10 Covers of ’60s Songs That Hit #1 In The ’70s
Judging by the songs on this list, only two decades into the rock ‘n’ roll era, artists were already running out of ideas for original material. Of course, I’m being a bit facetious, but as this list shows, quite a few ’70s artists covered ’60s tunes and took them to the top of the charts.
Below, I’ve chosen 10 of the ’60s covers turned #1 hits that I find most interesting, ranked in order of the originals that had the lowest chart positions to the highest.
10) “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”
Original: The Beatles (1967): Album cut; not released as a single
Cover: Elton John (1975): #1
The Beatles‘ original from the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album has long been considered one of the most enigmatic — and perhaps controversial — of ’60s classics. Was it about LSD, as some have suggested (including Paul McCartney), or as John Lennon said, was it merely based on a drawing his son, Julian, did in school? Whatever its meaning, despite not being released as a single, it has long been considered a rock classic, even serving as the inspiration for another #1 hit, John Fred and the Playboy Band’s “Judy in Disguise (with Glasses)” in 1967. Elton John released his cover version in 1974 and by January 1975 it had topped the charts. John Lennon himself sings backup and played guitar on the other John’s version.
9) “Me and Bobby McGee”
Original: Roger Miller (1969): Did not chart
Cover: Janis Joplin (1971): #1
This song is so quintessentially Janis Joplin that it’s hard to imagine it was a cover. But the song was written by Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster, and, in the original version, Bobby was a girl. Though Roger Miller’s version did not make the pop charts, it did reach #17 on the country charts. Gordon Lightfoot also covered the song before Joplin, and, in 1970, took it #13 on the pop charts in Canada and #1 on the Canadian country charts. Yet it’s Joplin’s version that Rolling Stone ranked #148 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
8) “You’re No Good”
Original: Betty Everett (1964): #51
Cover: Linda Ronstadt (1975): #1
Let’s face it — Linda Ronstadt made a career out of doing remakes, and they were usually done quite well and occasionally charted higher than the originals. In the 1970s she remade Buddy Holly’s “It So Easy” (1958, original did not chart) and took it to #5, Martha and the Vandellas’ “Heat Wave” (1963, #4) and took it to #5, Roy Orbison’s “Blue Bayou”(1963, #29) and took it to #3, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles’ “Ooh Baby Baby”(1965, #16) and took it to #7, and many others. But it was her remake of Betty Everett’s low-charting “You’re No Good” (which itself was a cover of Dee Dee Warwick’s version from earlier in 1963 that didn’t chart at all) that would be her only record to hit #1 on the Billboard Pop Charts.
7) “Knock on Wood”
Original: Eddie Floyd (1966): #28
Cover: Ami Stewart (1979): #1
Floyd’s version is a stone-cold ’60s R&B classic that went to #1 on the soul charts, and, though I was never all that thrilled by the “disco-ification,” if you will, of great classic tunes, I suppose as these things go, Stewart’s version is passable. Seventies’ audiences certainly thought so, but, unfortunately for Stewart, it would be her only Top 40 pop hit. If you want to hear a really good cover, check out David Bowie’s version on his 1974 album David Live. It’s incredible.
6) “Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)”
Original: Don Fardon (1968): #20
Cover: Paul Revere and the Raiders (1971): #1
Written by John D. Loudermilk, this song about the forced relocation of Cherokees in 1791 from Georgia to Oklahoma first charted when done by British singer Don Fardon in 1968. Raiders lead singer Mark Lindsay, who was reportedly part Native American, thought it would be a good song for the Raiders to cover. Despite the band’s long string of successful releases in the 1960s, this song would be their biggest hit, and, in fact, they would have only one more Top 40 hit after it.
5) “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”
Original: Marvin Gaye and Tammy Terrell (1967): #17
Cover: Diana Ross (1970): #1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6efaS5JmofQ
It seems odd to think of Motown artists remaking songs, especially covers of other Motown tunes, largely because most of the original versions were so well-done that it would be hard to improve, or have a chance to improve on, the original. Combined with the fact that Marvin Gaye was one of the label’s biggest stars, and that his duets with Tammy Terrell were legendary, it’s amazing that Ross’ impassioned version surpassed the original and then some.
4) “You’re Sixteen”
Original: Johnny Burnette (1960): #8
Cover: Ringo Starr (1973): #1
Unlike many people who write about music, I’ve never felt that Ringo Starr was a musical lightweight. I think he is often judged by the company he kept, and who is going to look better than just “pretty good” when compared to Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison? But once on his own, he showed he had a pretty good ear for putting his own personal stamp on a song and creating a hit. He took a dated-sounding Johnny Burnette song and sent it all the way to #1 in 1973, his second after “Photograph” went to #1 earlier in the year.
3) “He Will Break Your Heart”
Original: Jerry Butler (1960): #7
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjczGwA7AZ4
Cover: Tony Orlando and Dawn (1975): #1
Jerry Butler had dozens of chart hits over a period of nearly two decades, but “He Will Break Your Heart” was his first to reach the Top 10; it also topped the R&B charts for seven weeks. When Orlando decided to record it, he also asked co-writer Curtis Mayfield for permission to change the name to “He Don’t Love You (Like I Love You),” and Dawn’s version subsequently topped the charts.
3) “Hooked on a Feeling”
Original: B.J. Thomas (1969): #5
Cover: Blue Swede (1974): #1
Largely due to the influence of the Beatles, by the late 1960s, the sitar was being used on a number of pop recordings. Perhaps B.J. Thomas might have been an unlikely candidate for the psychedelic-sounding instrument, given past (“I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”) and future (“Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head,” “I Just Can’t Help Believing,” etc.) mainstream AOR releases that would define his career. But it is used to good effect in “Hooked on a Feeling,” and it was his highest charting record at the time. Subsequently, with what would become one of the most memorable song openings of the 1970s (“hooga chaka, hooga chaka…”), Blue Swede took the song to #1.
1) “MacArthur Park”
Original: Richard Harris (1968): #2
Cover: Donna Summer (1978): #1
I’ll end this list with the song that had the shortest distance to go to hit #1, as the remake had to improve a mere one spot to top the charts. The story goes that the Association was offered the Jimmy Webb-penned song originally and rejected it, and then Harris, who was primarily known as an actor, recorded it instead. Harris’ version hit #2, but Summer would take her disco version all the way to the top a decade later. Honestly, I find Harris’ record one of the most dreadful songs I’ve ever heard. Apparently writer Dave Barry’s fan following agreed: a poll of his readers in 1992 named Harris’ version the worst otherwise-successful pop song ever recorded.
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