4 Times an Artist Felt Jilted After Someone Else Covered Their Song, Even if It Was a Hit

In some musical circles, like folk and country, covering someone else’s song is an age-old tradition. In other musical realms, like rock ‘n’ roll, it can be a tremendous compliment. However, it can also be a cringey overstepping on the cover artist’s part. Not every artist whose song gets covered by someone else falls into the latter category. But these four artists—all of whom felt jilted by and, in some cases, hated subsequent cover versions of their material—certainly did.

Big Mama Thornton and Elvis Presley

We’ll begin this list of artists who hated cover versions of their songs with what many consider a pivotal moment in rock ‘n’ roll history: Elvis Presley releasing “Hound Dog”. The song helped establish the genre that would soon take over the world. But he wasn’t the first person to sing the song. That distinction goes to Big Mama Thornton. In later years, she was outspoken about her distaste for how Presley got rich and famous off her track without, she felt, giving her due credit or accolades in return.

Irma Thomas and The Rolling Stones

Before The Rolling Stones released their version of “Time Is On My Side”, Irma Thomas put out the single on which Mick Jagger heavily based his own vocal performance. The Stones’ version became a major hit for the British band. Meanwhile, the Black American singer was left feeling overshadowed and underappreciated. “My career was just beginning to climb a little bit before the British Invasion came along and killed it,” Thomas later said. “I didn’t get a lot of major work after those groups came to the United States.”

George Harrison and Frank Sinatra

George Harrison didn’t get many writing credits in The Beatles. So, it’s unsurprising that he felt a bit protective over tracks like “Something” when other artists recorded their own versions. In 1980, Frank Sinatra cut a version of “Something” for his 25th studio album, Trilogy. Harrison later recalled in Anthology, “When I wrote it, in my mind, I heard Ray Charles singing it. At the time, I wasn’t particularly thrilled that Frank Sinatra did ‘Something’. I wasn’t really into Frank. He was the generation before me.”

Trent Reznor and Johnny Cash

Finally, we’ll close out this list of artists who were peeved at cover versions of their songs with a slightly different story. When Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails first heard Johnny Cash covering “Hurt”, he admitted that it felt “invasive” at first. “It was very strange,” he later recalled to The Sun (via MusicRadar). “Hearing it was like someone kissing your girlfriend.” Eventually, though, Reznor came around, acknowledging that Cash’s cover wasn’t an invasion of privacy but rather a display of empathy and artistic interpretation.

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