The 5 Most Covered Songs Of The '70s

What makes a song prime for a cover? A melody singable to everyday people that also shines in the mouths of professionals? Iconic moments and lyrics that stand out in memory and demand imitation? Something universal in the sound and sentiment that makes people want to channel it? We'd say all of the above and more, especially when it comes to some of the most covered songs of the '70s.

If any decade is cover-worthy, it'd be the '70s (and the '60s before it). "Boomer music," in other words, a term that we use in all praise. No other era produced musicians like Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, etc., etc., all of which grant boomers bragging rights over other generations. No other era generated music of such superlative musicianship, variety, and depth that's had time to settle into public consciousness to the point where a song like the Beatles' 1965 "Yesterday" has been officially covered about 1,500 times. Numbers like that also don't take into account all of the café covers from would-be stars, bedroom guitar strumming from unnamed teens, and commuter karaoke over the car radio or playlist.

The reader might be able to predict some of the '70s' most covered songs. Some even seem wholly unfit for easy imitation, like Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." We've also got songs from heavy hitters like Bob Dylan and even one from a largely unknown artist you've probably never heard of.

Imagine all the covers. It's not hard if you try: There are over 760 official versions living in peaceful lists of well-wishes that still haven't penetrated reality. That's part of the appeal of "Imagine," though. The John Lennon-written tune is not only one of the most covered songs of the '70s and one that proves 1971 was classic rock's best year, but it's also a track that's practically treated with the kind of reverence reserved for church hymns. Yes, some people detest "Imagine," especially those who consider it hypocritical coming from a wealthy Beatle. Even Elton John made fun of Lennon with a parody that included the lines, "'Imagine six apartments, it isn't hard to do, one is full of fur coats, another's full of shoes.'" Nonetheless, "Imagine" continues to inspire musicians enough for them to cover it year after year.

Back when Lennon released "Imagine" off his 1971 album of the same name, he might not have known how big it would become or how many people would pick up their acoustic guitars and strum away to the track. Yet by the year of his death, 1980, Lennon considered "Imagine" to be "the best song I've ever written" and "almost like a prayer" (per MusicRadar). In 2024, it landed at No. 19 on Rolling Stone's list of top 500 songs of all time.

It's not just café folk singers and piano-playing lounge singers who've covered "Imagine," either. Ray Charles, Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Joan Baez, Elton John (a non-parody version), Chris Cornell, Eddie Vedder, Dolly Parton, David Bowie: This is just a sample of the biggest names that have reprised the song in their own way.

In 1972, a lady you might have never heard of, Lori Lieberman, released a song you've definitely heard of at the beginning of her self-titled debut album, "Killing Me Softly With His Song." That's an amazing accomplishment in and of itself, and the following year, the song also reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 thanks to Roberta Flack's cover. Flack wasn't the only one to cover Lieberman's song, either — as of this writing, musicians have done over 500 official cover versions and counting.

Wild enough, "Killing Me Softly With His Song" wasn't based on any kind of horrible break-up or bad relationship. Lieberman wrote it based on how she felt at a Don McLean concert, of all things, aka the "American Pie" guy who finally revealed the true meaning of his 1971 tune as recently as 2022. Hence "Killing Me Softly With His Song's" very literal lyrics, "I heard he sang a good song / I heard he had a style / And so I came to see him / To listen for a while." It's a testament to Lieberman's skill as a songwriter that the track came to have a much broader, highly personal meaning to so many people. 

And yes, those people include the Fugees and their truly excellent, hip-hop rendition from their 1996 album, "The Score" (contrasted with Lieberman's original folk version). Tori Amos and Luther Vandross did versions as well, demonstrating precisely how versatile the song could be. 

Speaking of coming out of the career gate strong, we've got a song with a title so memorable that you can't help but hear the melody and rhythm just by reading or saying it: 1971's ultra-popular "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers off his debut, "Just As I Am." This powerful, singable, and surprisingly short track (about two minutes long) hit No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and proved so universally appealing that it's garnered over 500 official covers over the years. This includes takes from Michael Jackson, the Temptations, Tom Jones, Paul McCartney, Sting, and Neil Diamond. 

But really, Withers' original is the one that you're likely to know, if only because his voice is perfect for carrying the song's sentiments. His performance elevated what was actually an unfinished rough cut of a tune to its final heights. Withers ad-libbed the whole, prolonged, "I know, I know, I know, I know" bridge to fill space and flesh out what's actually closer to a song fragment than a complete, wholly structured track. But maybe that's why it works so well and why so many people have covered it. It's approachable, folks can hear their own feelings in it, and if someone doesn't have a "she" described in the song's extremely simple, pared-back lyrics, the tune's blues sentiments still act like a purgative for the soul.

There's another reason why Withers' track caught on so mightily with other singers: authenticity. Withers was as unpretentious and down-to-earth of a person as you could get. When "Ain't No Sunshine" debuted, he was a factory worker in his 30s. Even more fitting, the album cover for the aptly named "Just As I Am" was taken on his lunch break.

Let's be honest: "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a pretty ambitious song to cover. First, you've got to get some friends to join you for all the song's various, immensely densely layered vocal tracks — for real. Then, you've got to master the song's weird, five-act structure, time signature changes, rhythmic switch-ups, and all. And of course, you'll need Freddie Mercury's swagger, perhaps even his iconic Yamaha piano, and Brian May's fretboard-shredding fingers. Maybe this is why a decent amount of the song's 315 official covers employ orchestras or choral groups. It also might be why few folks attempted to cover it before the late '80s, after Queen's legendary performance at 1985's Live Aid concert. Even just doing it solo at karaoke is a stretch.

Regardless, the number of "Bohemian Rhapsody" covers proves how much people love it, likely because of its oddities and memorable moments rather than despite them. The song did reach No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 when it released, but it didn't receive the type of love and adoration that you'd think it did — not for such a ubiquitous tune that currently has almost 3.2 billion Spotify listens (Queen's highest). "Bohemian Rhapsody" gained a second life not only through Live Aid but also following Freddie Mercury's 1991 death, after which it went to No. 1 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart for the second time.

But despite the song's bravado and over-the-top theatricality, not all covers of "Bohemian Rhapsody" have been elaborate stage productions. Weird Al did a "Bohemian Polka" parody in 1993, and Sir Elton John teamed up with Axl Rose and the remnants of Queen to do the song in 1992. Pink, a cappella group Pentatonix, and more have also done their own renditions.

If reading the words "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" makes you hear Axl Rose's nasal sneer and not Bob Dylan's craggy bleats, then you know you belong to a certain generation. But all unflattering vocal descriptions aside, "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" is one of the most covered songs of the '70s. This might seem strange considering that Dylan wrote the number for the soundtrack to the so-so 1973 Western "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid," where he himself played a small role in the film as the character Alias. Yet Dylan's tune vastly outgrew the movie to the point where it's his most listened-to song on Spotify — about 912 million listens as of this writing — and it garnered 318 official covers. We should also note that Guns N' Roses' famed 1991 cover has over 1 billion listens.

"Knockin' On Heaven's Door" has probably garnered so many covers because it's so easy to play. It's written using some of a novice guitarist's first chords: The eternally reliable G-major, D-major, and C-major open chord combo, with an A-minor tossed in for kicks. And of course, it's fun to sing "Knock, knock, knockin'" like you're knock, knock, knockin' on someone's door. But if we look at the full list of covers, the vast majority of them came after Guns N' Roses' rendition, which definitely isn't a coincidence. Aside from larger names like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Avril Lavigne, Wyclef Jean, and Babyface, a strange variety of not-too-famous artists have covered the song. Part of the accessibility of Dylan's tune might come from its organic, quick creative process: He apparently wrote it on a plane ride the day before the movie scene that inspired it was set to be shot.