Would it surprise you that a few of your favourite hit songs from your favourite artists, were not originals and were covers. Well although you might not have heard it before your favourite artists belted out the song, it is quite common for songs to be covered by one artist and that version of the song becomes the standard bearer. Here are five of ten cover songs that might surprise you.
1. It"s So Hard To Say Goodbye to Yesterday This classic from Boyz II Men was originally recorded by G.C. Cameron for the soundtrack of the movies Cooley High. However, it's the Boyz II Men version of the song that made it on the Billboard Hot 100 charts for 22 weeks and peaked at number 2 in 1991.
2. Left With a Broken Heart Reggae lovers have danced and enjoyed the Paragon's rock steady version of this song for decades. Little did you know that this was originally recorded by that famous Motown quartet, the Four Tops.
3. Silver Words Following up on his major hit, Everything I Own (a cover from the group Bread). Ken Boothe attempted to hit the charts with this classic. The Niney Holness produced song was also a cover taken from an obscure American singer/songwriter named Sixto Rodriquez. Boothe's version of the song is mile ahead of the original
4. No Man is an Island Written by Joan Whitney and Alex Kramer in 1950, the song is based on a paragraph in the Seventeenth Meditation by John Donne (1572-1631). The song was recorded by several contemporary artists including the Lettermen,who recorded the song in1965 on their album, You Will Never Walk Alone. The Van Dykes an r&b group recorded the song in 1965 but modified the lyrics to relate more to black culture. This was the version that appeared on Dennis Brown's1972 debut album of the same name. Brown's commanding vocal performance of the song at age 17, remains a Studio 1 classic.
5. Stealing Stealing A early reggae classic from the legendary John Holt which might surprise you to know that it was done originally by r& b singer, Percy Sledge as Thief In The Night.
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