I'm a big fan of cover tunes. Many times a performer gets the song right the first time but sometimes a cover artist can blow the original out of the water. And then sometimes, a cover is just good fun.

Hayseed Dixie, a play on AC/DC, is a cover band that specializes in taking everything from hard rock to hip hop and turning it into a bluegrass tour de force.

Originally by Outkast, Roses makes for an interesting cover tune. Check out the original here and see more of Hayseed Dixie here





The music staff at the Daily Telegraph voted Hendrix's cover of Dylan's All Along the Watchtower as the number one cover of all time. I'll agree on a fan-level but for sheer genius I want to go with their number three pick Sid Vicious' cover of Sinatra's "I Did It My Way" I'm not saying it more 'listenable' but the Sex Pistol's lead riffing Blue Eyes? The shock alone ups the level of awesome...



Joe Cocker, for me, remains the definitive cover artist. Who else could improve on the Beatles and Leon Russel? He takes the songs and just owns them. Most times you hear "The Letter" the version was recorded in studio, live. That's just crazy. (And when you've been immortalized by Belushi, you can't help but be cool.)

Originally written for Ella Fitzgerald (nixed from a movie because producers balked at a black woman using the word plebeian) here's Cocker singing "Cry Me a River"



A few other favorites ...
Dolly Parton covering Led's Stairway to Heaven (I know, but shut up. I love her voice.)
Johnny Cash covering NIN's Hurt
10,000 Maniacs covering Patti Smith's Because the Night