I thought this might be interesting. The following is a list of all the songs in the all-time 500, that have originally been released by an artist different to the one mentioned in the acclaimedmusic ranking. I didn't include adaptations of traditional songs (such as "The House of the Rising Sun" or "La Bamba") or songs that were altered so much, that they do not bear enough resemblance to the original to be considered a cover version (such as "Dazed and Confused" or "Surfin' U.S.A."). The original versions are the first ones to be officially released, not the first ones to be recorded (with one exception: Hendrix released his version of "All Along the Watchtower" before Dylan, but the JHE recording was based on a demo by Dylan, so I considered it a cover). In one case the "original version" was recorded after the "cover version", but released prior to it. I included "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" anyway, since Gaye's version was based on an unreleased version by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles. And this is the list:

1. Respect – Aretha Franklin (1967), original by Otis Redding (1965)
2. I Heard It Through the Grapevine – Marvin Gaye (1968), original by Gladys Knight & the Pips (1967)
3. Louie Louie – The Kingsmen (1963), original by Richard Berry & the Pharaohs (1957)
4. Mr. Tambourine Man – The Byrds (1965), original by Bob Dylan (1965)
5. Rock Around the Clock – Bill Haley & His Comets (1954), original by Sonny Dae & His Knights (1954)
6. Hound Dog – Elvis Presley (1956), original by Big Mama Thornton (1952)
7. Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On – Jerry Lee Lewis (1957), original by Roy Hall (1955)
8. Suspicious Minds – Elvis Presley (1969), original by Mark James (1968)
9. That's All Right – Elvis Presley (1954), original by Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup (1947)
10. Mystery Train – Elvis Presley (1955), original by Little Junior's Blue Flames (1953)
11. All Along the Watchtower – The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1968), original by Bob Dylan (1968)
12. Walk This Way – Run-D.M.C. (1986), original by Aerosmith (1975)
13. Nothing Compares 2 U – Sinéad O'Connor (1990), original by The Family (1985)
14. Papa Was a Rollin' Stone – The Temptations (1972), original by The Undisputed Truth (1972)
15. Tainted Love – Soft Cell (1980), original by Gloria Jones (1964)
16. Wild Thing – The Troggs (1966), original by The Wild Ones (1965)
17. I Say a Little Prayer – Aretha Franklin (1968), original by Dionne Warwick (1967)
18. The Twist – Chubby Checker (1960), original by Hank Ballard & the Midnighters (1959)
19. Midnight Train to Georgia – Gladys Knight & the Pips (1973), original by Cissy Houston (1972)
20. Blueberry Hill – Fats Domino (1956), original by the Sammy Kaye Orchestra with Tommy Ryan (1940)
21. Hey Joe – The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1966), original by The Leaves (1965)
22. Try a Little Tenderness – Otis Redding (1966), original by the Ray Noble Orchestra with Val Rosing (1933)
23. I Only Have Eyes for You – The Flamingos (1959), original by Dick Powell (1934)
24. I Love Rock 'n' Roll – Joan Jett & the Blackhearts (1982), original by Arrows (1975)
25. War – Edwin Starr (1970), original by The Temptations (1970)
26. Georgia on My Mind – Ray Charles (1960), original by Hoagy Carmichael & His Orchestra (1930)
27. Step On – Happy Mondays (1990), cover of He's Gonna Step on You Again by John Kongos (1971)
28. West End Blues – Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five (1928), original by King Oliver & His Dixie Syncopators (1928)
29. Gloria – Patti Smith (1975), original by Them (1964)
30. Sixteen Tons – "Tennessee" Ernie Ford (1955), original by Merle Travis (1947)
31. Me and Bobby McGee – Janis Joplin (1971), original by Roger Miller (1969)
32. The Thrill Is Gone – B.B. King (1969), original by Roy Hawkins (1951)
33. Kansas City – Wilbert Harrison (1959), cover of K.C. Lovin' by Little Willie Littlefield (1952)
34. Mack the Knife – Bobby Darin (1959), cover of Die Moritat von Mackie Messer from the musical Die Dreigroschenoper (1928)
35. Somebody to Love – Jefferson Airplane (1967), cover of Someone to Love by The Great Society (1965)
36. Hurt – Johnny Cash (2002), original by Nine Inch Nails (1994)
37. At Last – Etta James (1961), original by Glenn Miller & His Orchestra (1942)
38. Buffalo Stance – Neneh Cherry (1988), cover of Looking Good Diving With the Wild Bunch by Morgan-McVey (1986)

Great list, pauldrach! I wasn't aware of some of these originals.

Thanks. In some cases I was surprised myself, when I researched this.

Excellent!! Thanks so much for sharing this information.

Mmm, are you sure about Hendrix before Dylan? Hendrix released his cover of "All Along the Watchtower" as a single and as part of "Electric Ladyland" both in October of 1968, and Dylan's original was released as a single on November of 1968 but previously appeared on the album "John Wesley Harding" released in December of 1967.

You're both wrong! The original was written by Samuel T Anders, 152,000 BC!

Marvin wrote I heard it through the grapevine...Gladys Knight's version just came out first.

well, technically dylan's version was different than anders'... he changed the line "Come and dig my herb" to "plowmen dig my earth"- very controversial!

looks like MIA's Paper Planes will be the next addition to the list.

I'd imagine that would be news to Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong...

Nah, I have to admit that you're right...

As Harold said, the song was written by Whitfield and Strong. It was first recorded by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, who didn't release it. The second one to record it was Gaye, but the version by Gladys Knight & the Pips was the first one to be released. It's a bit of a mess really.

Doesn't that track sample an old one, and have new lyrics and such? That wouldn't be a "cover," per se, then.

Thanks for posting the list. There's a fine line between straight-up cover and a reworking of a track. For instance, "Ray of Light" is based on an old track called "Sepheryn." The original sounds quite different from "Ray," and 'Ray" has a new verse. The structure may be a little different, too.

I think "Somebody to Love" would fall into the "reworking" category - it's a re-recording of a song that Grace Slick originally sang with her old group The Great Society (also featuring brother Darby, who wrote it). What about "Buffalo Stance"? I don't know the whole history behind that one.

I agree about "Paper Planes." Calling it a "cover" of "Straight to Hell" is like calling "Gold Digger" a cover of "I Got a Woman." How about "Bitter Sweet Symphony" while we're at it?

Good list. A lot of Elvis. I had no idea that Rock Around the Clock was a cover!

OK so did the Happy Mondays change the title of He's Gonna Step on You Again and cover it or is it just a sample of the song?

My way – Paul Anka (1969), original by Claude François and Jacques Revaux (1967)
And I love a lot this cover :
Je t'aime, moi non plus - Bourvil et Maillant (1970), original by Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot (1967)