Stylus Counsel is a record collector-focused music column, and this is my 300th one in slightly more than three years.
While some people can’t imagine writing that many columns about anything, at this point I can’t imagine trying to stop. This is one of the many little projects I do with my idle hands. It’s a fidget spinner, which I manage to keep up with, even though I do six hours of live radio a day, put out at least an album of my own music every year, somehow have a relationship and manage to occasionally fill the role of a parent or step-parent to five young adults and one teenager, not to mention two dogs and a cat. But that’s ADHD for you. If hamsters didn’t have wheels, they’d kill us all.
It occurred to me that for my 300th column, it might be nice to highlight some things that have been overdone — cover songs. Specifically, songs that have been covered at least 300 times. I left out a LOT of Xmas songs. Get a load of this…
Silent Night | The Rainer Singers (1819)
Written by: Joseph Mohr & Franz Gruber
Covered more than 4,000 times
Notable versions: Vienna Boys Choir, The Temptations, Michael Bublé, Sinead O’Connor, Nat King Cole
Summertime | Abbie Mitchell (1935)
Written by George Gershwin & DuBose Heyward
Covered around 2,400 times
Notable versions: Janis Joplin (Big Brother & the Holding Company), Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, Sam Cooke
Yesterday | The Beatles (1965)
Written by Paul McCartney
Covered more than 2,200 times
Notable versions: Oscar Peterson, The Bar-Kays, Blue Mountain Pan Pipe Ensemble, Romantic Flutes, Grave Digger
Over The Rainbow | Judy Garland (1939)
Written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg
Covered more than 1,600 times
Notable versions: Ohio Players, Liberace, Ella Fitzgerald, Jewel, Tony Bennett, Keith Richards
Body & Soul | Gertrude Lawrence (1930)
Written by Johnny Green, Edward Heyman, Robert Sour and Frank Eyton
Covered nearly 1,400 times
Notable versions: Frank Sinatra & Bobby Hackett, Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, Tony Bennett & Amy Winehouse
‘Round Midnight | Thelonious Monk (1944)
Written by Thelonious Monk
Covered nearly 1,100 times
Notable versions: Miles Davis, Amy Winehouse, Bill Evans, Sun Ra, Julie London
Caravan | Duke Ellington (1936)
Written by Duke Ellington & Juan Tizol
Covered more than 1,000 times
Notable versions: Chet Atkins & Les Paul, Buddy Rich, Thelonious Monk, Wes Montgomery
A Whiter Shade of Pale | Procol Harum (1967)
Written by Keith Reid, Gary Brooker and Matthew Fisher
Covered more than 1,000 times
Notable versions: Joe Cocker, Bonnie Tyler, Black Label Society, R. Stevie Moore, The Hollies (This guy actually collects them.)
Moon River | Audrey Hepburn (1961)
Written by Henry Mancini & Johnny Mercer
Covered more than 970 times
Notable versions: Frank Ocean, Andy Williams, Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, Vince Guaraldi Trio
Georgia On My Mind | Hoagy Carmichael (1930)
Written by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell
Covered around 950 times
Notable versions: Ray Charles, Willie Nelson, Billie Holiday, Django Reinhardt
Fly Me To The Moon | Kaye Ballard (1954)
Written by Bart Howard
Covered around 850 times
Notable versions: Frank Sinatra, Eydie Gormé, Johnny Mathis, Tom Jones, Diana Krall
Eleanor Rigby | The Beatles (1966)
Written by Paul McCartney
Covered around 740 times
Notable versions: Ray Charles, Don “Sugarcane” Harris, Aretha Franklin, Alice Cooper, Vanilla Fudge
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes | Gertrude Niesen (1933)
Written by Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach
Covered nearly 700 times
Notable versions: Paul Whiteman, Irene Dunne, Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, The Platters, Blue Haze
Bridge Over Troubled Water | Simon & Garfunkel (1970)
Written by Paul Simon
Covered more than 665 times
Notable versions: Roberta Flack, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, John Legend, Susan Boyle
Something | The Beatles (1969)
Written by George Harrison
Covered nearly 600 times
Notable versions: Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Joe Cocker, Isaac Hayes, Shirley Bassey
Hey Jude | The Beatles (1968)
Written by Paul McCartney
Covered nearly 600 times
Notable versions: Wilson Pickett, Bing Crosby, The Temptations, Ella Fitzgerald
Michelle | The Beatles (1965)
Written by Paul McCartney
Covered nearly 600 times
Notable versions: Iggy Pop, Adriano Celentano, Count Basie, The Supremes, Ben Harper
Can’t Help Falling In Love | Elvis Presley (1960)
Written by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore and George David Weiss
Covered around 575 times
Notable versions: Corey Hart, Beck, U2, UB40, The Stylistics
Let It Be | The Beatles (1970)
Written by Paul McCartney
Covered around 570 times
Notable versions: Gladys Knight & The Pips, Ray Charles, Bill Withers, Ike & Tina Turner, Nick Cave
Fever | Little Willie John (1956)
Written by Eddie Cooley and Otis Blackwell
Covered around 560 times
Notable versions: Peggy Lee, Madonna, Beyoncé, The Cramps
Unchained Melody | Todd Duncan (1955)
Written by Hy Zaret and Alex North
Covered around 550 times
Notable versions: The Righteous Brothers, Les Baxter, Roy Hamilton, Jimmy Young, Al Hibbler
Imagine | John Lennon (1971)
Written by John Lennon
Covered around 500 times
Notable versions: Herbie Hancock, Ray Charles, Richie Havens, Joan Baez, Corey Feldman
Hallelujah | Leonard Cohen (1984)
Written by Leonard Cohen
Covered more than 300 times
Notable versions: k.d. lang, Jeff Buckley, John Cale, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Bon Jovi
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Area Resident is an Ottawa-based journalist, recording artist, music collector and re-seller. Hear (and buy) his music on Bandcamp, email him HERE, follow him on Instagram and check him out on Discogs.
