What are some songs most people don't realize are covers?

[Cubus]

My proposition

Cover:

Original:

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

One of the ones that always truck me in nightclubs was J-Lo's On the Floor. Does that count as a cover?

https://www.youtube.com/embed/70XspGKI8kQ

Since I remembered Kaoma's Lambada:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/iyLdoQGBchQ

Which is actually still a cover of Márcia Ferreira's Chorando Se Foi:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/hZGTPkiQcbY

[Cubus]

Kinda counts. Although I believe there was a name for this specifically.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

Maybe just a remix in J-Lo's version? I do remember Lambada being so popular in the 80s though without originally knowing it was a cover of Márcia Ferreira. It wasn't until way later that I learned about Márcia Ferreira.

[Cubus]

Fun fact: both "Lambada" by Kaoma and Marcia Ferreira's versions are also covers

The original was some Bolivian Afro-Latino folk song, first recorded by the band Los Kjarkas in 1981.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRLGjje9JDw

The song became very popular in whole Latin America. The first notable cover was created by the Peruvian band Cuarteto Continental in 1984, which added accordion to the song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQCJ8uAqIr4

And later, mentioned by you, Marcia Ferreira, translated the lyrics from Spanish to Portuguese.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

Wow! I didn't know that. I actually think I like the original version the best with the panpipes. I dig a lot folk music in general.

[Cubus]

Yes. Kaoma's "Lambada" is basically the melody from Bolivia, the accordion from Peru and the lyrics from Brazil. Taking everything that's best from each version to make a commercial hit.

[WhiteSteve]

Depends how old you are, I suppose, but when I was in high school, The Fugees dropped Killing Me Softly…

https://www.youtube.com/embed/oKOtzIo-uYw

Most of us had no idea about Roberta Flack…

https://www.youtube.com/embed/mrudT410TAI

Maybe a little more obscure, but Pancho & Lefty (one of the few country songs I listen to) was made famous by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard, but it was originally written and sung by Townes Van Zandt…

https://www.youtube.com/embed/UoKvUYbGu7A

[Nikki1989]

All Along The Watchtower — Jimi Hendrix.

[riverrat3]

Written by Bob Dylan

[NathanDavis]

I Will Always Love You

[NathanDavis]

perhaps, the best cover ever... as well

[7Phoenix7]

Yes, I love the original too though. It's a different vibe

[NathanDavis]

@7Phoenix7 link me!

[7Phoenix7]

https://youtu.be/pW2TgGy5gjY?si=-R0s22ft-MmNVmMN

[NathanDavis]

@7Phoenix7 it is a nice one, yes...

[7Phoenix7]

https://youtu.be/CJVn0hpBVuE?si=XoeQ3StzCYjGS7LK

I like how she sounds here, more emotion

[NathanDavis]

@7Phoenix7 she does have a very sweet voice too

[7Phoenix7]

Yes she does