WXPN hosts’ picks for the 885 Greatest Cover Songs

Our hosts share their top-10 favorite cover songs to help inspire your list

September 29, 2025

12:09 AM

Here at WXPN, our hosts did the same thing you’re about to do: they sat down, wrestled with memory and taste, and picked ten cover songs they consider essential listening.

These lists aren’t about one “right” answer. They’re personal roadmaps of what a great cover can do: deepen the original, flip its tone, or become the version you hear first. Read each host’s notes, scan their picks, and let them spark your listening.

When you’ve landed on your list, vote for your ten favorite covers and help build the 885 Greatest Cover Songs. We’ll tally every list and count down the top 885 on the air. Your choices shape what everyone hears.

Jim McGuinn

Acting Program Director / Sometimes On-Air Host

Wowza this is difficult! I started with 25, and that was without really diggging to hard into my brain. Tried to mix in a couple classics (Aretha! The Clash!) a couple Oh Yeahs (Devo! Nina! The Who! Charles Bradley!) and a few for fun (John Cale’s original cover of Hallelujah! Luna covering GnR!) Can’t wait to see everyone’s votes and hear what kind of mess we collectively create when we play this back in December. Some of my honorable mentions include PJ Harvey – Wang Dang Doodle, Paul Weller – I Walk on Guilded Splinters, John Legend – I Can’t Write Left-Handed, Iron and Wine – Love Vigilantes, EBTG – Kid, Donnie Hathaway – Jealous Guy, De La Soul – Magic Number, David Bowie – Sorrow, Cowboy Junkies – Sweet Jane, Calexico – Alone Again Or, Aztec Camera – Jump… the list goes on and on.

Jim’s Top 10 Cover Songs

Summertime Blues
The Who
To Love Somebody
Nina Simone
I Fought The Law
The Clash
The Weight
Aretha Franklin
A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall
Bryan Ferry
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
DEVO
Changes
Charles Bradley
Absolutely Sweet Marie
Jason and the Scorchers
Sweet Child of Mine
Luna
Hallalujah
John Cale

Dan’s Top 10 Cover Songs

20th Century Boy
THE REPLACEMENTS (T. Rex)
Running Up That Hill
PLACEBO (Kate Bush)
Valerie
MARK RONSON & AMY WINEHOUSE (The Zutons)
Satisfaction
DEVO (The Rolling Stones)
Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You
LAURYN HILL (The Four Seasons)
Nights In White Satin
THE DICKIES (The Moody Blues)
Gloria
PATTI SMITH (Them)
Walk On By
THE STRANGLERS
Police On My Back
THE CLASH (The Equals)
Hitchin’ A Ride
DON COVAY (Vanity Fare)

Kristen Kurtis

Morning Show Host & Assistant Music Director

Honestly? It was almost impossible for me to pick just one from Tori Amos! I fell in love with her music when I was 16 and heard a lot of other people’s songs through her framing first…

I also knew my picks from Jeff Buckley, Mark Ronson & Amy Winehouse, Adele, Beck, and Nina Simone before I heard the originals…

And there’s something about the way that Fiona Apple, Sharon Jones, and Harriet Wheeler sing “Across the Universe,” “This Land is Your Land,” and “Wild Horses”…

As always, I encourage you to be subjective and pick your favorites. Your unique input makes for a more eclectic countdown! Have fun!!

Kristen’s Top 10 Cover Songs

I’m on Fire
Tori Amos
Across the Universe
Fiona Apple
It’s My Life
No Doubt
Hallelujah
Jeff Buckley
Feelin’ Good
Nina Simone
Valerie
Mark Ronson ft. Amy Winehouse
This Land is Your Land
Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings
Make You Feel My Love
Adele
Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometime
Beck
Wild Horses
The Sundays

Mike’s Top 10 Cover Songs

Hallelujah
Jeff Buckley
All Along The Watchtower
Jimi Hendrix
With A Little Help From My Friends
Joe Cocker
Valerie
Mark Ronson / Amy Winehouse
Mad World
Gary Jules
Patience
Chris Cornell
Thirteen
Bedouine, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Waxahatchee
Changes
Charles Bradley
The Weight
Aretha Franklin
Years
Sierra Ferrell

Kathy’s top 10 cover songs

Not Fade Away
Trout Fishing in America
Tusk
Kopecky Family Band
(I Want to Take You) Higher
(Ike &) Tina Turner
Jump into the Fire
Low Cut Connie
Roll Over Beethoven
Electric Light Orchestra
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B
Bette Miller
Love is All Around
Joan Jett
Me & the Boys
Bonnie Raitt
Poetry Man
Queen Latifah
All I Really Wanna Do
Cher

Bob’s Top 10 Cover Songs

With a Little Help from My Friends
Joe Cocker
Hurt
Johnny Cash
Satisfaction
Otis Redding
Changes
Charles Bradley
I Fought the Law
The Clash
Nothing Compares 2 U
Sinead O’Connor
Mad World
Gary Jules
Superstar
Sonic Youth
Mrs. Robinson
The Lemonheads
In Bloom
Sturgill Simpson

Raina’s Top 10 Cover Songs

The Chauffeur
Deftones
Common People
William Shatner
Lake of Fire
Nirvana
Tainted Love
Soft Cell
Mad World
Gary Jules
The Hurdy Gurdy Man
Butthole Surfers
Faith
Limp Bizkit
Pursuit of Happiness
Lissie
Log Driver’s Waltz
The Hidden Cameras, Feist, Rufus Wainwright, Mary Margaret O’Hara
Changes
Charles Bradley

Stephen’s Top 10 Cover Songs

Respect
Aretha Franklin
Hurt
Johnny Cash
Creep
Afghan Whigs
Iron Man
The Cardigans
Stay Away
Charles Bradley
Where Did You Sleep At Night
Nirvana
Mad World
Gary Jules
Toxic
Local H
The Nurse Who Loved Me
A Perfect Circle
State Trooper
Halloween, Alaska

Bruce’s Top 10 Cover Songs

Stop Your Sobbing
Pretenders
Killing Me Softly With His Song
Fugees
Proud Mary
Ike & Tina Turner
Hound Dog
Elvis Presley
Take Me To The River
Talking Heads
Hurt
Johnny Cash
Angel From Montgomery
Bonnie Raitt
I Fought The Law
The Clash
All Along The Watchtower
Jimi Hendrix
Hallelujah
Jeff Buckley

Amber’s top 10 cover songs

Hallelujah
Jeff Buckley
Hurt
Johnny Cash
Take Me To The River
Talking Heads
The Letter
Joe Cocker
Superman
R.E.M
Nothing Compares 2 U
Sinead O’Connor
Wish You Were Here
Catherine Wheel
Across The Universe
Fiona Apple
This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)
The Lumineers
The Streets of Laredo
Johnny Cash

John Vettese

WXPN Local Host / Music News Editor

This year’s 885 list was admittedly a big challenge for me, since my absolute favorite covers are the ones that happen in the fleeting moments of a live concert and maybe only exist in a shakey YouTube or Instagram video somewhere — remember when Amy Ray closed out her set and XPoNential Music Festival weekend with a knockout cover of Tom Petty’s “Refugee”? — but otherwise aren’t documented for posterity.

Covers that are recorded, produced, and become classics on their own, that’s a different beast altogehther. So it took a bit of mulling it over to arrive at these ten songs, and even more mulling to figure out what order I like them in. But I’ve arrived at a point where they fall into a few distinct groups.

There are the covers that I didn’t initially realize are covers: Amy Winehouse’s definitive, timeless take on “Valerie” by forgotton blog rock band The Zutons, Blondie putting a pop spin on “Hanging On The Telephone” by post-punkers The Nerves, Nina Simone’s raw and rocking rendition of the 60s showtune “Feeling Good.”

But there are also the re-versions that are more like re-inventions: Devo deconstructing The Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” The White Stripes flipping Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” into a simmering garage rocker, and Lauryn Hill’s neo-soul spin on the big band pomp of Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.” In the 20-teens, John Legend and The Roots teamed up to create a solid update of “Compared To What” by Roberta Flack, and more recently, Jersey punks Screaming Females turned The Selecter’s “On My Radio” on its head.

And then there’s the monster, the unstoppable force, the once-in-a-generation voice of Jeff Buckley taking a deeper cut from the Leonard Cohen songbook, “Hallelujah,” and turning it into a burning meditation on love, death, sex, grief, and redemption, propelling it into the folk canon of the new generation. It’s my number three; maybe it’s your number one, and I predict it lands high in the countdown rankings.

John’s Top 10 Cover Songs

Valerie
Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson
Hanging On The Telephone
Blondie
Hallelujah
Jeff Buckley
Feeling Good
Nina Simone
Can’t Take My Eyes Off You
Lauryn Hill
Never Let Me Down Again
Smashing Pumpkins
Jolene
The White Stripes
On My Radio
Screaming Females
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
Devo
Compared To What
John Legend and The Roots

Eric’s Top 10 Cover Songs

Istanbul (Not Constantinople)
They Might Be Giants
Brazil
Geoff and Maria Muldaur
Song to the Siren
This Mortal Coil
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
Devo
Angst in My Pants
A Giant Dog
Without You
Harry Nilsson
It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World
The Residents
Where the Streets Have No Name/Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You
Pet Shop Boys
The Man Who Sold the World
Lulu
Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again
Cat Power

Wendy Rollins

Host, Saturdays and Sundays

1) I adore Simon And Garfunkel but The Bangles absolutely tore this song in half and then lit it on fire. Out the gate it grabs you by the throat!

2) I didn’t know this was a cover originally but it will be played at my funeral

3) I love the orginal but White clearly took this one personal and the frustrated heartbreak is palpable

4) The Beatles wrote a classic and Cocker made it sound like the warm hug of an old friend

5) This was played at my wedding

6) I love the Nina Simone version but I also love that Muse was not afraid to make this their own. She would probably hate it though hahah

7) Dylan’s words and Jimi’s guitar/voice is the kinda thing that ignites a generation

8) No explanation needed. This is sonic perfection.

9) AKA “Success” by Loretta Lynn. O’Connor sticks to the lyrics till the end and adds in “Am I Not Your Girl?” (also the album title) repeating, begging, screaming over a screeching horn section that makes you feel like you have stepped into a very private moment that no one wanted to talk about

10) They pretty much stuck to the script on this one but there is something to the guitar tone that sticks in my ear. It just seems just a bit more forlorn and that’s how I like it. Honorable mention for the time my grandmother told me she loved “that young man David Roth.” He covered one of her favorites “Just A Gigalo/ I Ain’t Got Nobody”. Scandalous! We never showed her what he looked like.

Wendy’s Top 10 Cover Songs

Hazy Shade Of Winter
The Bangles
(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace Love And Understanding
Elvis Costello
Love Is Blindness
Jack White
With A Little Help From My Friends
Joe Cocker
Thank You
Tori Amos
Feeling Good
Muse
All Along The Watchtower
Jimi Hendrix
Hallelujah
Jeff Buckley
Success Has Made A Failure Of Our Home
Sinead O’Connor
Alone Again Or
The Damned

Keith’s Top 10 Cover Songs

Hallelujah
John Cale
Black Hole Sun (Live)
Norah Jones
Fields Of Gold
Eva Cassidy
Hurt
Johnny Cash
And I Love Her
The Holmes Brothers
Tower Of Song
Tom Jones
The Ghost in You
Robyn Hitchcock
I’m Set Free
Brian Eno
Sweet Child ‘O Mine
Luna
Will You Love Me Tomorrow
Bryan Ferry

Jonny Meister

Host/Producer “The Blues Show”

Great songs, though I had lots of others that I think were also worthy!

“Goin’ Down Slow” is a great deep blues classic, written by St. Louis Jimmy. Wolf’s wonderful version did a lot to get the song out to new audiences and led to many more covers of it.

•John Coltrane applied his magic to Mongo Santamaria’s “Afro Blue” though it wasn’t issued until a decade after he passed.

•”Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out” became a standard from Bessie Smith’s recording, which was a cover of a record by a group with the unusual name of The Aunt Jemima Novelty Four.

•”Honky Tonk Train” by Meade “Lux” Lewis has been called the definitive boogie woogie piece. Lloyd Glenn was one of the very few who could approach Lewis’s fluidity and tone on it.

•Possibly B. B. King’s best-known song, “The Thrill Is Gone” was a cover of a recording from 1951 by Roy Hawkins.

•Fred Neil’s “The Other Side Of This Life” explores our fantasy lives, and Jefferson Airplane gave it a whole new energy.

•”Louie Louie” by the Kingsmen was perhaps an improbable hit, from a live recording complete with a mistake in it, though a great cover of Richard Berry’s also great original.

•Catherine Russell sets the standard for doing standards these days, and offers a wonderful version of Dinah Washington’s darkly humorous “My Man’s An Undertaker.”

•Dolly Parton is known for writing great songs, but she also brings her liberating exuberance to “Muleskinner Blues” done originally by Jimmie Rodgers in 1930 and also covered by The Fendermen.

•R. L. Burnside offers a powerful interpretation of Bob Dylan’s “Everything Is Broken” a song quite different from the blues he grew up playing. Hearing this song, you may feel that everything IS broken! What I look for in a cover song is the covering artist’s contribution, their interpretation of the song and what that might add to the dimension of the song. It is surprising how many hits were actually covers of songs that didn’t become all that well-known when originally released.

Jonny’s Top 10 Cover Songs

Goin’ Down Slow
Howlin’ Wolf
Afro Blue
John Coltrane
Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out
Bessie Smith
Honky Tonk Train
Lloyd Glenn
The Thrill Is Gone
B. B. King
The Other Side Of This Life
Jefferson Airplane
Louie Louie
The Kingsmen
My Man’s An Undertaker
Catherine Russell
Muleskinner Blues
Dolly Parton
Everything Is Broken
R. L. Burnside

Debra’s Top 10 Cover Songs

Helpless
k.d. lang
Down to You
Brandi Carlile
Sweet Jane/Love and Affection
Two Nice Girls
Crazy
Holly Near
Staying Alive
Bitch
My Girl
Ferron
Hallelujah
Rufus Wainwright
Slippery People
Mavis Staples
God Only Knows
Brandi Carlile
My Funny Valentine
Rufus Wainwright