‘The Best Covers Ever’ series counts down our favorite covers of great artists.
Fifty years ago this month, John Lennon released his covers album Rock ‘n’ Roll, in which he tackled a bunch of pre-Beatles rock and roll classics by folks like Gene Vincent and Fats Domino. Admittedly, the album isn’t all that good. It was done under legal pressure, and sounds like it. But the anniversary is a good enough is excuse to celebrate Lennon covers our own way: Not covers by John, but covers of John.
We should our one rule state up front: No Beatles songs! We did a giant 75-song Beatles covers list last year, which, naturally, included a bunch of John songs. So, for this list, as we did with Paul McCartney a few years back, we’re focusing entirely on his solo output. “Solo” loosely defined as anything post-Beatles: co-billed with Yoko, officially backed by Plastic Ono Band, etc.
If you think the no-Beatles rule adds a pretty strict limitation, think again. There was no shortage of solo-Lennon song covers to choose from. And it’s not 50% “Imagine” covers either; in fact, on our list of 40 covers, only two “Imagine”s make the cut. Most “Imagine” covers are pretty damn saccharine, not a word often associated with the most caustic Beatle. But just about every other mood and sound appears below.
Click to the next page to get started. All we are saying is give these a chance.
– Ray Padgett, Cover Me Founder/Editor
Give a chance to this “Isolation” cover by Pedro Aznar:
https://youtu.be/Sh08Gby41Gs?si=8GRbc8I8oIvOBLaJ
Well, that was a fun trip down a rabbit hole, thank you very much. Loved the Aloe Blacc number and Bowie was a revelation. And how did I miss Sam Phillips’ “Truth”? Wow!
As usual, some I’d have included that you didn’t, or the standard reasonable people can disagree comment:
Jimmy Nail – Love: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbngNu3Hpm8
Hilton Valentine – Working Class Hero: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOjkKXoSk3o
Reid Jamieson – Watching the Wheels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPYbMzW8mKs
Marc Cohen – Look at Me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Meq3uBDHIvU
Jackson Browne – Oh My Love: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3JqkRA405U
I know, I know … but the boys were barely hanging on as a band at the time, and it is a quintessentially John song:
Keith Greeninger – Don’t Let Me Down: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwj-9h4llzQ
and finally, for my wife and me, this version of this one is “our song”, so how could I not include it:
Mary Chapin Carpenter – Grow Old Along with Me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2gfiet4PtI