Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes – Artists Who Dramatically Changed Their Musical Genre

Some musical acts have been content to work in a familiar musical style (ACDC, ZZ Top) while others weren’t content to stay in one place (The Beatles come to mind).  This month’s topic is about musical acts that underwent a dramatic shift stylistically during their career.   Let’s omit The Fab Four from our list as they evolved nearly every album rather than making a jarring shift.  I will admit that some of these inclusions feel like cheating as some of the bands I have included changed because of new members but since their name stayed the same they made the list.   Some of these artists have morphed more than once, but I will only include one before and one after video for reference.  The order isn’t important, by the way.

1.David Bowie

Since the title of this post is stolen from David Bowie’s first U.S. chart record, let’s start here.  Born David Robert Jones in London on Jan. 8, 1947, it is said he changed his name to avoid confusion with Davy Jones of The Monkees.  He said he chose Bowie after the American pioneer Jim Bowie.  Before success he tried several different styles including silly pop novelties like “The Laughing Gnome” (1967).  “Changes” was more restrained and “Space Oddity” about Major Tom was almost prog-rock.  When he took on the persona of glam rocker Ziggy Stardust is when his career seemed to soar.  After that he re-invented himself many different times such as The Thin White Duke or playing Krautrock electronic music.  He died of liver cancer Jan. 10, 2016.

2.Roxy Music

In the decade between these totally disparate songs, Roxy Music went from ’70s Glam Rockers to ’80s Lounge Lizards.  One can assume that it was based on the evolution of lead singer Bryan Ferry in to a torch balladeer.  While players like Brian Eno and Eddie Jobson came and went, the core of the band was Ferry with woodwind player Andy Mackay and guitarist Phil Manzanera.  Ferry’s solo career has followed a similar path going from rock rhinestones to tasteful tuxedos – even touring with strings while wearing black tie.

3.The Bee Gees

There is perhaps no bigger example of a group reinventing themselves than The Bee Gees.  It would be too much of a simplification to say they only switched from romantic balladeers to disco kings as frankly they changed many times during their career.  As very young kids in Manchester, England they performed skiffle as The Rattlesnakes.  When the Gibb family moved to Australia in 1958, the three brothers Barry, Robin and Maurice continued performing pop music.  When they returned to England in 1967 they made a splash with string-laden ballads like “To Love Somebody”.  As their fortunes waned by 1974, they seemingly were done as hit-makers till a move the following year to Miami and a radical change with the disco-driven “Jive Talkin'” revived their career.  For a time everything they did struck gold with Saturday Night Fever making them mega-stars with chipmunk falsettos and manes of hair (except poor Maurice who was losing his).  When disco tanked in 1980 they set about reinventing themselves yet again having sporadic hits off and on till Maurice died on Jan. 12, 2003 (age 53) ending The Bee Gees.  Robin died May 20, 2012 (age 62).

4.Genesis

It was a huge disappointment for this fan of progressive rock when Genesis ditched the mellotron, simplified the music and dumbed down the lyrics to go pop.  It worked for them as they became mega-stars (especially Phil Collins) but I still can’t forgive them to this day for ruining a great band.  Sure, some of the singles were catchy but they put out such fine intricate music before Duke that I felt cheated as there are a bunch of pop bands but few outstanding prog rockers.  While guitarist Steve Hackett likely missed out on a bunch of money, I am grateful he has stayed true to prog music after quitting the band.  Interestingly, only he has put out albums in that genre while singers Peter Gabriel then Phil Collins never used mellotron or prog trappings in their solo material making you wonder if they ever really liked that style of music to begin with.

5.Fleetwood Mac

This one is probably a cheat since the musicians changed dramatically over the years, but if you were a fan of the early blues band you likely were shocked by their turn to pop.  While I was disgusted by Genesis’ change, my pal Mr. D was more forgiving but has never forgiven these guys’ turn to pop and he has a point.  The Peter Green/Jeremy Spencer/Danny Kirwan guitar trio put out some excellent gritty blues-rock music.  They mellowed down when Bob Welch and Christine McVie joined, but of course they became mega-stars when Buckingham and Nicks came on board and started churning out the hits.  I give Lindsey Buckingham at least some credit for acknowledging the legacy of the early band, but of course “Don’t Stop” while catchy isn’t “Shake Your Moneymaker”.

6.The Damned

Heck, maybe these guys changed their sound even more than The Bee Gees.  When they were putting out punk in the late ’70s with rapid-fire drumming by Rat Scabies I could have cared less.  In 1985 I was really shocked when I picked up the Phantasmagoria album with their switch to a gothic almost progressive style (or psychedelic).  “Grimly Fiendish”, “Eloise”, “Alone Again Or” – all great singles and very different then in-your-face punk.  Their newest album at the time this is being written (Darkadelic) is a a bit more punk than goth showing they still have some of the roots of the band who released the first British punk album.

7.Bob Dylan

Fans of the early folky Dylan were not amused when he went electric.  Robert Zimmerman of Duluth, Minnesota (born May 24, 1941) made a pilgrimage in 1961 to New York to visit the great folk singer Woody Guthrie.  With that muse he was writing and playing acoustic folk because it was “filled with more despair, more sadness, more triumph, more faith in the supernatural, much deeper feelings” than rock and roll.  His first four albums as Bob Dylan were mostly acoustic and political.  His 1965 Bringing It All Back Home LP was half acoustic but the other half went electric and while his lyrics were still biting, they weren’t necessarily protests.  He was certainly influenced as much by The Beatles as they were by him.  Over the years he changed styles again – the mellow country ballads (“Lay Lady Lay”), the religious (“Gotta Serve Somebody”), the raw blues (“Goodbye Jimmy Reed”).  At his core he is still Dylan – always unpreditable.

8.The Beau Brummels

When the British Invasion hit in 1964, it was hard for an American band to break through and so the story has been told that this San Franciso band took a U.K. sounding name.  Lead singer Sal Valentino doesn’t agree with that, but it sounds like a good story.  In January of 1965 they released their excellent debut single “Laugh, Laugh” backed by “Still In Love With You Baby” on the Autumn label (produced by Sylvester Stewart aka Sly Stone).  Guitarist Ron Elliott had a knack for writing catchy music.  On Nov. 11, 1965 your Dentist went to his first rock concert with buddy Rick Steele (driven by his patient dad – thanks Mr. Steele) to see these guys along with The McCoys and Freddie & The Dreamers (with a host of Denver-area bands including my pal Myron Pollock and his band The Galaxies).  There used to be cut-out sections for records that didn’t sell the first time and were drastically discounted after having a hole punched in the corner of the cover.  This was how I discovered the 1967 album Triangle which probably cost me something like 35 cents while I was in college up in Boulder. I don’t recall why I bought it, but the LP was filled with folky mystic Americana.  The following year brought Bradley’s Barn which was more country than folk but definitely not Beatley-pop – another great album.  Other than occasional reunions, that was it for a band that deserved more acclaim.  

9.The Strawbs

While they may not be well-known to casual music fans, they are one of my all-time fave bands. They started as the bluegrass group Strawberry Hill Boys (shortened to Strawbs in 1967) and today are still going with the only constant being singer and chief songwriter Dave Cousins. They were the first British band signed to A&M records and at first recorded in a sort of baroque-folk style (Sandy Denny later of Fairport Convention had been an early member). It was on their fourth LP From The Witchwood that Rick Wakeman (later of Yes) really displayed his progressive keyboards. The followup Grave New World (1971) was when new keys-man Blue Weaver’s mellotron took hold on excellent songs like “New World” and “Benedictus”. While over the years they have still included folk touches, guitarist Dave Lambert gave the band a more electric sound. “Lay Down” (1973), “Hero & Heroine” (1974) up to the amazing “We Have The Power” (2017) are all forceful songs that display powerful guitars and keys (notably mellotron). When I talked briefly to Dave Cousins (when on the On The Blue Cruise) I regret not asking him why they changed from a folk act to a prog rock powerhouse but I am glad they did.

10.The Byrds

Again this feels like a bit of a cheat as the only constant member was Roger (Jim) McGuinn, but it was a real jolt for the young me to buy the very country Sweetheart Of The Rodeo in August of 1968 after having the previous record The Notorious Byrd Brothers just 6 months earlier become one of my favorite all-time albums. In retrospect you can see the country touches creeping in earlier, but man this was WAY too much country for me and I dumped the album as soon as I could. The album shows the very strong influence of new member Gram Parsons and after he left quickly, McGuinn continued in a country-rock vein with guitarist Clarence White’s influence. “Ballad Of Easy Rider” (1969), “Chestnut Mare” (1970), etc. – all great songs but I still prefer the early folk-rock songs like “Mr. Tambourine Man” and “Turn, Turn, Turn” from 1965.

11.Santana

Formed in 1966, this San Francisco based rock band was notable for the Latin percussive influences and was based around guitarist Carlos Santana (originally from Mexico). Singles like ”Evil Ways” (1970), “Oye Como Va” (1971) and “No One To Depend On” (1972) made their first three LPs big successes. The last LP in that vein (III) had the same players pretty much as did the primary tracks on the next LP (Caravanseri – 1972) yet the new LP was very different moving in a jazz-fusion style. Reportedly Columbia Records president Clive Davis called it “career suicide”. While there were occasional returns to latino-rock, Santana’s style wouldn’t go back to what Davis wanted till he headed Arista Records and signed Carlos’ band. In 1999 that led to the biggest selling album of all-time by a Hispanic artist Supernational. In 2016 most of the early ’70s band reunited and released the album IV that actually did sound like a proper return to his old sound.

12.Journey

When Santana went in a jazzy direction, singer/organist Gregg Rolie and guitarist Neil Schon left to form Journey in 1973. Their first three Columbia LPs were rock leavened with jazzy-progressive touches and weren’t terribly successful. It was the addition of singer Steve Perry in 1977 that dramatically changed their sound and their fortunes in to arena rock darlings. Rolie left in 1980 to be replaced by Jonathan Cain taking them to even higher successes.

13.Bobby Darin

In Walden Robert Cassotto’s short life (May 14, 1936 to Dec. 20, 1973) he packed many musical changes and frankly might be overlooked for the talent that he was. As Bobby Darin he was a songwriting rocker (“Splish Splash” 1958), a Sinatra-style balladeer (“Mack The Knife” 1959) and a folksinger (“If I Were A Carpenter” 1966). He had heart problems which ultimately caused his death.

14.Rick(y) Nelson

Another heartthrob from the late ’50s was Ricky Nelson who also had his life tragically cut short – in this case from an airplane crash (May 8, 1940 to Dec. 31, 1985). He gained fame on his parents’ show The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. In 1957 wanting to impress a girl he was dating he ended up recording a cover of the Fats Domino song “I’m Walkin'” which became a hit (#4 U.S.). With the TV show as a great advertisement for his singles, his success continued till the British Invasion clamped down on older American performers. He eventually moved in to a country-rock direction and had a last hurrah with “Garden Party” in 1972. The Stone Canyon Band that backed him on that record included guitarist Allen Kemp and drummer Pat Shanahan who had been with ’60s Colorado band The Soul Survivors (not the “Expressway [To Your Heart]” group) and The Poor with bassist Randy Meisner later of The Eagles.

15.Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

In 1966 NGDB grew out of jam sessions at the Santa Monica store McCabe’s Guitar Shop. One of those players was Jackson Browne who dropped out before their first album for a solo career. While moving in to a straight country style certainly made them a whole lot more successful, your blogger sure missed the days when The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band could just as easily do “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” on a record as they could do “The Teddy Bear’s Picnic”. Being eclectic is what made them interesting. In the second video (from 1984) the three players in the middle (Jimmie Fadden, John McEuen and Jeff Hanna) were also on their 1967 debut LP in the first video. It was likely the addition of singer/guitarist Jimmy Ibbotson that gave them a more country feel due to his vocal style. Let’s not forget that for a time they dropped the Nitty Gritty (while Ibbotson was out of the band) and as The Dirt band went a more pop-rock direction with songs like “Make A Little Magic”.

16.Jerry Lee Lewis

It is interesting how many artists over the years have turned to country music and found success as their rock and roll careers faded. ‘The Killer’ lived a full life from Sept. 29, 1935 to Oct. 28, 2022 starting out as a rock and roll piano player on the same label where Elvis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins recorded – Sun Records. His 1957 hit “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” made him a star but when it was revealed in 1958 that he had married his 13 year old cousin Myra, things went south quickly. In 1968 he began a run of top 10 country hits that would continue (with a few ups and downs) in to the ’80s. He occasionally did return to rock and roll notably on the great 2006 duets album Last Man Standing that featured players like Ringo Starr and Jimmy Page.

17.Jeff Beck

The Yardbirds gave us Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck – not a bad group of guitarists to spawn. Jeff Beck was the most eclectic of those three in his solo career. His first album after leaving The Yardbirds was Truth (1968) and featured an unknown Rod Stewart on vocals and Ron Wood on bass (later to be the Rolling Stones’ guitarist). That record is still one of my faves including a nasty version of the Willie Dixon blues by way of Howlin’ Wolf – “I Ain’t Superstitious”. Beck lived from June 24, 1944 till Jan. 10, 2023. He did several rockin’ blues albums then apparently decided to move away from that. It was the instrumental album Blow By Blow (1975) that saw him moving in to a funky/jazzy vein that he pursued more often than not from then on. There was a notable exception in a hot 1993 note-perfect Gene Vincent/rockabilly tribute album Crazy Legs with the Big Town Playboys. Jeff Beck was one of those guitarists whose playing style was recognizable and very unique.

18.Dion (DiMucci)

From 1958 till the 1964 British Invasion, Dion had nine doo-wop hits with The Belmonts and then another nineteen rockin’ solo hits either on Laurie or Columbia Records. After that he had a drastic style transition and had four more introspective chart records from 1968 to 1970 including this oddly mellow version of the Jimi Hendrix song “Purple Haze”. His big #4 comeback hit was “Abraham, Martin & John” which was about the tragic assassinations of prominent Americans. Dion had a heroin addiction and then experienced a religious transformation which caused him to clean-up his habit in 1968 leading to his more folk oriented music. Later he went in to a Christian music phase before a return to rock andn roll with the neglected 1989 LP Yo Frankie produced by Dave Edmunds. Since then he has done concerts of his old hits plus released some excellent blues albums including the 2020 record Blues with Friends. Dion was born in The Bronx July 18, 1939.

19.King Crimson

Once again this a probably cheating as guitarist Robert Fripp was the only constant member, but they were always called King Crimson so deal with it kids. Their debut record In the Court of the Crimson King is an essential purchase for any fan of progressive rock (as are several of their other albums). Singer/bassist Greg Lake left to form Emerson, Lake & Palmer almost immediately plus multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald also left quickly (he was eventually a founder of Foreigner). Over time the music stayed progressive but got jazzier and more jarring. By the second video (1982 from Beat) the band was guitar-based with the mellotrons nowhere to be heard. Fripp (born in England May 16, 1946) has admitted to be very difficult to work with hence the constant flux of members during King Crimson’s existence.

20.The Isley Brothers

Between the first video (1962 – “Twist & Shout”) and the second (1973 – “That Lady”) is a world of style changes (plus nineteen other chart records). At the time of this writing, of the original trio or brothers, O’Kelly is deceased, Rudolph died Oct. 11, 2023 while Ronald with younger brother Ernie continues on. From the Lincoln Heights suburb of Cincinnati, their 1959 record “Shout” is probably their most remembered yet it was never a big hit (#47). That song was in their early style – a more gospel call and response sound. Ernie joined on bass for their #2 hit “It’s Your Thing” in 1969 which was on their own label T-Neck. This began a run of hits that got progressively harder and funkier. By 1971 Ernie was on guitar and brother Marvin (now deceased) was on bass with brother-in-law Chris Jasper on keys. Disco hits followed with more guitar – danceable heavy metal.

21.Neil Young

Thanks to the rocknrollbro-inlaw Matt for reminding me of one of the ultimate musical morphers – Neil Young. Toronto born Young (Nov. 12, 1945) has had a career of changes. The electric tracks like “Cinnamon Girl” and “Rockin’ In The Free World”, the Americana like “Heart Of Gold” and “Comes A Time” and then the odd side projects like Trans (electronic music) plus Everybody’s Rockin’ (rockabilly) from 1983.

22.Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention

Political satire, psych rock, doowop, jazz, modern orchestration, scatological juvenalia, electric guitar workouts – Zappa with and without The Mothers Of Invention did a great many styles in his life. At this point in time counting posthumous releases he has released something like 126 albums. His mind moved in many mysterious ways and he was certainly never boring. Prostate cancer took him way too soon (Dec. 21, 1940 – Dec. 4, 1993). When I heard his debut double album with The Mothers (Freak Out! – 1966), it was strange but also strangely fascinating to this teenaged Monkees fan. When Zappa was on an episode of The Monkees and in their movie Head it was like the universe tilting. The sad fact is most casual music fans only know him from his record with his daughter Moon – “Valley Girl” (#32 in 1982).

23.Rod Stewart

Rod can sing many different styles convincingly – rock and roll, blues, r&b, folk, on and on. The one place I didn’t go with him was when he decided to be a crooner for 5 albums of The Great American Songbook (2002 – 2010). There is no denying, however, that those records were successful. I still prefer Rod the rocker. He was born Jan. 10, 1945 in London.

24.The Grateful Dead

My friend Paul reminded me how quickly this San Francisco band could morph from psychedelia to Americana. I would also add that my favorite Dead album Terrapin Station (1977) moved the band in to baroque progressive rock on the long title track. There is still a version of The Dead going however with the passing of Jerry Garcia (Aug. 1, 1942 to Aug. 9, 1995) it seems like the heart is gone.

25.Elvis Presley

The taming of Elvis Presley was depressing to fans like me and John Lennon – “it was never quite the same – it was like something happened to him psychologically. Elvis really died the day he joined the army – that’s when they killed him, and the rest was a living death.” Later John opined that “somebody said today he sounds like Bing Crosby now, and he does.” Elvis went from being the sneering pink pegged pants rocker who did some ballads to the caped crooning balladeer who might do rock. He also veered in to gospel music on records like Peace In The Valley (1957). Elvis Aron Presley was born in Tupelo, Miss. Jan. 8, 1935 and passed too soon in Memphis, Tn. Aug. 16, 1977.

Huh? Songs That Never Mention The Title In The Lyrics

If you want to sell records, you need to make the title obvious – obviously.  Well according to these artists, you actually need to make the title something that has nothing at all to do with the lyrics.  Seems like a pretty stupid thing to do and one has to wonder why these folks couldn’t match their songs to the primary lyric.  It’s bad enough when the title is in the song but not quite so obvious.  Randy, a DJ friend, used to talk about how people would call to request ‘that song about Jeremiah the bullfrog’.  Of course they wanted “Joy To The World” by Three Dog Night, but you get my point.  We expect an instrumental to never say the name (except perhaps “Tequila”), but if you are singing a song you wonder how you can completely ignore it’s title in the lyrics.  There are so many more of these that I welcome your additions.

1.Bob Dylan – Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35

Back in 1966 when your blogger was a dopey teen, this was the only Bob Dylan record I ever bought.  I didn’t buy it because of any message, but because I liked the rollicking crazed Mardi Gras sound of the backing.  Some have described it as sounding like a Salvation Army band which they feel is in keeping with the meaning of getting punished for your sins – being stoned.  You have to figure that a lot of people bought this single making it a #2 hit because they misread the meaning of “everybody must get stoned” as a drug reference.  If you actually listen to the lyrics, however, you understand what Dylan meant.  He later said the song referred to “when you go against the tide … you might in different times find yourself in an unfortunate situation and so to do what you believe in sometimes … some people they just take offense to that.”  Okay, but what about the title?  Some have seen it as Biblical, but Dylan hasn’t said.  By the way, Dylan wasn’t a stranger to titles not from the lyrics.  “Positively 4th Street” and “Subterranean Homesick Blues” come to mind as well.  He is pictured in the middle in our intro.  By the way I now have seen the light and own most of his classics in my collection lest you wonder.

2.Chicago – Dialogue (Part I & II)

Your Dentist has never been much of a fan of Chicago other than on a few of their singles.  There is no place in rock and roll for trumpets and trombones – sorry.  That being said, there is no denying that Chicago have been very successful.  When released as an edited 45 from their Chicago V LP in 1972, this managed a #24 chart placement here in America.  The dialogue in question is a back and forth between singers Terry Kath (guitar) and Peter Cetera (bass) from the perspective of two folks who disagree.  One worries about the state of the world with the Vietnam War and starvation while the other says that everything is a-ok.  A better title would have been from the lyric – “we can make it better”.  Kath was fooling around with a gun after a party and shot himself in the head January 23, 1978 just eight days shy of his 32nd birthday.

2.The Buffalo Springfield – For What It’s Worth

Here is another single your Dentist bought early in 1967 with no concern for the lyrical content whatsoever.  As a matter of fact there are very few songs where it is the lyrics that grab me at first; usually its the overall sound of a record or the tune that gets me.  The song peaked at #7 and was a Stephen Stills composition about the November 1966 L.A. curfew rioting that took place on the Sunset Strip, Hollywood.  The initial pressing of the Atco single I bought is simply titled “For What It’s Worth”.  At least the record company recognized how hard that made it for kids looking for it in their local music emporiums and added “(Stop, Hey What’s That Sound)” later to the label.  The quote as to how the title came about is that Stills when he turned in the tune said “I have this song here, for what it’s worth, if you want it”.  True or not, it sounds credible.  

4.The Doors – Peace Frog

When my pal DC loaned me the Morrison Hotel LP to tape back in 1970 (I was cheap) I liked this song alot, but didn’t understand the title at all.  According to guitarist Robbie Krieger, he came up with the music first then lyrics were added later by Jim Morrison from an amalgam of a couple of his poems.  The story goes that when he was young, his family came upon a car wreck with “Indians scattered on dawn’s highway bleeding” and he felt that their spirits inhabited his body.  Okay, Jim, but what about “Peace Frog”?  Supposedly the original song’s title of “Abortion Stories” didn’t sit well with the record label so it was changed to this – BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN!?

5.Led Zeppelin – Black Dog

The fourth Led Zeppelin LP (1971 – Atlantic) is one of the greatest hard rock albums ever.  It opened with this tough rocker which your Dentist bought on 45 since albums cost more than I was usually willing to spend.  By the way, once again my pal DC loaned me his album back in the day so I could tape the songs I liked – thanks Mr. D.  It was written by John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant and climbed to #15 on the U.S. charts.  It is said that the title came from seeing a black Labrador retriever that ran around where they recorded the song at Headley Grange.  Heck, why worry about the song title when the LP doesn’t even seem to have one – many refer to it as ZoSo based on one of the symbols on the label.  By the way, I did eventually buy this and The Doors’ LPs (and CDs)  when I finally earned some money so the record industry and the artists needn’t fret.

6.The Bee Gees – New York Mining Disaster 1941

When this single came out back in 1967 by an unknown new band, some oddly thought it was The Beatles in disguise (you know – Beatles group/Bee Gees – fat chance).  Supposedly Barry and Robin wrote this in a dark staircase at Polydor records in the U.K. where they imagined being trapped underground.   They later claimed it was inspired by a 1966 Welsh mining disaster, but changed it to New York because it sounded better and then they just made up the year.  This single on the Atco label did climb to #14 here setting them on course to disco stardom a decade later – who knew?  Maybe a better title would have come from the line “have you seen my wife Mr. Jones?” but who knows.  By the way, Randy Bachman told the story when we saw him in concert that it was the strummed guitar intro from this record that inspired the beginning to the Guess Who song “Laughing”.

7.The Association – Pandora’s Golden Heebie Jeebies

Boy, here is a lesson on how to kill career momentum.  In 1966 The Association released the #7 hit “Along Comes Mary” and then a #1 in Cherish.  Then along came “Pandora’s Golden Heebie Jeebies” which certainly wasn’t catchy and didn’t have a title that made any sense.  That this Jules Alexander composition got to #35 is frankly pretty amazing – maybe because the record came in a nice picture sleeve.  It was the highest charting single from their second LP Renaissance (“No Fair At All” only got to #51).  Actually reading the lyrics now, it is a pretty decent poem but what about the title?  The only speculation I can find is that it has something to do with the Sunset Strip club Pandora’s Box in the same area where the riots occurred that Stephen Stills wrote “For What It’s Worth” about.  They are pictured far left in our intro. 

8.Kyu Sakamoto – Sukiyaki

In the context of the times, I guess it made sense to take one of the few Japanese sounding words us ignorant gaijin could fathom and make it the title of this memorable song rather than the real title “Ue o Muite Arukō”.  You do think, however, that Capitol records could have put that as a parenthetical after “Sukiyaki” or at least the English translation “I Look Up As I Walk”.  In retrospect this is a pretty racially insensitive move and yet it still hasn’t been rectified on reissues which is a pity.  Another sad part of the story is that the singer of this 1963 #1 U.S. hit was killed in the tragedy of Japan Air Lines Flight 123 in 1985.  524 people lost their lives allegedly because of “structural failure caused by a faulty repair by Boeing technicians following a tailstrike incident seven years prior”.  

9.The Beatles – Tomorrow Never Knows

This is mostly a John Lennon song from the 1966 album Revolver that at various times has been listed as the greatest album of all-time.  While it was the last cut on the album, it was the first song recorded for the record.  At the time it was a pretty avant garde record using backwards guitar, tape loops (the first instance of sampling?), tambura drone, heavily compressed drums and a vocal run through the leslie cabinet of an organ.  As a kid I didn’t quite understand the depth of the lyrics and assumed that “lay down all thoughts, surrender to the void” was really “surrender to the boy” which made far more sense to me.  The title could have been “Of The Beginning” or at least “The Void” but was instead “Tomorrow Never Knows” from something Ringo once said.  There are several other good Beatles songs that could have fit this category as well:  “The Inner Light”, “Love You To”, “The Ballad Of John & Yoko”, “For You Blue”, etc.

10.Klaatu – Sub-Rosa Subway

Here is yet another entry in the ‘is it the Beatles recording under a different name’ sweepstakes. Back in 1976 when this came out it stalled.  The next year, however, a Rhode Island journalist Steve Smith decided since it was on the Beatles’ old label Capitol it must be The Beatles back together. Fans were just desperate enough for a reunion that they wanted to believe the Fabs had returned.  Heck there was no picture of the band on the cover, no credits and this sure sounded psychedelic enough.  Let’s not forget that in 1974 Ringo’s LP Goodnight Vienna also had his face superimposed on Klaatu’s body in a frame from the movie The Day the Earth Stood Still.  Wow, is Paul really dead?  Let’s be real, The Beatles weren’t going to record a song titled “Anus of Uranus”.  At any rate it was a decent record coming out of Canada with this single getting to #62 about Alfred Ely Beach secretly digging the precursor to modern mass transit in New York City back in 1869.  Sub rosa means secretly by the way.

11.The Monkees – Randy Scouse Git (Alternate Title)

Just an album track in the U.S. on the third Monkees LP and the first they played their own instruments on (Headquarters 1967), this was a decent sized hit in the U.K. (#2).  Monkee Micky Dolenz wrote this song about a party he and Mike Nesmith attended early in 1967 while in London.  The title came from a phrase Dolenz heard on the BBC TV show Till Death Us Do Part that was hurled by the father figure character at his son-in-law.  It basically means a sex crazed jerk from Liverpool.  This show was later adapted in the U.S. as All In The Family with the older character calling his son-in-law a ‘meathead’ instead.  The record label in the U.K. thought the original title was rude so they asked Dolenz for an alternate title which is precisely the title he gave them back.  

12.Johnny Horton – The Battle Of New Orleans

A #1 hit in 1959, this is by far my favorite country song of all-time. The lyrics were written in 1936 by an Arkansas school teacher named James Corbitt Morris to get his students interested in the history of the battle of New Orleans from the War of 1812.  It was fought January 8, 1815 with Andrew Jackson’s men badly defeating a British force that was far superior in numbers.  The melody Morris used was an old fiddle tune named after that battle, “The 8th Of January”.  In the ’50s Morris changed his name to Jimmy Driftwood and pursued a career singing folk music while writing hundreds of songs.  Singer Johnny Horton sang country and rockabilly with his biggest hits being sagas (“North To Alaska”, “Johnny Reb”).   Horton was married to Hank Williams’ widow at the time he was killed in a head-on car crash in Milam County, Texas in the early morning hours of Nov. 5, 1960.  He was 35.

13.The Rolling Stones – Sympathy For The Devil

The 1968 Beggars Banquet began a run of classic albums for The Rolling Stones up till Exile On Main Street four years later.  This song was the lead track.  Though it is said to be mostly a Mick Jagger composition, Keith Richards also gets a co-writing credit mainly for coming up with the arrangement.  The focus of the lyrics is on many of man’s atrocities and teases that they are being sung by the devil.  Jean-Luc Godard captured the band creating the song in the studio and used it in the avant-garde movie variously titled Sympathy for the Devil, 1 + 1 and One Plus One.  Whatever the title, I absolutely hated the film when I saw it a few years later in college as it wasn’t so much about the music as it was some weird political concept.  The one thing it did sadly highlight was the downfall of Brian Jones who had little to do with the record.

14.The Band – The Weight

The Band were one of the most influential groups of the late ’60s starting out in Woodstock, NY and backing Bob Dylan for a time.  Composer guitarist Robbie Robertson says that the inspirations for the song were that his Martin guitar said it was from Nazareth (Pennsylania) inside, Frances “Fanny” Steloff owned a NY bookstore he went to, his bandmates life stories and the films of Ingmar Bergman and Luis Buñuel.  “Take a load off” from the chorus might have made a good title, but “The Weight” does at least describe an onus of some kind.  The single was from their first album Music From Big Pink (1968) and charted at #63.  Other band members have disputed that Robertson was the sole writer of the song.  All the people mentioned in the song were real, by the way.

15.Jefferson Airplane – The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil

The first two hits by Jefferson Airplane went top 10 in the U.S. then they never cracked the top 40 again.  This came the closest at #42 in the fall of 1967.  Guitarist Paul Kantner composed it taking many of the lyrics from poetry by A. A. Milne who was most famous for creating Winnie-The-Pooh.  Pooneil in the title supposed refers to that bear plus folkie Fred Neil.   The song appeared on their third album After Bathing at Baxter’s.  Your Dentist almost bought that album many times over the years just for the great cover illustration of a crazy airplane then finally did in 2023 at a thrift store for 75 cents.  It is confirmed, I still don’t much like the album.  

16.Jimi Hendrix – Up From The Skies

The second Jimi Hendrix Experience album (Axis: Bold As Love 1967) never grabbed me like their first and third albums but there were a few interesting tracks including this single (which I taped again from Dan – sorry).  When it was released on 45 in 1968, it got to only #82.  The song is a departure for Jimi being fairly jazzy.  Lyrically it was told from the perspective of a visiting alien to Earth.  Jimi Hendrix’s time here on earth was November 27, 1942 to September 18, 1970 and some would say his guitar playing was alien to anything we had ever heard.  

17.David Bowie – Space Oddity

As often as he sings it, you would think the title would have obviously been “ground control to major Tom”.  This was the first U.K. hit for David Bowie when it was released a week prior to the moon landing that happened July 20, 1969.  A reissue of the single in the U.S. became his first top 20 hit here when it got to #15 in 1973.  Bowie was born David Jones January 8, 1947 in London and passed away January 10, 2016 in New York City.  By the way, in 1983 German singer Peter Schilling had a #14 U.S. hit with “Major Tom (Coming Home)” which furthered the story of this man in space.

18.The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – Some Of Shelly’s Blues

Time has a way of dulling the memory, but I seem to remember hearing this song on the radio late in 1969 then going to Budget Tapes & Records to try to find.  Failing that, I picked up the LP Alive instead which was the only NGDB LP in the store at the time (it was pretty good, actually).  The essential NGDB album Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy finally came out in February of ’70 and was worth the wait.  There wasn’t a bad cut on the record with this single being the lead track.  After the success of “Mr. Bojangles”, the single was reissued and became a #64 U.S. charter in 1971.  New member Jimmy Ibbotson sang this Michael Nesmith composition.  Nesmith was a member of The Monkees when this song was released on the final album by The Stone Poneys Linda Ronstadt, Stone Poneys and Friends, Vol. III (1968).  

19.Wilson Pickett – Land Of 1000 Dances

This white suburban kid fell under the sway of the Wicked Pickett while in high school.  I picked up his greatest hits LP which contained this high energy cover of the old Cannibal & The Headhunters hit.  Their #30 1965 version was slower and lyrically different than Pickett’s #6 charter the following year (his biggest hit).  It was written by Chris Kenner who took his waxing of the song to #77 in 1963.  Pickett’s version kept elements from both versions as Kenner’s didn’t have the “na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na” bit that Cannibal (Frankie Garcia) added (supposedly because he forgot the lyrics).  Wilson was born in Alabama March 18, 1941 and passed in Virginia January 19, 2006.

20.The Righteous Brothers – Unchained Melody

I will include this for my old assistant Meagan (hope she is doing well) as she loved this song.  Between 1955 and 1981 there were eight versions of this song that charted on the U.S. Hot 100.  The version by The Righteous Brothers got to #4 in 1965.  The music was composed by Alex North with lyrics by Hy Zaret in 1955 for the movie Unchained.  It is said that over 1500 versions of this song have been recorded.  The movie took place in prison with an inmate played by Todd Duncan singing this song.  This Bobby Hatfield solo performance became a hit when DJs flipped over the single “Hung On You” and played the b-side instead (which supposedly didn’t sit well with producer Phil Spector).  Bill Medley has said he produced this and played the piano as it was supposed to be a throwaway b-side.  In 1990 it became a hit all over again when used in the movie Ghost.  They recorded a new version of the song for Curb records and it became a # 19 hit though Hatfield’s voice was rougher than the quality he had on the original which recharted as well at #13.  Hatfield passed at age 63 November 5, 2003.

21.Crow – Cottage Cheese

The Minneapolis group Crow only had three hits all in the year 1970 with this being the middle one at #56.  What the heck do the lyrics have to do with cottage cheese you may ask?  Bassist Larry Wiegand in a later interview said that “the engineer needed to label it something so Dave (Wagner – lead singer) told him to just call it ‘Cottage Cheese’ until we came up with something better. We never did, so that name stuck.”  It was on their Crow By Crow LP on Amaret.

22.Quicksilver Messenger Service – Dino’s Tune

Quicksilver were one of the original San Francisco hippie bands and this track was one of my faves from their 1968 debut LP Quicksilver Messenger Service (#68 on the album charts).  The song was named after the songwriter Dino Valenti (Chester William Powers, Jr. – October 7, 1937 to November 16, 1994).  He had performed with members who later became Quicksilver (they were his backing band in 1964).  Valenti was in Folsom Prison serving a sentence for possession of marijuana when this song was released.  He later wrote and was lead singer on the minor hit for Quicksilver “Fresh Air” (#49 in 1970).  His most famous composition was “Let’s Get Together” which was covered by many acts including The Youngbloods (as “Get Together” – #5 in 1969).  Bassist/guitarist/vocalist David Freiberg had been a co-founder of the group after getting out of jail for marijuana as well.  Over the years he has also been a member of Jefferson Airplane/Starship after getting out a jail yet again for marijuana.  Quicksilver guitarist John Cipollina’s brother Mario played bass for Huey Lewis & The News from 1979 till 1995.

23.The Lovin’ Spoonful – Butchie’s Tune

This was not a very well-known song by The Lovin’ Spoonful appearing as an album track on their second LP Daydream (1966).  I included it as I always wondered what the title meant to this John Sebastian/Steve Boone composition sung by drummer Joe Butler.  It turns out Butchie was Jean Webber who married Sebastian as a way to help him avoid being drafted in to the U.S. army.  Steve Boone (bassist) talked about her in a later interview: “Butchie played a big role in the Lovin’ Spoonful. Not only just being our mother hen and den mother, … but stepping up and doing that.”  They divorced in 1966.  She was married next for three years to actor Bob Denver (Gilligan’s Island).

24.The Byrds – 5D (Fifth Dimension)

This was a #44 chart record in 1966 written by Jim McGuinn (before he changed his name to Roger).  It was the title track to the third album by The Byrds as well.  There really isn’t a great lyric in the song that would have served as a good title though I prefer “scientific delirium madness” from one of the verses perhaps in parenthesis.  Though interpreted by some as a drug song, McGuinn emphatically denied it saying “the fifth dimension is the threshold of scientific knowledge” and that he was inspired by Einstein. 

25.Jethro Tull – Hymn 43

Aqualung stands as the most popular LP by Ian Anderson’s band Jethro Tull.  This track was taken from that LP in June of 1971 and released as a single getting to only #91 but becoming their first chart 45.  Guitarist Martin Barre plays the lick that makes the record for me including a rhythmic ‘ca-chunka ca-chunka’ with the strings muted.  Boy I sure miss his guitar on the excellent Tull album The Zealot Gene plus the recently decent RÖKFLÖTE album.  On this song Anderson attacks those who use Jesus and religion as a weapon or to gain fame and fortune.  Is Jethro Tull the most egregious omission from the U.S. rock music hall of shame?  Anderson has stated he doesn’t want to be inducted, but who cares what he says – pick them anyway as a hall of fame to me is supposed to honor innovation as much as success.  If Ian doesn’t want to attend then so be it but reward the career of this great band anyway.  Okay, astute music fans who have gotten to the end may here wonder what happened to the group pictured to the left in our intro.  In keeping with the cryptic nature of this theme, I included a picture of The Cowsills in the intro (far left) whose “The Rain, The Park & Other Things” fits this category – however I didn’t actually mention them in my list.  Ooh, clever huh?  Okay maybe not but thanks for reading.

Doc’s Fave Bob Dylan Covers

Bruce Springsteen fans in particular may dispute it, but Bob Dylan is the most important American songwriter of the rock era in your Dentist’s opinion.  Dylan’s music is not all one style (which of course really annoyed folk purists back in the mid-60s who hated to see an electric guitar around his neck and The Band backing him when they were the Hawks).  His extensive canon includes folk, protest, love songs, religious tunes and R&B.  Robert Zimmerman will be 80 years old on May 24, 2021 so this seems like a good time to assemble a list of my favorite cover versions of Dylan songs.  Please understand that I am a fan of ’60s pop rock especially and so the selections are more in that vein than in ‘important artistic statements’.   For that reason you won’t see on this list the myriad of folk singers who rushed to cover Dylan in the early ’60s.  The order is fairly fluid so don’t get too concerned if your #1 is my #3.  Feel free to send in your comments as to your personal favorites.  Arbitrarily I have limited the list to only 2 songs per 1 artist and with no songs duplicated.  Dylan can be playfully obtuse about the meaning of his lyrics so I will let you decide for yourselves what they convey (plus how to interpret his statement at one time that he preferred Johnny Rivers’ cover of “Positively 4th Street” to his own?).  For neophytes, he was born Robert Allen Zimmerman in Duluth, Minnesota and was raised mainly in Hibbing.  In 1959 he headed for the University of Minnesota but after a year there he headed to New York’s Greenwich Village searching for Woody Guthrie, searching for his voice and making a name in the folk clubs.  He released his first album (Bob Dylan) in March of 1962 for Columbia records.  The Dylan name comes from the poet Dylan Thomas.

1.Manfred Mann -The Mighty Quinn (Quinn The Eskimo)

The band Manfred Mann was named after the stage nom de plume of U.K. keyboard player Manfred Lubowitz.  They scored a #1 in 1964 with “Do Wah Diddy Diddy”.  When singer Paul Jones left, his place was taken by Mike d’Abo and in 1968 they hit #1 in the U.K. (#10 here) with this Dylan cover.  The flute and bass were played by Beatles friend Klaus Voormann who did the cover art for Revolver.  Bob had recorded this song in 1967 as part of The Basement Tapes which were not released till 1975 (and then only a few of the songs and in altered form).  Using The Band for backing, he recorded some of his best songs including this, “Tears Of Rage”, “I Shall Be Released” and “This Wheel’s On Fire.”  Reversing the 2 elements of the song’s title, Dylan’s version was finally released in 1985 on the boxset Biograph.  Anthony Quinn played an Eskimo in the 1960 movie The Savage Innocents which one assumes inspired the title.

2.The Byrds – Mr. Tambourine Man

The Byrds and their leader Roger (Jim early on) McGuinn have to be considered the foremost interpreters of the music of Bob Dylan.  They basically created folk-rock with this their debut single (#1 in the summer of 1965).  Their recording used only the 2nd of the original’s 4 verses which had appeared as an acoustic song on Bringing It All Back Home.  Producer Terry Melcher used only McGuinn’s 12-string guitar along with session players from The Wrecking Crew to back the gorgeous Byrds harmonies.

3.The Jimi Hendrix Experience – All Along The Watchtower

In the U.S., this was Jimi’s only single to crack the top 40 at #20 (fall of 1968).   The production almost feels like an amped up version of Phil Spector’s wall-of-sound with percussion supposedly supplied by Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones.  Dave Mason was also at the sessions for the song and at one time played 12-string or even bass but Jimi kept erasing and adding more parts.  While Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell appears, the final bass part was played by Hendrix himself instead of Noel Redding.  Dylan’s version appeared on the Dec. 27, 1967 LP John Wesley Harding in a fairly stripped-down style with Bob playing acoustic guitar and harmonica.  My late buddy Chuck Davis used to love this song and supplied me with the import of Electric Ladyland (the one with the nude cover) – thanks Chuck – we miss you.

4.George Harrison – If Not For You

The big Christmas album we all wanted under the tree in 1970 was George Harrison’s boxset All Things Must Pass.  In a rare moment feeding my musical habit, my parents actually did pick this up for me – thanks mom and dad – we miss you as well.  Having sat in on the sessions for Dylan’s New Morning and hearing this song, George recorded it with Phil Spector behind the controls for his own record.  It was a near miss to include Olivia Newton-John’s gentle version in this list, her first U.S. charting single  (1971 #25).

5.Manfred Mann’s Earth Band – You Angel You

This song really surprised the young me when looking at the record label and noticing the composer was Bob Dylan.  It is more of a straight pop-rock love song than you would have expected from him.  It comes from the Jan. 1974 Planet Waves record (a #1) with backing by The Band.  After touring with Dylan during his Rolling Thunder Revue period, some of the players formed The Alpha Band (T-Bone Burnett, Steven Soles, and David Mansfield).  They released a nice version of this song on their 2nd LP Spark In The Dark (1977) as well.  The Earth Band take was from Angel Station (1979) with Chris Thompson singing lead.  Other than the keyboard player, this is an entirely different band than Manfred Mann so don’t yell at me later when you find more than 2 songs under the Manfred Mann umbrella!

6.The Byrds – My Back Pages

To limit The Byrds covering Dylan to only 2 songs was difficult as they did so many great ones meaning their versions of  “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” and “Chimes Of Freedom” didn’t make the list.  At #30 (1967), this was the last Byrds single to crack the U.S. top 40 even though they continued to release excellent music till 1973 (okay their last album or 2 weren’t so hot).  This was from their Younger Than Yesterday LP – a record that saw bassist Chris Hillman emerging as a writer.  The original was found on the 1964 record Another Side Of Bob Dylan.

7.The Turtles – It Ain’t Me Babe

Another Side Of Bob Dylan also supplied this song whose “no no no” chorus is seen by some as his take-off on The Beatles “yeah yeah yeah” from “I Want To Hold Your Hand”.  At this time, Dylan was still in the acoustic troubadour mode so a new band The Turtles gave it the folk-rock band treatment in 1965 and had their first hit (U.S. #8).  They started in L.A. (1963) as The Crossfires playing surf music then Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman packed away their saxes and started singing P.F. Sloan and Dylan covers under a new name.  Later as Flo and Eddie they would link up with Frank Zappa in The Mothers.

8.Johnny Winter – Highway 61 Revisited

The late Johnny Winter was an original – a genius slide guitar bluesman who happened to be an albino (like his brother Edgar).  His 1969 Second Winter LP is the 1st record I know of with only 3 sides of music (the 4th was blank).  This, his 2nd Columbia label waxing, was better than his debut as it had a tougher sound in part due to his brother appearing on keys and sax taking the sound in to more of a rock style.  This tune was the title track to Dylan’s 1965 LP also on Columbia (plus it appeared on the b-side to the single “Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?”).  On this, his 6th album, for the 1st time Bob mostly eschews acoustic folk for electric rhythm and blues.  The title refers to the main road that runs along Lake Superior through Dylan’s native Duluth, Minnesota.

9.Peter, Paul & Mary – Too Much Of Nothing

The only act to give The Byrds a run for the title of top Dylan cover band were Peter, Paul & Mary.   This track from their Late Again album was a #35 45 that followed up “I Dig Rock & Roll Music” late in 1967.  The song was another taped in 1967 by Dylan with The Band and eventually released in 1975 on The Basement Tapes.  Reportedly Dylan was unhappy that PP&M changed the 2nd name in the lyric from Vivien to Marion yet the other 2 main covers (Spooky Tooth and Fotheringay) do the same.

10.Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Rainy Day Women #12 & 35

Own up time, this single was the only Dylan record that the young me owned back in the day.  “Everybody must get stoned” as a drug reference certainly didn’t fit the lifestyle of your Dentist who remains anti-drug and alcohol (and frankly at 13 in April of 1966, I wasn’t gonna get stoned anyway).  The rollicking tune which sounded like a party was what appealed to yours truly – not the lyrics (and frankly the words also have a double meaning about stoning someone like in Biblical times as punishment).  The Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers version takes the song at a faster tempo as an amped up blues rocker and really improves on the original.  This can be found as a live performance from the 1993 album that captured  the previous year’s tribute to Bob (The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration).  The impressive line-up included Roger McGuinn, Richie Havens, Johnny Winter, John Mellencamp and others.  A nearly as good version was done by The Black Crowes and is found on the 1995 compilation Hempilation: Freedom Is NORML.  Petty and his band backed Dylan on an extensive concert tour in 1986 and the Grateful Dead did a limited run backing him in ’87.

11.Manfred Mann – If You Gotta Go, Go Now

The Paul Jones-lead version of Manfred Mann released this Dylan cover in 1965 as a single which charted at #2 in the U.K. but flopped here.  Other covers were by The Liverpool Five and lyme & cybelle (early Warren Zevon).   It has been said that the lyrics were too sexually suggestive for ’60s U.S. radio programmers (“if you gotta go, go now or else you got to stay all night”).   Dylan’s original (recorded in 1965) was a non-charting single in the Netherlands in 1967 but was not released anywhere else.  In 1991 it was finally made available on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991. 

12.Roger McGuinn – Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door

After The Byrds broke up, leader McGuinn didn’t give up recording Dylan and did a nice version of this tune on his 3rd solo record McGuinn & Band (1975).  Just like his other solo albums, it was not a chart success (#162).  Dylan wrote the soundtrack for the 1973 film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (plus he appeared in it) and this became the most remembered song from it.  This popular song has been covered by a number of artists including Eric Clapton and Guns N’ Roses.

13.Beau Brummels – One Too Many Mornings

Your Dentist has a warm spot for this San Francisco band as they were 2nd on the bill at the Freddie & The Dreamers concert in 1965 which was my first (The McCoys also appeared).  Singer Sal Valentino and guitarist/songwriter Ron Elliott were the only constants in the band from ’64 till they broke up in ’69.  This non-album folk-rock single barely made the U.S. charts in 1966 (#95).  It was their last song to do so even though they released 2 more excellent LPs for Warner Brothers (Triangle and Bradley’s Barn).  The song comes from Dylan’s 3rd LP (1964) The Times They Are a-Changin’ which was when he was still an acoustic troubadour.  The Association also released it as a single in 1965.

14.Bryan Ferry – A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall

Roxy Music front-man Ferry lead off his 1st solo album These Foolish Things (1973) with this tune.   Frankly it sounds exactly like a Roxy record except all the songs are covers rather than originals .  As a single it also hit #10 in the U.K. where he was far more successful than here.  While Ferry did it as a rocker, as an acoustic protest song, this appeared on Dylan’s 2nd record (1963) The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan.  

15.Bachman Cummings – Like A Rolling Stone

The 2007 reunion of Guess Who band members Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings produced the excellent covers album Jukebox.  While Dylan’s version was electric, their version really blasts out the volume of the guitars making  it sound like a metal “Wild Thing”.  Dylan recorded it for his 1965 LP  Highway 61 Revisited with Al Kooper supplying the organ part – an instrument he didn’t normally play.  Michael Bloomfield played the guitar.  As a single, it charted at #2 on Billboard – a rarity back then for a 6 minute song.  Not surprisingly, Rolling Stone declared it to be their #1 song of all time (2010) plus The Rolling Stones released a live version on their album Stripped (also as a single).  

16.Manfred Mann’s Earth Band – Please Mrs. Henry

Manfred Mann’s new group released this as their 1st single in 1971 and then on their excellent self-titled debut LP the next year.  The song was a rocker with not entirely serious lyrical content.  It was another of the songs from Dylan and The Band’s Basement Tapes.  In the early days, Cheap Trick often jammed at length to this in concert.  

17.Jimmy Barnes – Seven Days

Aussie Barnes has one of the greatest rock voices yet he has never been very successful in the U.S. as a solo or with Cold Chisel.  This rocker came off his Freight Train Heart record in 1987 (’88 here).  As an LP it hit #1 in Australia but only #104 here.  The word is Dylan worked this up during his Desire period but decided not to release it.  Ronnie Wood of The Faces/The Stones recorded it for his 1979 Gimme Some Neck LP.  Joe Cocker also did a nice rockin’ version too.  Dylan’s own live performance from 1976 came out on the Columbia boxset The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991.  

18.The Hollies – The Times They Are a-Changin’

As a British Invasion group, The Hollies were a bit late to the party in the U.S. not scoring a top 10 hit till “Bus Stop” in 1966.   With Allan Clarke and Graham Nash as primary singers, vocal harmony was their strong suit.  Nash reportedly became frustrated that the band didn’t want to record his new songs but instead wanted to do an all-Dylan covers album so left to link up with Stephen Stills and David Crosby.  Terry Sylvester took Nash’s place beginning with this record.   This isn’t one of their strongest albums as their arrangements don’t always fit the songs though it charted at #3 in the U.K..  Dylan purists would likely hate this harmonic take on one his most iconic protest songs, the title track to his 1964 album.  The long list of artists who covered it includes Simon & Garfunkel, Me First & The Gimme Gimmes, The Beach Boys and Peter, Paul & Mary.

19.The Blues Band – Maggie’s Farm

After trying a solo career post-Manfred Mann, singer Paul Jones formed The Blues band with other U.K. music vets.  In 1980 they released 2 U.K. charting albums with their 2nd (Ready) including this song which also charted there on EP (#68).  They changed the original lyrics to include their commentary on the government of Margaret Thatcher.  Dylan’s own version charted in the U.K. at #22 as a single from his Bringing It All Back Home LP.

20.The Faces – Wicked Messenger

Back when Rod Stewart wasn’t ‘sexy’, he actually made some excellent records with bands like The Jeff Beck Group and a reconstituted Small Faces after Steve Marriott quit to form Humble Pie.  The first Faces LP (First Step 1970) was a true band album as opposed to Rod with backing group.  As a band they put on some great concerts (saw them with pal DC back in the day at least twice), but never seemed to capture their sound adequately on record.  Bob’s Biblical original was on the John Wesley Harding album in Dec. of ’67.   

21.Peter, Paul & Mary – Blowin’ In The Wind

Well it is pretty hard not to include this iconic version of one of Dylan’s most covered songs.  The original was from The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan record in 1963 and became an anthem of the civil rights movement in the ’60s.  The PP&M version peaked at #2 in the U.S. and was ironically kept from #1 by “Fingertips” by Stevie Wonder.  The irony is that Wonder would have his own top 10 hit with this song in 1966.  

22.Johnny Cash – Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right

Columbia at one time was the recorded music home of both Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash.  Apparently they respected each other’s work and recorded an entire album’s worth of duets.   At that time (1969) only “Girl From The North Country”  was released officially on Nashville Skyline .  Cash penned the liner notes poem “Of Bob Dylan” for that album while Dylan ended up appearing on Cash’s variety TV show in June of ’69.  Earlier in 1965 for his Orange Blossom Special album, Johnny included 3 Dylan covers including this song sounding very much in the vein of classic Cash.   Peter, Paul & Mary took their version to #9.  The oddest cover version was by The Four Seasons operating under the pseudonym The Wonder Who?.  Frankie Valli recorded his lead vocal with a joking pinched falsetto sound.  Since it didn’t sound like a Four Seasons record, their label Philips released it under the fake name in 1965 and it charted ultimately at #12.

23.Rod Stewart – Tomorrow Is A Long Time

Rod Stewart’s Every Picture Tells A Story was when he became a superstar due to “Maggie May”.  This was his 3rd solo record (1970) and was one of his best ever.  Dylan first recorded the song as a demo in 1962 then again in 1970 for New Morning though he didn’t release it then.  The 1st official release was from a live 1963 source on his 1971 compilation Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Vol. II .  It has been covered by artists such as Elvis Presley, Judy Collins and Sandy Denny.

24.Linda Ronstadt – Baby, You’ve Been On My Mind

The Dylan song “Mama You’ve Been On My Mind” was adapted to “Baby You’ve Been On My Mind” for Ronstadt’s debut solo record Hand Sown…Home Grown from 1969.  After the folk of her band The Stone Poneys, this record had more of a country feel mixed in.  Chip Douglas’ production on this song is more pop-folk with a nice French horn solo part and should have been a single.  Ronstadt recorded 2 Dylan songs for this record (“I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” being the other one).   This was Bob’s breakup song from Suze Rotolo during sessions for his Another Side Of Bob Dylan record.  It didn’t come out till 1991 on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991.  Other versions were by Rod Stewart, Judy Collins, The Kingston Trio, etc..

25.Joe Cocker – Ring Them Bells

Dylan from 1989 on his Oh Mercy album, this is one of his best-received later period records.  Daniel Lanois’ production is spiritually sparse and fits Bob’s rough voice well.  Joe Cocker recorded it for his 2007 Hymn For My Soul LP.  It is only slightly more fleshed out instrumentally by producer Ethan Johns and sounds tailor-made for Joe Cocker’s raw vocal style.  The album made an impression on the Christian charts of that time and includes a cover of George Harrison’s “Beware Of Darkness”.