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The singer’s plaintive ballad has been widely covered, and became the first song released by Saint Etienne
The singer’s 1973 track has been covered by greats such as Elvis Presley and Millie Jackson
The singer’s 1983 anthem to female solidarity started life in a very different milieu
Fifty years since the Italian singer wrote it, his deliberately nonsensical track has found new life on social media
The Beatles’ 1966 track was an outright homage to the band’s African-American heroes
Co-written with David Bowie, the singer’s 1977 track emerged from a riff created by guitarist Ricky Gardiner
The track has also proved malleable enough to be covered in genres such as jazz and funk
In Black History Month, the Trinidadian’s calypso tells a story of migration and apparent optimism
The Monkees’ 1966 hit was malleable enough to be covered in a panoply of genres
Hartford said it ‘violated the principles of songwriting’ — but it went on to earn him a fortune
The track from Pinocchio, now remade as a live-action film, has a yearning quality that has brought dozens of artists to cover it
As darker days and longer nights return, Earth, Wind & Fire’s 1979 track brings light and life
The track was released in the Gorbachev-Reagan era that eventually led to the end of the cold war
The track was covered by dozens of acts including The Quarrymen, and became the subject of a legal dispute
The track celebrated the Latinx LGBT+ drag scene, though there was resentment too
The 1960 song was picked up and adapted for a new audience in the following decade
The Australian-born singer’s record company was initially unimpressed by her paean to empowerment
The track has been the subject of some strange and heavy cover versions
The song went on to have a resounding impact on pop music, and popular culture
The track has been adopted and adapted globally — and revisited by the band in a fiery Sydney Olympics performance
Though it stands out as an acoustic track, the song fits into the consciousness and faith that ran through his music
Booker T & the MG’s dashed off the Bach-inspired 1962 track in 15-20 minutes
Their 1966 track was radically revised by a New York band, and others followed suit
The blues singer’s 1955 track brought an assertive swagger to Bo Diddley’s original
The widely covered song set the template for the singer’s output for the next decade
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