Line #22 Main/FirstAndForemost


1	When the original (or at least early) version of a song refuses to be permanently dislodged from the public mind by subsequent covers, even if the covers might be briefly more popular. (The cover belonging to a DeadHorseGenre is often a contributing factor.)
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3	Closely related to FirstInstallmentWins. The opposite of CoveredUp, although the "first and foremost" version might itself have CoveredUp the real original.
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6	!!Examples:
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8	* Music/UglyKidJoe's version of "Cat's in the Cradle" (retitled without the apostrophe) was a huge hit in 1993, but always stood in the shadow of Music/HarryChapin's 1974 original.
9	* Music/GunsNRoses covers of [[Music/PaulMcCartney "Live and Let Die"]] and (moreso) [[Music/TheRollingStonesBand "Sympathy for the Devil"]] are significantly less well-known than the originals.
10	* ''Any song'' by Music/TheBeatles, with the exceptions of Music/JoeCocker's version of [[Series/TheWonderYears "With a Little Help]] [[RealSongThemeTune From My Friends"]], Music/{{Aerosmith}}'s and Music/MichaelJackson's versions of "Come Together", Music/EarthWindAndFire's "Got To Get You Into My Life", and possibly Rosanne Cash's take on "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party", which was a #1 CountryMusic hit in 1989. Other than that, nearly ''all'' of their songs have been covered many, ''many'' times, and ''all'' of them have remained Beatles songs.
11	** "Yesterday" from ''Music/{{Help}}'' is statistically one of the most covered songs of all time...but seriously can you name ''any'' cover it without consulting Website/TheOtherWiki?
12	*** On top of this, the first cover version, by British traditional pop singer Matt Monro (who was also produced by Beatles producer George Martin), was the song's first single release by ''any'' artist. ''Including The Beatles themselves.''[[note]]The Beatles refused to allow the song a UK single release because it was unlike their previous work. The Fab Four didn't have as much control over their US distributor of Capitol Records, and "Yesterday" was released in the States shortly after Monro's version was released in the UK. The Beatles' original version wasn't released as a single in the UK until ''1976'', after the band's contract with EMI expired and the label was free to repackage the band's recordings as it wished.[[/note]]
13	** Also note that the reverse is '''not''' true: songs that were covered ''by'' Beatles , perhaps most notably "Twist and Shout", are [[CoveredUp still generally known as Beatles songs]] first, even when it's common knowledge they're covers (with "Long Tall Sally" being perhaps the only exception, as the Music/LittleRichard original has a greater foothold in pop culture thanks to its memetic appearance in ''Film/{{Predator}}'').
14	** "...Sings The Beatles" A BBC 4 compilation of archive footage of Beatles covers from the BBC live music archive sums it up well. All are well known artists in their own right (Sandie Shaw, Shirley Bassey, Carpenters, Oasis etc.) and most of them released the track they are singing as a studio single/B-side/album track, yet hardly any are more known than the originals nowadays.
15	* Many, many, many rock bands have covered Music/ChuckBerry but most of his songs are still primarily associated with him, with the possible exceptions of Johnny Rivers' version of "Memphis, Tennessee" and the Music/GratefulDead version of "Promised Land". The ones made by Music/TheBeatles ("Rock and Roll Music" and "Roll Over Beethoven") are borderline.
16	* Despite hundreds of covers, "La Vie en rose" remains Music/EdithPiaf's signature song.
17	* Music/AlienAntFarm had a popular cover of "Smooth Criminal" from ''Music/{{Bad}}'' but it still can't push out Music/MichaelJackson's take.
18	* Music/{{Madonna}}'s dance-pop remake of "American Pie" was a #1 hit in multiple countries and a Top 40 hit in the US in 2000, but nearly all radio stations went back to playing Music/DonMcLean's 1971 original within a year.
19	* Both D'Angelo and Huey Lewis and Gwyneth Paltrow did versions of Smokey Robinson's "Cruisin'" that got a lot of airplay for a while. However, once those versions had left the charts, radio stations were back to playing Smokey's original.
20	* None of Music/MarilynManson's covers had any significant staying power. His "Tainted Love" is more popular than the original (by Gloria Jones), but less popular than the Music/SoftCell cover, which is considered an 80s SynthPop classic.
21	* Music/{{The Cure\|Band}}'s "Lovesong" has been covered by dozens of bands, including some major acts. None of these covers have been remembered or loved like the original, even when some of the covers (specifically Music/ThreeEleven and Music/{{Adele}}) have been quite successful.
22	* Music/EltonJohn topped the Hot 100 with his cover version of "[[Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds]]", which sold over a million copies. However, the Beatles' version was never released as a single, and it remains the definitive version.
23	** His cover of "[[Music/{{Tommy}} Pinball Wizard]]", by Music/TheWho, similarly charted higher than the original recording, and even displaced it in radio play for many years before classic rock radio rediscovered the original.
24	** An example covering a re-recording of one of Elton's own songs: "Candle in the Wind 1997", which memorialized Princess Diana, charted higher than both the original (which wasn't released as a single in the US and just missed the Top 10 in the UK) and a 1986 live version (which reached #6 in the US), was the biggest hit of 1997 according to ''Billboard'', and is ''the'' biggest-selling song of the ''Billboard'' chart era. However, within a few years, classic rock and adult hits radio had rediscovered the original, and the original gets nearly all the airplay to this day, with the '86 live version also getting the occasional airplay from time to time.
25	* Leon Ashley's "Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got)"; ''three'' separate covers were released in the month that his version was at #1, and two more followed in the next decade, but none were as big a hit as his. What makes this all the more impressive is that Leon promoted and distributed his version by ''himself'', while all the other covers were on major labels.
26	* Music/ToriAmos' take on "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is one of the most well-known covers of all time, but of course, everyone still remembers Music/{{Nirvana}}'s original from ''Music/{{Nevermind\|Album}}''.
27	* The Shadows of Knight covered Them's "Gloria" and took it to the top 10 (the original didn't even make the top 40). Now every radio station plays the Them version instead.
28	* Apparently, Music/JohnMellencamp's "I Need a Lover" was initially less popular than the Music/PatBenatar cover of it. However, classic rock radio kept the original alive while the cover is barely remembered even by people who actually remember that time period.
29	* Music/LeonardCohen's "Suzanne" from ''Music/SongsOfLeonardCohen'' which has been covered by Music/NeilDiamond, the most commercially successful, and everyone else, but remains his song. "Hallelujah" has been less successful; even though most people know who wrote it, very, ''very'' few know what it sounded like before Music/JohnCale took out a verse and stitched in ''three'' from the cutting room floor. While ''Film/{{Watchmen}}'' made the original popular again, Music/JeffBuckley's version (by way of Cale's arrangement) from ''Music/{{Grace}}'' remains the best known.
30	* Nicki French had a #2 hit with "Total Eclipse of the Heart" in 1995. However, within a year or two, radio stations were back to playing Bonnie Tyler's original version.
31	* Numerous country singers have covered songs by Music/HankWilliams, and while a few of them have become major hits (e.g. Charley Pride's covers of "You Win Again" and "Honky Tonk Blues" both made it to #1 in 1980), none of them have supplanted the originals in the public consciousness. The only one that comes close is George Thorogood's cover of "Move It On Over", which still gets radio play on Classic Rock stations. And possibly Music/HankWilliamsJr's version of "Mind Your Own Business", a MassiveMultiplayerCrossover with Music/RebaMcEntire, Music/WillieNelson, Music/TomPetty, and Reverend Ike.
32	* Many, many a musical theatre actor has covered the song "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" from ''Theatre/LesMiserables'', which is popular as a standalone song. Nobody really cares; they're all busy listening to Michael Ball's version, he who first sang it in the original production in London in 1985.
33	** Ditto with "Love Changes Everything" from ''Aspects of Love'', the little-known Creator/AndrewLloydWebber musical.
34	* Everyone and their mother has covered "God Bless America". Not a one of them has managed to [[CoveredUp Cover Up]] Kate Smith, who sang it first and made it famous.
35	* Music/DonHenley's "The Boys of Summer" was a Top 10 smash hit in 1984 and remains a popular song on classic hits radio stations. Music/TheAtaris cracked the Top 40 with their pop-punk version in 2003 and their cover still gets some airplay on alternative radio, but Henley's version is the most well-known.
36	* Music/LittleRichard had a modest breakthrough success in 1955 with "Tutti Frutti", though when Music/PatBoone [[CoveredUp covered it up]] a year later, his version became an even bigger hit. Nowadays, Little Richard's original recording is the most well-known rendition.
37	* A similar case happened with Boone's cover of "Ain't That a Shame", which was another massive hit for him and led many people at the time to mistake Pat Boone for a rock and roll artist. However, the original by Music/FatsDomino stands today as the definitive version of the song.
38	* In 1990, Music/MCHammer's cover of the Chi-Lites' "Have You Seen Her" became a top 5 hit. Nowadays, the Chi-Lites' version gets all the airplay, especially since 99% of all MC Hammer airplay nowadays are for "U Can't Touch This".
39	** Likewise is the case with Music/VanillaIce's cover of "Play That Funky Music", which has faded into obscurity behind both Wild Cherry's classic and "Ice Ice Baby". Mostly because Wild Cherry sued and the song was pretty much blacklisted.
40	* Several artists have had hits with covers of Music/TomWaits' "Downtown Train" from ''Music/RainDogs'', most notably Rod Stewart, who took the song to #3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #10 in the UK. And yet, it is still the original Waits version that is most identified with the song and played on the radio.
41	* {{Speedy Techno Remake}}s typically enjoy a brief burst of popularity but almost never Cover Up the original.
42	** Likewise, successful club hits tend to get periodic reissues with a bunch of new remixes in the style of the day, but only rarely will such mixes displace the original in the long run.
43	* Music/AllSaints cover of Music/RedHotChiliPeppers' "Under the Bridge" was a huge hit in the UK at the time of release, but it never topped the original, partly because it was a double A Side with "Lady Marmalade" which got more airplay, and partly because it attracted so much hatred from people who loved the original.
44	* Several ChristmasSongs: "White Christmas" (Music/BingCrosby from his album ''Music/MerryChristmas''), "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Here Comes Santa Claus" (Music/GeneAutry), "The Christmas Song" (Nat "King" Cole), though in most of those cases the artists actually recorded multiple versions of the songs. It helps that the originals get yearly airplay alongside the ''many'' covers, thus repeatedly cementing them in the public consciousness.
45	* Blue Swede's 1974 #1 "Hooked on a Feeling" is much better known than B.J. Thomas's original. The same cannot be said for their #7 cover of "Never My Love", however, and the Association's #2 hit version is still the version most people think of first, with the Fifth Dimension's version a close second, despite actually charting lower than Blue Swede's at #12, largely due to both being produced by Bones Howe as well as featuring many of the same session musicians from the Wrecking Crew, and Blue Swede are today remembered only for the former.
46	* While the [=McCoys=]' version of "Hang on Sloopy" is the best known, their #7 hit "Fever" is not as remembered as the original versions (namely Peggy Lee's) from the 1950s. The "Hang on Sloopy" example is actually a subversion, however, as the song was actually first recorded as "My Girl Sloopy" by R&B group the Vibrations.
47	* Music/MichaelBolton had a top-10 hit in 1991 with "When a Man Loves a Woman", which did nothing to displace the Percy Sledge original as the definitive version. His Top-40 charting cover of "Sittin' On The Dock of the Bay" also made no one forget the original version by Otis Redding.
48	* "I Will Be" was covered by Music/LeonaLewis, but the original version by Music/AvrilLavigne is the only one people remember.
49	* In TheSeventies, it was popular for CountryMusic artists to do cover versions of existing pop songs, such as Anthony Armstrong Jones with his rendition of R. B. Greaves' "Take a Letter Maria"; Narvel Felts with his version of Dobie Gray's "Drift Away"; Susie Allanson with The Crickets' "Maybe Baby" and the Bee Gees' "Words"; Johnny Carver with Tony Orlando and Dawn's "Yellow Ribbon" and Starland Vocal Band's "Afternoon Delight"; and so on. The trend showed up sporadically as late as Robin Lee's 1990 take on Alannah Myles' "Black Velvet", but at no point did any of the country versions overtake their originals.
50	* Music/AlanJackson has had this happen a few times:
51	** His take on Music/EddieCochran's "Summertime Blues", while mildly popular in country music, still takes a backseat to most of the other renditions of the songs out there.
52	** "Who's Cheatin' Who" fares a little better, but it still gets second billing to the original Charly [=McClain=] version.
53	** His cover of Music/DonWilliams' "It Must Be Love" in 2000 has done very little to displace the original on country music playlists, due in part to the original having already been a staple of "classic country" formats at the time.
54	* Music/GeorgeJones' 1956 breakthrough hit "Why Baby Why" only got to #4, with a cover version by Webb Pierce and Red Sovine eclipsing it on the charts and going to #1, followed by a #9 version by Hank Locklin later in the same year; a later version by Charley Pride also topped the charts in 1983. Even so, the song is still primarily thought of as Jones's.
55	* The Dennis Linde song "What'll You Do About Me" has had several renditions over the years: [=McGuffey=] Lane cut it first, followed by Music/SteveEarle in 1984, John Schneider, Music/RandyTravis, The Forester Sisters, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and Doug Supernaw. Earle, The Forester Sisters, and Supernaw all released their versions as singles, with Supernaw's being the highest-peaking on the country charts at #16 in 1995. However, the song seems to be thought of mainly as Travis's, even though he never put it out as a single; this is likely due to his version being on his ''Always & Forever'' album, one of the most acclaimed country albums of TheEighties.
56	* Music/JohnnyCash's "I Still Miss Someone" has been covered by Music/TheStatlerBrothers, Music/MartinaMcBride, Flatt and Scruggs, and Emmylou Harris among others. However, even though Cash's version was never a single, it's still thought of primarily as his song.
57	* The Romantics' 1980 single "What I Like About You" is one of the most popular PowerPop tunes of all time... but it never made the Top 40 in the United States (although they had two lesser-known Top 40s that made it instead). The version that did? [[ChartDisplacement A now-long forgotten cover]] by singer Michael Morales, which made it to #28 in 1989. If ''any'' cover of the song is primarily remembered, it would be Music/FiveSecondsOfSummer's.
58	* While Music/CatStevens' cover of Music/SamCooke's "Another Saturday Night" bested the original on the ''Billboard'' pop chart (#6 to #10 respectively), it's Cooke's version that's far better remembered today.
59	* Manfred Mann's Earth Band are best known for their cover of Music/BruceSpringsteen's "Blinded by the Light", [[CoveredUp which has largely eclipsed the Boss's version in the public eye]]. Their follow-up Springsteen cover "Spirit in the Night" was also a minor hit, but their version was quickly forgotten and today, the song is remembered first and foremost as a Springsteen song.
60	* DHT's 2004 cover of Music/{{Roxette}}'s "Listen to Your Heart", which was [[OneHitWonder their sole international hit]], introduced many younger audiences to the song. By the 2010's, DHT's version had mostly faded from memory, and Roxette's original once again reigned Supreme. The 2019 cover by Through Fire did nothing to displace it either.
61	* R&B singer Mario covered famous OneHitWonder Biz Markie's "Just a Friend" and ended up outperforming it, reaching #4 while the Markie original placed #9. However, the Mario version is almost entirely forgotten today while the original is still very well remembered.
62	* In the late '90s, Music/AceOfBase covered Music/{{Bananarama}}'s "Cruel Summer". Said cover has since been mostly forgotten, with the original retaking the throne in most territories.
63	* Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" gets a new all-star recording every few years, and they've all been UK #1 hits, but no amount of star power has ever displaced the original 1984 version. And this goes not only for the song but for the entire genre of all-star charity records: there have been plenty down the years, some of which have been big hits, but the original "Do They Know It's Christmas?", along with "We Are the World" in most cases, is the only one you will ever hear played outside of a retro chart countdown.
64	* While Music/RascalFlatts' version of Tom Cochran's 1992 hit "Life is a Highway" is pretty popular, especially due to it appearing on the soundtrack for ''WesternAnimation/Cars1'', you'll be hard-pressed nowadays to find it airing anywhere outside the country radio stations.
65	* Pretty much all of Music/TheWho's collection of songs reign supreme over any and all covers, but special mention goes to their 1971 hit "Behind Blue Eyes" that Music/LimpBizkit covered in 2003, in which the cover version is more infamous than the original.
66	* Music/NewOrder's original "Blue Monday" will never be overshadowed, despite being [[ChartDisplacement outpeaked on the charts]] by Music/{{Orgy}}'s late '90s cover version. Same goes for "Bizarre Love Triangle" in spite of the popular but now forgotten SofterAndSlowerCover by Frente!.
67	* No cover comes close to the original version of Music/KimWilde's "Kids in America". Not Music/TheBloodhoundGang's cover, not The Muffs' version from ''Film/{{Clueless}}'', not Music/{{Len}}'s version from ''Anime/DigimonTheMovie'', not the [[Series/AmericanIdol American Juniors]] version, and not the No Secrets version from ''WesternAnimation/JimmyNeutronBoyGenius''.
68	* "You Keep Me Hanging On" has been a #1 smash for Kim Wilde, a #2 dance hit for Music/RebaMcEntire, and a #6 hit for Vanilla Fudge. All but the former have long since fallen back into the shadow of Music/TheSupremes' original version.
69	* Music/PeterSchilling's 1983 hit "Major Tom (Coming Home)" has been covered by numerous artists over the years, including Music/MxPx, Shiny Toy Guns, Apoptygma Berzerk, and even Creator/WilliamShatner, but none have attained anywhere near the original version's popularity.
70	* Music/LouisArmstrong's 1967 original of "What a Wonderful World" is still the most famous rendition despite lots of prominent covers, particularly the Joey Ramone punk rock version that plays on the end credits of Michael Moore's ''Film/BowlingForColumbine''.
71	* Music/{{Disturbed}} came close to the Top 40 with a cover of Music/SimonAndGarfunkel's "The Sound of Silence", but the original is still the definitive version.
72	* Shannon's 1983 hit "Let the Music Play" was briefly overshadowed in the late 2000s by Jordin Sparks' semi-cover "SOS (Let the Music Play)", which reached #1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play charts and #31 on the Mainstream Top 40, but most radio stations switched back to Shannon's original within a few months.
73	* Martha Wash of The Weather Girls remade said duo's "It's Raining Men" with Creator/RuPaul in 1997, then Geri Halliwell of the Music/SpiceGirls covered it a couple years afterwards, but neither cover could touch the original, and both have since been forgotten by most people.
74	* Music/GloriaGaynor's "I Will Survive" has proven impossible to [[CoveredUp cover up]], despite popular cover versions by Music/DianaRoss, Chantay Savage, Music/{{Cake}}, etc.
75	* N-Trance's 1995 Euro-HipHop version of "Stayin' Alive" has nothing on Music/TheBeeGees' original. Nor does the ''Series/{{Glee}}'' cast's version.
76	* Music/BoyzIIMen had many hits and their 1991 version of "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" [[CoveredUp is more well-known]] than G. C. Cameron's original 1975 version from the ''Cooley High'' soundtrack. However, the same cannot be said about their 1997 cover of Music/NewEdition's 1988 mega-hit "Can You Stand the Rain", where it was to the point of many fans not even knowing that it existed. It only got further displaced after it was sung by the cast of ''Series/TheNewEditionStory'' and interest in the original only grew stronger.
77	* Neither Chaka Khan's nor 3rd Party's nor Anastacia's covers of "Love Is Alive" were able to compete with the Gary Wright original, which is more or less the only version receiving airplay nowadays.
78	* Cherelle's "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" is a rather strange subversion. While many are torn over if it or the Robert Palmer version is the most popular version (while both are better known than Music/MariahCarey's and DJ Collette's versions), it's unclear who is the true winner: the original 1984 version is rarely heard on the radio and if the 1986 cover is it, then it's considered the ''least'' popular of Robert Palmer's hits, particularly regarding his trilogy of "pretty models band" videos, as "Simply Irresistible" and "Addicted to Love" are more likely to receive airplay.
79	* Music/{{Sugarland}}, Music/LittleBigTown and Music/JakeOwen's country cover of "Life in a Northern Town" was a minor hit in 2008 and received a [=CMA=] Award nomination for Vocal Event of the Year, but within a year, radio stations were back to playing The Dream Academy's iconic original version, and the [=Sugarland=]-led cover has become all but forgotten (not helping matters is that the duo is now more likely remembered for [[OvershadowedByControversy their 2011 concert that ended with a stage collapse that killed seven people]] than for their music). Similarly, "Sunchyme", Dario G.'s 1997 dance take on the song, topped both the Hot Dance Club Songs and Bubbling Under Hot 100 charts in the US as well as hitting #2 on the UK Singles chart, but has since faded into obscurity.
80	* The SpeedyTechnoRemake of Music/DuranDuran's "Ordinary World" by UK trance act Music/{{Aurora\|Duo}} (not to be confused with [[Music/AuroraSinger the Norwegian singer]]) was a worldwide hit in the early Noughties and was even featured in the ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution'' series. However, within a few years radio stations went back to playing Duran Duran's original version, which remains one of their most well-known songs.
81	* {{Supergroup}} Stars on 54 (comprised of solo dance divas Amber, Ultra Nate, and Jocelyn Enriquez) covered Music/GordonLightfoot's "If You Could Read My Mind" for the 1998 film ''Film/FiftyFour'', but their version was quickly forgotten afterwards. The 2002 cover by Marcella Detroit in collaboration with the aforementioned Aurora went nowhere either.
82	* The Communards, Jimmy Somerville's band after leaving Bronski Beat, had a sizable hit with their version of "Don't Leave Me This Way" in UsefulNotes/TheEighties. Since then, however, Thelma Houston's '70s version has mostly overshadowed it, though both CoveredUp the original by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes.
83	* The English Beat's '80s {{ska}} cover of "Tears of a Clown" has long since fallen back into the shadow of The Miracles' original.
84	* Music/{{Seether}}'s version of "Careless Whisper" was a minor hit in the late Noughties, but did nothing to displace Music/GeorgeMichael's original version, [[DeadArtistsAreBetter whose stance was further bolstered by his death in late 2016]].
85	* In contrast with Music/SoftCell's aforementioned cover of Gloria Jones' "Tainted Love", their SiameseTwinSong cover of Music/TheSupremes' "Where Did Our Love Go?" has fallen into obscurity, with most radio stations nowadays just playing the regular standalone version of "Tainted Love".
86	* Ashley Jade's 2005 cover of "Let Me Be Your Fantasy" didn't hold a candle to Baby D's original from 1992, or even the Rank 1 remix from 2000.
87	* As well-loved an artist Music/TomJones is in his own right, his 1988 cover of "Kiss" with The Art of Noise did nothing to replace Music/{{Prince}}'s original 1986 version.
88	* Music/TracyChapman's song "Fast Car" got EDM versions from UK act Jonas Blue and Dakota, as well as Swedish act Tobtok. They performed fairly well in 2016, but did nothing to replace Chapman's 1988 original.
89	** A 2023 country version by Music/LukeCombs made it to #2 on the Hot 100, outdoing the original by four places.
90	* Several artists have covered the megahit "Cars" (including most notably Music/FearFactory), but they all pale in comparison to Music/GaryNuman's original 1979 version, the only version heard on the radio these days.
91	* Any of The Jets' music tend to be this, even as "You Got It All" was covered yet quickly forgotten by Music/BritneySpears and "Crush on You" was a one-time hit for Music/AaronCarter.
92	* Amii Stewart's cover of Eddie Floyd's "Knock on Wood" was a #1 Platinum-certified hit in 1979 and is [[CoveredUp considered the definitive version]]. Over the years, numerous other artists have covered it, including Music/DavidBowie, Music/RazzyBailey, Music/EricClapton, Music/MichaelBolton, and Mary Griffin (for the aforementioned ''Film/FiftyFour'' soundtrack), but none have come close to the prominence of Stewart's version.
93	* There are dozens of recordings of "What Hurts the Most", but Music/RascalFlatts' smash hit cover remains the most well-known. Music/{{Cascada}}'s cover was a hit in Europe in the late-2000s, but failed to displace the Rascal Flatts version.
94	* Music/RayCharles did a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umkNMafwT74 cover]] of Music/JohnDenver's SignatureSong, "Take Me Home, Country Roads". Denver's version is still more popular.
95	* Max-A-Million's reggae take on Music/MarvinGaye's "Sexual Healing" was highly popular in the latter half of TheNineties, but from the 2000's to the present day most stations have stuck with the original.
96	* Music/{{Journey\|Band}} first recorded the song "Open Arms" for the 1981 movie ''WesternAnimation/HeavyMetal''. The song also appeared on their ''Escape'' album. Some covers, such as one by Music/MariahCarey, charted, but Journey's version is still the best known.
97	* Matthew Wilder's "Break My Stride" has been covered by the aforementioned Max-A-Million, Unique II, and various others over the years, as well as interpolated by Music/PuffDaddy in "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down", but all of those have faded into obscurity, while only the original still gets airplay.
98	* No matter how many people cover "Oh Pretty Woman", the version by Music/RoyOrbison is the one that gets nearly all airplay. Music/VanHalen's cover still gets some airplay on classic rock and adult hits radio, while Music/TwoLiveCrew actually won a Supreme Court case over fair use for their parody of it.
99	* Music/TheDoors' "Light My Fire" was a chart-topping smash hit in 1967. While José Feliciano's cover reached #3 and is also well-remembered, the Doors' original gets nearly all the airplay.
100	* Music/DeadOrAlive's 1984 SynthPop classic "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" was briefly overshadowed by Music/{{Flo Rida}} and Music/{{Kesha}}'s 2009 semi-cover "Right Round", which topped the Hot 100 and sold over 12 million certified digital downloads. However, most radio stations switched back to Dead or Alive's original within a year or two.
101	* Music/GloriaEstefan had a Top 10 hit in 1994 with her cover of Vicki Sue Robinson's "Turn the Beat Around". However, within a few years radio stations went back to playing Robinson's original version.
102	* USA for Africa's "We Are the World" is probably one of the best-known all-star charity singles. A 2010 remake benefiting earthquake survivors in Haiti, "We Are the World 25 for Haiti", reached #2 on the Hot 100, but has been largely forgotten compared to the original, which topped the Hot 100 and is the eighth best-selling physical single of all time.
103	* Music/GiorgioMoroder & [[Music/TheHumanLeague Philip Oakey]]'s "Together in Electric Dreams", the BreakawayPopHit of the 1984 film ''Film/ElectricDreams'', remains a classic today, while the 1996 Eurodance cover by Outta Control has since been forgotten. Same goes for Joan Osborne's "One Of Us".
104	* Music/ThePretenders' iconic ballad "I'll Stand by You" has been famously covered by Music/GirlsAloud, Music/CarrieUnderwood (whose version was available on iTunes for a limited time only) and Music/{{Shakira}}, but the Pretenders' original has proven to be the most enduring and still gets airplay to this day.
105	* There are dozens of recordings of "Day O (The Banana Boat Song)", but Music/HarryBelafonte's 1955 version remains the definitive one to date, though it's [[CoveredUp not actually the original]], as Edric Connor and Louise Bennett both recorded it prior to Belafonte.
106	* There are dozens of versions of "[=MacArthur=] Park", but the original version recorded by actor Creator/RichardHarris remains the most well-remembered (along with its parody, "Jurassic Park" by Music/WeirdAlYankovic). If any cover is remembered, then it would be Music/DonnaSummer's disco cover, which was a #1 smash hit in the late-70s and is remembered enough to remain a mainstay of compilations of her music, but even then it's still primarily thought of as Harris' song. Music/WaylonJennings covered it twice, with his original cover featuring family group the Kimberlys winning the 1969 Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, but both of Jennings' versions are obscure outside the classic country crowd in comparision to the original ''or'' the Donna Summer cover.
107	* The Music/JeffHealey Band's "Angel Eyes" was a Top 5 hit in 1989 and remains an iconic contemporary blues track decades later. Paulini topped the Australian charts with her 2004 cover, the song's co-writer John Hiatt has recorded two of his own versions, and New Grass Revival's cover has been a staple of their compilations, but no cover has been able to displace the original version.

Context Main / FirstAndForemost