemonheads songwriter ben deily.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 13:52 (twenty years ago)

Harry Nilsson's biggest hit was "Without You", originally a Badfinger song. And yet, I've never understood WHY he's ever been acclaimed, since I've never encountered a song of his that wasn't crap.

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 13:53 (twenty years ago)

Simple Minds didn't write "Don't You (Forget About Me)", which was by far their biggest hit in the US.

― Earl Nash (earlnash), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 13:54 (twenty years ago)

"I guess the lord must be in new york city" is not crap.

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 13:57 (twenty years ago)

Marc Almond?

― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 14:00 (twenty years ago)

Arthur Lee, FFS!

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 14:01 (twenty years ago)

Although that's more 'someone else in the band wrote it'....

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 14:01 (twenty years ago)

Robert Wyatt's biggest hit was a cover of "I'm a Believer".

― What we want? Sex with T.V. stars! What you want? Ian Riese-Moraine! (Eastern Ma, Wednesday, 6 April 2005 14:03 (twenty years ago)

.. And "Shipbuilding" by Elvis Costello, whose biggest (admittedly tied) hit was "I can't stand up for falling down"

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 14:06 (twenty years ago)

alien ant farm

― dave q (listerine), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 14:06 (twenty years ago)

ohh, right, right on turnturnturn ...

and thats one of things i love about Robert Wyatt.

― b b, Wednesday, 6 April 2005 14:07 (twenty years ago)

are we distinguishing between actual cover versions (ie recorded and written by someone else) and songs that were written by other people (eg 'Shipbuilding'), or does it just not matter?

― Lee F# (fsharp), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 14:14 (twenty years ago)

(...uh, guess I shoulda fully read Geir's remarks up top before deciding to cite Nilsson myself. Carry on...)

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 14:20 (twenty years ago)

And "Shipbuilding" by Elvis Costello, whose biggest (admittedly tied) hit was "I can't stand up for falling down"

Elvis Costello's biggest hit was clearly "Oliver's Army", which was his song all the way.

I would say songs written by other people count too. "Shipbuilding" was written by Costello, but might well have been Robert Wyatts biggest (only) hit.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 16:04 (twenty years ago)

Byrds OTM btw. Even though "I Feel a Whole Lot Better" and "Eight Miles High" are both up there among their most well-known songs, they aren't quite on level with "Mr. Tambourine Man".

Lemonheads OTM too, and, no, you are not the only one who loves Evan Dando's songs :-)

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 16:07 (twenty years ago)

Simple Minds – "(Don't You) Forget About Me"

Which might have sounded better if Bryan Ferry had sung it, as songwriter Keith Forsey originally planned, but whatever.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 16:15 (twenty years ago)

Patti Smith and Manfred Mann both had their biggest hits covering Springsteen. Because The Night and Blinded By the Light, respectively.

― kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 16:19 (twenty years ago)

I would argue that Manfred Mann's biggest hit was "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" (which was nevertheless a cover version as well).

Patti Smith OTM anyway

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 16:21 (twenty years ago)

And "Shipbuilding" by Elvis Costello, whose biggest (admittedly tied) hit was "I can't stand up for falling down"
Elvis Costello's biggest hit was clearly "Oliver's Army", which was his song all the way.

Yeah, but neither of these songs are as closely associated with Elvis (at least among the general, non-fan public) as "What's So Funny About Peace, yada yada" which is a cover.

― Keith C (kcraw916), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 16:27 (twenty years ago)

manfred man also did well with "Quinn the Eskimo" and "little black book", but does anyone celebrate his songwriting otherwise?

― b b, Wednesday, 6 April 2005 16:35 (twenty years ago)

"Quinn The Eskimo" wasn't hit either.

I personally like "Ha Ha Said The Clown", "My Name Is Jack" and "Semi-Detached Suburban Mr. James", but certainly Manfred Mann always performed a lot of coverversions.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 16:45 (twenty years ago)

Joe Cocker!!

― aaron ef, Wednesday, 6 April 2005 16:51 (twenty years ago)

Joe Cocker good call. In fact, his second biggest hit was probably "Up Where We Belong", which was a cover version too.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 16:56 (twenty years ago)

I don't know how "celebrated" Ace Frehley is as a songwriter, but his hit "New York Groove" was actually a cover of a bubblegum hit by a early-to-mid 70s UK group called Hello.

The rest of the Ace Frehley solo album is great though, in an Alice Cooper way.

― donut debonair (donut), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 18:37 (twenty years ago)

I have no idea how well any of his songs did commercially, really, but maybe Scott Walker?

― Telephonething, Wednesday, 6 April 2005 19:11 (twenty years ago)

Scott Walker's biggest hits were probably with Walker Brothers, both of which were clearly cover versions.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 19:48 (twenty years ago)

Aretha Franklin -- Respect

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 19:50 (twenty years ago)

Is Sinead O'Connor "celebrated"? If so, "Nothing Compares 2 U".

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 19:51 (twenty years ago)

Cat Stevens' biggest hit, at least on the U.S. charts, was his stale cover of "Another Saturday Night."

Also Pearl Jam and "Last Kiss," if Vedder is a celebrated songwriter.

― Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 19:53 (twenty years ago)

Tommy Keene... only ever got much play for his cover of Lou Reed's "Kill Your Sons."

― Douglas (Douglas), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 19:56 (twenty years ago)

The Fall: "Victoria" and "There's Ghost in my House"

― The Sensational Sulk (sexyDancer), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 20:00 (twenty years ago)

Also Pearl Jam and "Last Kiss," if Vedder is a celebrated songwriter.

Their biggest hit has to be either "Alive" or "Jeremy"

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 20:06 (twenty years ago)

Cat Stevens' biggest hit, at least on the U.S. charts, was his stale cover of "Another Saturday Night."

Maybe, but I'd say the one Cat Stevens song everybody knows is "Wild World", which is all his.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 20:25 (twenty years ago)

His most famous song is probably "Morning Has Broken". Besides "Wild World" there are also "Father And Son", "Moon Shadow", "Matthew And Son" and "Where Do The Children Play". But they are all his nevertheless.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 20:33 (twenty years ago)

Geir - actually "Last Kiss" is the highest charting Pearl Jam single, at least here in the States. the early stuff was huge on alt-rock radio, but nothing crossed over big-time until that cover. don't have the numbers handy, but i was surprised as well when i first heard that.

― jonviachicago, Wednesday, 6 April 2005 21:02 (twenty years ago)

If I remember right, wan't Hendrix's biggest hit like a Dylan cover or something?

― D. Anderson, Wednesday, 6 April 2005 22:43 (twenty years ago)

Candlebox - "Cat's in the Cradle" (shudder)

― Yngwie AlmsteenMay (sgertz), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 22:50 (twenty years ago)

Waitaminute - I take that back. Candlebox certainly ARE NOT celebrated songwriters.

― Yngwie AlmsteenMay (sgertz), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 22:51 (twenty years ago)

Pearl Jam's "Last Kiss" went to number two on the Billboard charts. Jonviachicago OTM.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 22:52 (twenty years ago)

> Candlebox - "Cat's in the Cradle" (shudder)

T'was Ugly Kid Joe; and I'm sorry that I know that.

And if we can call Lauryn and Clef celebrated songwriters, then the Fugees, "Killing Me Softly."

― Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Thursday, 7 April 2005 01:58 (twenty years ago)

Evan Dando

― mrs robinson, Thursday, 7 April 2005 03:12 (twenty years ago)

Ugly Kid Joe = Candlebox with baggy shorts

― Yngwie AlmsteenMay (sgertz), Thursday, 7 April 2005 03:41 (twenty years ago)

Harry Nilsson's biggest hit was "Without You", originally a Badfinger song. And yet, I've never understood WHY he's ever been acclaimed, since I've never encountered a song of his that wasn't crap.

Right, Nilsson was a real hack, Myonga...

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Thursday, 7 April 2005 03:45 (twenty years ago)

I thought Patti Smith wrote "Because the Night" with Springsteen. Well, it's credited as Springsteen/Smith. Don't know the real story behind it, though.

― Love at the Pier (Arthur), Thursday, 7 April 2005 03:48 (twenty years ago)

Richie Havens, Lauren Hill

celebrated songwriters, though?

― Brennan Mangan (capn. entropy), Thursday, 7 April 2005 05:16 (twenty years ago)

Simple Minds didn't write "Don't You (Forget About Me)", which was by far their biggest hit in the US.
-- Earl Nash (stereo99_9...), April 6th, 2005.

i prefer the billy idol version - didn't he reject this song before doing it for the greatest hits?

― whiplash smiler, Thursday, 7 April 2005 05:55 (twenty years ago)

ELPs biggest hit by far was their version of Copland's "Fanfare For The Common Man"

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Thursday, 7 April 2005 08:58 (twenty years ago)

the Byrds' "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star" was a pretty good hit, written by them, as were "Mr. Spaceman" and "Eight Miles High." As good as "Tambourine Man" or "Turn!," I'd say.

Alex Chilton, obv.--"The Letter," "Cry Like a Baby" and "Soul Deep" by others (Wayne Carson Thompson, Dan Penn). "Celebrated songwriter," I guess so.

Manfred Mann--"celebrated songwriter"? Don't think so, although "Part Time Man" from the '72 "MM'sEB" album is a good tune.

― edd s hurt (ddduncan), Thursday, 7 April 2005 14:53 (twenty years ago)

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