A favorite song by one of your favorite singer/songwriters they didn't write

Most people don't realize that Bobby Darin wrote a decent percentage of his hits (for examples, "Splish Splash," "Dream Lover," "Things," and "You're the Reason I'm Living"), probably because some of his best-known ones were covers:

Mack the Knife (Kurt Weill-Bertold Brecht-Mark Blitzstein)
Beyond the Sea (Charles Trenet-Jack Lawrence)
If I Were a Carpenter (Tim Hardin)

 

George Harrison - If Not For You

 

Grateful Dead
Me and My Uncle (John Phillips)
Mama Tried (Merle Haggard)

 

Jeff Buckley
Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen)

 

Un Canadien Errant and Passin' Thru performed by Leonard Cohen.

 

"Banana Republics" - Jimmy Buffett (written by the great Steve Goodman)

 

Kate Bush - "Rocket Man"

 

It's "36 Inches High" from Nick for me.

But my choice for the thread would be Jerry Jeff Walker's version of "L.A. Freeway".



Edited to add - I'd never heard this single version I linked before, but it's cute to take a whole phrase ("all those things that") and fly it in over the singer's opinion of landlords to make it safe for radio

 

First one I thought of

On the other hand, giving Elvis his songwriting dues:

"Girls Talk" by Dave Edmunds

 

Cat Stevens - Another Saturday Night (Sam Cooke)

 

Fairport Convention's "Time Will Show The Wiser"

written by Emitt Rhodes

 

Nick's 36" High is amazing, and I had no idea til very recently it was a cover. However...when I DID find the original, I found that SO mindblowing I can't give Nick props for doing a best version. (Though I guess it isn't technically a requirement of this thread that you prefer the cover to the original.)

 

I chose bands, but they contain songwriters.

The Animals- "It's My Life"

Concrete Blonde- "Tomorrow Wendy"

Sweet- "Ballroom Blitz"

 

Pet Shop Boys Always On My Mind

 

Panama Red-NRPS

 

and Percy's Song-Bob Dylan my favorite FC song!

 

Springsteen absolutely nailed Just Like Fire Would.

 

Tim Hardin returned the favor with "Simple Song of Freedom".

 

Phil Collins - separate lives

 

Townes Van Zandt, "Dead Flowers" (Jagger/Richard)

 

Barry Manilow- “Mandy”

Was originally written/released in the UK by Scott English as “Brandy,” but the US charts already had “Brandy (you’re a fine girl)” so they renamed it for Barry in the US.

 

Amazing that English's version was a hit anywhere. Truly a wretched voice with deplorable phrasing and nails-on-chalkboard tone. English's arrangement is all kinds of wrong. Barry fixed it up and made it substantial. He's also light years better as a singer.

Ed

 

Bonnie Raitt -- "Angel from Montgomery"

In fact, I really like her cover of "Rainy Day Man" from the same album.

 

Leonard Cohen - "The Partisan" - Anna Marly and Emmanuel d'Astier de La Vigerie, English language adaptation by Hy Zaret

 

Casey's Last Ride-John Denver