I was listening to Catherine Britt’s excellent Dusty Smiles and Heartbreak Cures yesterday and the young Aussie’s covers of Hag and Hank got me wondering about the most-covered songs in my library. Well, a bit of time rooting through my collection and I came up with the short list below, which happens to include some of my favorite songs.
I Never Go Around Mirrors (9)
Bradley Walker, Daryle Singletary, Dick Curless, Gene Watson, Keith Whitley, Mark Chesnutt, Merle Haggard, Trace Adkins, Willie Nelson
Today I Started Loving You Again (7)
Buddy Jewell/Miranda Lambert, Gene Watson/Lee Ann Womack, George Jones, Martina McBride, Merle Haggard, Tracy Byrd, Willie Nelson
Dreaming My Dreams With You (7)
Cowboy Jack Clement, Jamey Johnson, Mark Chesnutt, Martina McBride, Patty Loveless, Tommy Jennings, Waylon Jennings
Love’s Gonna Live Here (6)
Buck Owens, Daryle Singletary, Dwight Yoakam, George Jones/Buck Owens, Martina McBride, Waylon Jennings
Ring of Fire (6)
Billy Burnette, Dwight Yoakam, Elvis Costello, Janie Fricke, Johnny Cash, Pam Tillis
Faded Love (6)
Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys, David Ball, LeAnn Rimes, Loretta Lynn/Conway Twitty, Maddox Brothers and Rose, Patsy Cline
Me and Bobby McGee (6)
Bobby Bare, Jerry Lee Lewis, Kris Kristofferson, LeAnn Rimes, Roger Miller, Waylon Jennings
What are the most-covered songs in your collection? What’s your favorite frequently-covered classic? Why don’t I have Lefty’s version of “I Never Go Around Mirrors” or June Carter Cash’s version of “Ring of Fire”? Does that make me a bad person? Why do I ask so many questions?
Respond to whatever strikes your fancy. It’s Monday.
Add The Grascals to “Today I Started Lovin’ You Again” from their new album…
I had no idea so many artists recorded I Never Go Around Mirrors. I always thought it was a Haggard tune that Keith Whitley covered. Thanks for the lesson …
I did a quick scroll through iTunes and have a ton of songs that were recorded by two or three artists, but the only one I saw with more than that was:
Farther Along (4) – Dolly Parton/Linda Ronstadt/Emmylou Harris, Ernest Tubb, Johnny Cash, Aaron Watson
J.R.: It’s a Lefty Frizzell/Sanger Shafer cowrite. Haggard had more commercial success with another song of theirs, “That’s the Way Love Goes,” which he took to the top of the charts in 1983. Sadly, I don’t have the Frizzell recording of either song, though they do both appear to be available on one of those 16 Biggest Hits collections.
“Easy From Now On” was covered by Terri Clark and Miranda Lambert, and that’s really all I have…