“With a Little Help From My Friends” My Top Cover Song [Poll]

Just like in the movies it's often said that the cover song is never as good as the original.  I've come up with my top-5 cover songs of all time, and you can vote for your very own top cover song.

Some cover songs take beloved songs and give them their own spin.  Some cover songs take beloved songs and just completely destroy it before building it back up.  Some cover songs introduce fans to a forgotten classic or a song from another genre of music they don't normally hear.  My top-5 is a mixture of those.

5.  The Gourds- Gin & Juice

A song released in the 90s by Snoop Doggy Dogg on his debut CD, Austin-based The Gourds were and continue to be rather obscure despite this cover song.  During the early days of internet file-sharing (stealing) the song was mislabeled and thought to be the band Phish.  Over the years the urban legend has righted itself and given proper credit to this Americana band.

NSFW LANGUAGE ALERT!!!

4.  Guns 'n Roses- Knockin' On Heaven's Door

Call it the ignorance of youth, but when GnR released their two Use Your Illusion LPs in the early 90s I had never before heard Bob Dylan's original version of the song.  Over the years my love for GnR has disappeared as fast as their career.  I am now proud to say Dylan's version is now my version of choice.  You decide for yourself.

3.  Jeff Buckley- Hallelujah

This song happens to be a cover of a cover of an original.  Let me explain.  Jeff Buckley's career was on its back end in 1984 when his album Various Positions was released with the forgotten track "Hallelujah".  It wasn't until Velvet Underground's John Cale released his own version of the song in 1991 that interest was renewed in the track.  Buckley recorded a stripped down version of Cale's take on the song and it became the track we know and love to this day.

Jimi Hendrix- All Along the Watchtower

Another of Bob Dylan's songs recorded and released to more critical and chart success than the original, the Hendrix version of the song launched his career into the stratosphere.  The song became an anthem of the 60s anti-war movement, but to this day still jumps out of the speakers.

1.  Joe Cocker- With a Little Help From My Friends

I was always a fan of this song.  I was a fan of the Beatles version.  I was a fan of the Joe Cocker version.  That's why I chose this song as my top cover song.  Most cover songs create a bit of loyalty to one over the other, but not this tune.  If I had to give the nod to one version I'd have to go with Cocker's version.  It was the theme song to one of the biggest TV shows of my youth, "Wonder Years".  I also saw Joe Cocker in concert 5 years ago and I became and even bigger fan than I was previously.