5 Excellent Covers of Bob Dylan Songs You’ve Never Heard

Quite a few famous musicians have covered Bob Dylan’s music, from Adele to The Byrds to Jimi Hendrix. However, there are some stunning covers out there by lesser-known artists, and they really do him justice. Let’s explore five stunning covers of Bob Dylan songs you’ve probably never heard before!

1. “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” by Television

When it comes to covers of Bob Dylan songs that you’ve probably never heard, this one is particularly underrated. Garage punk band Television turned a pretty ballad by Dylan into a long, gloomy guitar-led track. A few different rock bands tried their hand at doing exactly that, but none came close to doing it as well as Television.

2. “Million Dollar Bash” by Fairport Convention

Fairport Convention took on Dylan’s tune about a wild party of underground weirdos without a hitch. It’s a fantastic cover made even better by each member of the band trading off verses. The original song was a great sing-along tune, but Fairport Convention’s version is even more fun to sing along with.

3. “Meet Me In The Morning” by Freddie King

Bob Dylan was no stranger to the blues, but he had a tendency to manipulate the blues sonically to fit his particular blend of folk and rock. Freddie King, on the other hand, took Dylan’s non-traditional “Meet Me In The Morning” and turned it into a more traditional blues track. Few musicians have done that, and King’s talent really shines with this cover.

4. “Wallflower” by Doug Sahm

Southern rock music and political folk-rock are pretty different from each other, though they aren’t mutually exclusive. Surprisingly, Doug Sahm took on Dylan’s “Wallflower” as if it were his own song. This isn’t entirely a cover; Dylan actually plays the guitar and provides harmony vocals as Sahm leads the song, though Dylan did write it. Dylan didn’t release his own version until two decades after Sahm’s version came out.

5. “I Threw It All Away” by Yo La Tengo

This indie-rock outfit has historically done very well when it comes to cover songs. Their cover of Dylan’s “I Threw It All Away” is a delight. They managed to match Dylan’s original sad and gentle style for the song, but this cover just sounds prettier. It’s hard to describe. They’ve also done very well with covers of “It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train to Cry” and “Wallflower”.

Photo by Barry Feinstein, Courtesy of Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings

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