Cover songs more famous than the original
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Cover Songs More Famous Than the Original — Daily trivia Wednesday, October 7, 2026: questions and answers
All 10 questions with answers and explanations. Play this daily
Q 01After Aretha Franklin's cover, Otis Redding said a girl took which of his songs from him?
- AHard to Handle
- BRespect
- C(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay
- DThese Arms of Mine
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Respect
Respect. In his version a man asks for it when he comes home; her cover turned it into a woman's demand.
Q 02Which country legend covered Nine Inch Nails' 'Hurt' so powerfully that its writer said the song wasn't his anymore?
- AWillie Nelson
- BMerle Haggard
- CGlen Campbell
- DJohnny Cash
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Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash. Trent Reznor had first been uneasy about the cover, until he saw the video Cash filmed at his Tennessee home.
Q 03Which cover did The Beatles cut at the end of a 12-hour session, with John Lennon's voice nearly gone?
- ATwist and Shout
- BMoney (That's What I Want)
- CPlease Mr. Postman
- DRoll Over Beethoven
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Twist and Shout
Twist and Shout. Lennon, fighting a cold, sang it raw; they kept the first take, as a second one collapsed when his voice gave out.
Q 04Which singer never lived to see her cover of Kris Kristofferson's 'Me and Bobby McGee' hit No. 1?
- AJoan Baez
- BLinda Ronstadt
- CJanis Joplin
- DGrace Slick
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Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin. It came out after she died, and Kristofferson first heard her recording only once she was gone.
Q 05Decades after Columbia rejected the album with 'Hallelujah', what did Leonard Cohen say about all its covers?
- AToo many people sing it
- BEvery cover gets it wrong
- CChoirs shouldn't sing it
- DHe should have cut it
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Too many people sing it
Too many people sing it, he told CBC Radio in 2009, though he still called it a good song. Cohen said Columbia's boss hadn't liked the mix.
Q 06The Righteous Brothers' 'Unchained Melody' never says 'unchained'. Where does its title come from?
- AA slave spiritual
- BA chain-gang song
- CA Houdini stunt
- DA prison film
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A prison film
A prison film, Unchained, which it was written for. The Righteous Brothers' cover was a B-side until DJs flipped the single over.
Q 07Which star's old band first recorded 'I Fought the Law', written by the man who took his place?
- ABuddy Holly
- BRitchie Valens
- CEddie Cochran
- DBill Haley
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Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly's. The Crickets tucked it onto an album, and it took the Bobby Fuller Four's cover to reach No. 9, in 1966.
Q 08UB40 knew 'Red Red Wine' only as a reggae song. Which American singer wrote it?
- ABarry Manilow
- BNeil Diamond
- CJohnny Mathis
- DTony Bennett
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Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond. Seeing N. Diamond on the credit, the band guessed it was a Jamaican artist called Negus Diamond.
Q 09Fleetwood Mac's founder, Peter Green, wrote which Santana hit?
- AOye Como Va
- BEvil Ways
- CBlack Magic Woman
- DSmooth
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Black Magic Woman
Black Magic Woman. Green's Fleetwood Mac took it to No. 37 in Britain; Santana's cover reached No. 4 in America.
Q 10Dolly Parton joked that Whitney Houston's cover of her song earned her enough to buy what?
- ANeverland Ranch
- BGraceland
- CMar-a-Lago
- DThe Ryman Auditorium
Show answer
Graceland
Graceland. Years earlier she had refused Elvis's manager, who wanted half the publishing on I Will Always Love You before Elvis would record it.
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