4 Insanely Good Cover Songs That Lit up the Charts in 1975

Artists can struggle for their entire careers to come up with an original song that captivates the masses. That’s why it’s never a bad idea to try to break through with a cover song. Why not rely on a song that’s already been tested?

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The year 1975 proved to be a particularly fertile year for those types of songs to hit the mark. These four covers went all the way to No. 1 on the pop charts in that calendar year.

“Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” by Elton John

The Beatles didn’t release a single from their 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, preferring for the album to be digested as a whole. But it felt like “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” was the song on the album that likely would have made the biggest dent on the charts had they released it to radio. Elton John certainly saw the commercial value in the track. Late in 1974, he released his own take on the song as a standalone single. To enhance the credibility, he nabbed his buddy John Lennon, who wrote the song back in the day, to sing backing vocals. “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” was the first chart-topper of the year in the US in 1975.

“Please Mr. Postman” by The Carpenters

“Please Mr. Postman” had already enjoyed a storied history by the time Karen and Richard Carpenter got a hold of it. The Marvelettes did the original take all the way back in 1961. When it hit No. 1, it helped to put the Motown label on the map. The Beatles were listening, and they did an energetic cover of the song on With The Beatles, their second album in the UK. Cut to a dozen years later, and The Carpenters helped it to become that rare creature, a song that hit the top of the charts in the US in two different versions. The duo didn’t do anything fancy with it. They simply relied on the solidity of the song and Karen’s innate charisma to carry it a long way.

“You’re No Good” by Linda Ronstadt

“You’re No Good” proved a huge catalyst for Linda Ronstadt’s run of 70s success. It did that in part by showing how a well-chosen cover of an oldie could help her reach the masses, leaving her to interpret unheralded songwriters as album tracks. The song first appeared in a version by Betty Everett in 1963. A year later, The Swingin’ Blue Jeans, of “Hippy Hippy Shake” fame, took a crack at it. Neither song did a lot on the US charts, making it the perfect vehicle for Ronstadt to breathe new life into it with her fiery vocals. Fun fact: The lead guitar on Ronstadt’s chart-topping version is played by Andrew Gold, who’d later score with solo hits like “Lonely Boy”.

“He Don’t Love You (Like I Love You)” by Tony Orlando & Dawn

Jerry Butler enjoyed a couple of interesting careers. He hit the top 10 in 1960 with “He Will Break Your Heart”, a song that he co-wrote. Eight years later, he achieved another big smash in a very different era of R&B with “Only The Strong Survive”. Later in his life, he served for three decades in politics in Illinois. Tony Orlando & Dawn latched onto “He Will Break Your Heart” at the tail end of their impressive run of chart success in the 70s. Orlando made the savvy move to change the name to “He Don’t Love You (Like I Love You)”, sensing that people would respond to a title that’s much more prominent in the lyrics. It was the trio’s last ever No. 1 hit.

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