Nobody does The Beatles like The Beatles themselves. However, quite a few musicians through the years have put out their renditions of famous Beatles tunes. And some of those covers might just rival the original tunes by the Fab Four themselves. Let’s look at a few Beatles covers that are (arguably!) better than the originals.
1. “With A Little Help From My Friends” by Joe Cocker
A shoo-in for any list of Beatles covers that are better than the originals, you just can’t beat Joe Cocker’s incredibly beautiful 1969 version of “With A Little Help From My Friends”.
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Cocker’s voice is on another level on this cover. You just cannot beat that soulful, powerful vocal track. He belted out the lyrics like his life depended on it. The original Beatles version is fantastic, but even fans have to admit that Cocker outdid the Fab Four on this one.
2. “Got To Get You Into My Life” by Earth, Wind And Fire
Revolver was the album that really showed evidence of The Beatles’ experimentation with psychedelic drugs. It yielded spacey songs like “Got To Get You Into My Life”, after all. It’s only natural that a funky, psychedelic band like Earth, Wind And Fire would find some inspiration from that very album and song.
EWF’s version of “Got To Get You Into My Life” is glittery, bluesy, and jazzy. The original was enough to get people moving, but EWF’s cover of the song really got people moving.
3. “Yesterday” by Marvin Gaye
The original “Yesterday” can’t be beat. However, that hasn’t stopped hundreds if not thousands of musicians from covering it themselves. Few of those imitations can hold a candle to the original, but Marvin Gaye’s version of “Yesterday” comes very close.
This cover was featured on Gaye’s album That’s The Way Love Is in 1970. Paul McCartney himself said that Gaye’s version of “Yesterday” was his favorite, and you just have to listen to it to understand why.
4. “Dear Prudence” by Siouxsie And The Banshees
Gothic rock icons Siouxsie And The Banshees make it to our list of Beatles covers that are better than the originals with “Dear Prudence”. Robert Smith of The Cure makes an appearance on the cover as well.
“It was a surprise, but it didn’t really sink in until we’d finished the touring and we were back home for the winter,” Siouxsie said of the success of the brooding cover of the Beatles classic. “Then we thought, ‘Blimey! We got to number three!’ ‘Dear Prudence’ got played a lot on the radio, and of course, we did the Christmas/New Year Top Of The Pops.”
Photo by RB/Redferns
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