This is for famous artists, who have done covers of popular songs, that didn't chart well or weren't released as singles, which have been forgotten for the most part.

Aztec Camera (Somewhere in My Heart) done covers of Van Halen's Jump and Cyndi Laupers "True Colours"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tia9h1EVt_I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COtZZmWKcRI
(they're pretty good)

Words can't describe this Cover by the Cheeky Girls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-85oaQydIzI

Please add some more!

I Go To Sleep and Stop Your Sobbing (Pretenders) were both originally Kinks songs - the recording of Stop Your Sobbing was what prompted the meeting between Chrissie Hynde & Ray Davies, and they had a tumultuous affair.

Rod Stewart released a bloody awful version of Free's classic "All Right Now". What on earth was he thinking of?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5ue_PGUfPU

And if you thought that was bad Pepsi & Shirlie also released a version of it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6e3nWAo9y4

Hard to say which is the worst!

Tina Turner has an awful version of Unfinished sympathy by Massive attack.
David Bowie has a dreadful cover of God only knows, by the beach boys.

Two of my favourite songs, by two of my favourite artists, but neither work IMO

Alcazar - Funky Town
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxtxN7dPaWc

Alcazar - Abba Medley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qjk2l3hpe70

Stereophonics - Nothing Compares to You
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X93LxRfH93k

Not sure quite how well known (or not) these are...

Smashing Pumpkins - covering Depeche Mode's Never Let Me Down Again
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeDiARw8q78

Deftones - covering Duran Duran's The Chauffeur
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMs2SYAq08Y


and I have to add my favorite cover of all time, even though the band isn't very well known outside of Japan.

Hi-Standard - covering The Mamas and Papas' California Dreamin'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVm-pTiyC48

The Cure cover Joy Division:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kc1TZ-VSjj4

Two of my favourite bands but the original can never be matched.

The Cure cover Depeche Mode:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6LbKH9WzkI

My newest favorite singer, late beautiful precious Billy Joe Royal, actually covered all sorts of songs during his time with us. I never knew there were so many until I started listening to him.

God bless you and his family always!!!

Holly

P.S. I would list the songs, but it would really be a long list. Why were so many songs covered? I honestly don't know. Billy Joe did put plenty of other songs out there too that were not already done by another singers, but well over 50 songs were covered by him too. I guess that each of the songs meant enough to him to where they were worth covering in his opinion.

My Bloody Valentine covering Wire's Map Ref 41N 93W

Placebo covering Bigmouth Strikes Again

Rod also did, for his 'When We Were the New Boys' album, a cover of one of my favourite songs, 'Superstar' by Superstar. Mark & Lard once played the Rod version on Radio 1 (hey, this was the 90s) only to whip it off a short while in and play the superior original instead...

Sinead O'Connor covered and released as a single ALL APOLOGIES originally by Nirvana

U2 - 'Everlasting Love', (The Love Affair) pretty good.
https://youtu.be/481XQAOA_6s

Elton John - 'Spirit in the Sky' (Norman Greenbaum)
https://youtu.be/4okU1j9he2Q

NIN and Pete Murphy - 'Atmosphere' (Joy Division)
https://youtu.be/xpCyNQ80JoE

Radiohead - 'Ceremony' (New Order/Joy Division)
https://youtu.be/cedNya7e8Uc

Radiohead - Nobody Does It Better

Heather Nova - Gloomy Sunday
Didn't know the history of this song, it was composed by Hungarian pianist and composer Rezső Seress and published in 1933. Loads of the artists have also covered/performed this.

These are both Depeche Mode covers which I quite like but probably wouldn't have known existed if it wasn't for this album: For the Masses.
Deftones - To Have And To Hold
Locust - Master & Servant

That Deftones cover is amazing!

I just watched Kate Bush do 'Rocket Man' on an old Wogan show?
Quite brilliant, as she added a bit of Irish traditIonal instrumentation.

I love Chris Cornell's unique cover of Billie Jean:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xW25VB1Mpw

Now this isn't really a cover because Bono and The Edge actually wrote the song themselves but most people will probably only know Tina Turner's version of this James Bond theme. Here is a demo of Bono, brilliantly singing (clearly in his MacPhisto character's voice) his own version. Having never been a fan of Tina Turner's voice I much prefer this original demo recording. I love how versatile Bono is with his vocals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_iTQ4135Xg

rod stewarts cover of 'handbags and gladrags'... somehow sucked out all the emotion of that fantastic track.

I thought it was hilarious that he sang that song to the Queen Mother on her 100th birthday, especially when you read the lyrics. I never had Rod down as a closet republican.

Fiona Apple's haunting version of Pure Imagination:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUtnas5ScSE

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss covering Tom Waits's Trampled Rose:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHoRKb8hajg

My Morning Jacket doing Elton John's Rocket Man:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s0Vt2HoSbk

^^^ Wow, I had no idea that another act had done the "Trampled Rose" song before Alison Krauss sang it.

God bless you and her always!!!

Holly (a fan of her since 1994)

Hurts singing Bruno Mars - Locked out of Heaven. Beautifully sung and so very different from the original.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIOlI8qBLSw

And Confide in Me by Kylie. She liked it so much she joined them at a concert to duet with them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4i6W1DfWbA

Probably not in the same league as some of the above but I've a special place in my eardrum for Katy Perry singing Electric Feel