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COVER VERSIONS

Cover versions by South African artists. This list, compiled by Brian Currin in February 2002 (updated November 2002), with some help from John Samson, is not meant to be definitive or exhaustive, just interesting and fun...

Live performances are not included unless they have been officially released.

Original artists names are in brackets.

  • 1999 - Brian Davidson Band (Freedoms Children)
  • Aimless Lady - Suck (Grand Funk Railroad)
  • As I Went Out One Morning (Damsel) - Tribe After Tribe (Bob Dylan)
  • Bird On A Wire - Mathys Roets (Leonard Cohen)
  • Born To Be Wild - Buffalo (Steppenwolf)
  • the Boy And The Bee - Omega Limited (Gun, based on Rimsky-Korsakov's 'Flight Of The Bumble Bee')
  • Charlie - Wonderboom (Rabbitt)
  • Complicated Game - Peach (XTC)
  • Conquistador - Circus (Procol Harum)
  • Crawling King Snake - Frosted Orange (John Lee Hooker, also The Doors)
  • Cry To Me - The Staccatos (Solomon Burke, The Rolling Stones, Freddie Scott, Betty Harris and others, also covered by Precious Wilson)
  • D.I.V.O.R.C.E. - Barbara Ray (Tammy Wynette)
  • Downtown - Big Sky (Tom Waits)
  • Eloise (Concerto) - Rouge (Barry Ryan)
  • Empty Pages - Hammak (Traffic)
  • Fever - Otis Waygood Blues Band (Little Willie John, Peggy Lee, Elvis Presley, the McCoys, Helen Shapiro and others)
  • Fire - Third Eye (The Crazy World of Arthur Brown)
  • Fire and Rain - Hammak (James Taylor)
  • Fooled Around And Fell in Love - Julian Laxton Band (Elvin Bishop)
  • For The Turnstiles - Jack Hammer (Neil Young)
  • For Your Precious Love - The Flames (Jerry Butler & The Impressions)
  • Funny Face - Barbara Ray (Donna Fargo)
  • Haai Casanova - Glenys Lynne (Vicki Leandros, original title: 'Hey Joe McKenzie')
  • Hate Street Dialogue - Black Eyed Susan (Rodriguez)
  • Have You Ever Seen The Rain? - Margaret Singana (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
  • Heart - Gene Rockwell (Rita Pavone)
  • Help - Hotline (The Beatles)
  • Here Comes The Night - All Night Radio (Them)
  • Here Comes The Night - Big Sky (Them)
  • Here Comes The Sun - Hawk (The Beatles)
  • Hold Your Head Up - The Bats (Argent, also covered by Uriah Heep)
  • House Of The Rising Sun - HOT RS (Traditional, The Animals and many others)
  • Hungry For Love - The A-Cads (Johnny Kidd & The Pirates)
  • I Don't Wanna Play House - Barbara Ray (Tammy Wynette)
  • I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You) (John Russell as 'I Never Loved A Woman The Way I Love You')(not the Aretha Franklin song)
  • I Won't Give Up - Bruce Millar (Mia Martini, an original Italian song titled 'Inno' ('Hymn'))
  • In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida / Garden Of Eden - HOT RS (Iron Butterfly / Frankie Vaughan)
  • Into The Fire - Suck (Deep Purple)
  • Jody Babe - Baxtop (JJ Cale)
  • Johannesburg - Margaret Singana (Julian Laxton Band)
  • Johnny Calls The Chemist - Wonderboom (Falling Mirror)
  • Killing Floor - All Night Radio (Howlin' Wolf)
  • Land Of 1000 Dances - Dream Merchants (Cannibal & The Headhunters, Wilson Pickett)
  • Let The River Roll - PJ Powers (Hocus)
  • Locomotive Breath - Rabbitt (Jethro Tull)
  • Love Of The Common People - The Bats (Nicky Thomas, also covered by Paul Young and William E (Billy Forrest))
  • Love Minus Zero - Dream Merchants (Bob Dylan)
  • Living For The City - Disco Rock Machine (featuring Trevor Rabin) (Stevie Wonder)
  • Magic Carpet Ride - Buffalo (Steppenwolf)
  • My Sharona - Void (The Knack) Void later became éVoid
  • Northern Sky - Jonathan Martin (Nick Drake)
  • Orang Otang - Brian Finch (Hawk)
  • Orang Otang - Margaret Singana (Hawk)
  • Paint It Black - No Friends Of Harry (Rolling Stones)
  • Put Your Hand In The Hand - Alan Garrity (Ocean)
  • Reflections (The Good, The Bad & The Ugly) Of My Life - Neil Cloud (the Marmalade & Ennio Morricone)
  • Rikki Tikki Tavi - Robin Auld (Donovan)
  • Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner - Kenny Henson's Harambee (Warren Zevon)
  • Rooiwyn en Savannah - Jakkie Louw (Lynyrd Skynyrd, Afrikaans lyrics for 'Sweet Home Alabama')
  • Sabre Dance - Julian Laxton (Love Sculpture, composed by Aram Khachaturian)
  • Shabby Little Hut - Kariba (The Bats)
  • She (Didn't Even Rememer My Name) - Osmosis (Drupi, an original Italian song titled 'Vado Via' ('I'm Leaving'))
  • Shy Girl - Kariba (The Kynd)
  • Silver Threads and Golden Needles - Barbara Ray (Linda Ronstadt)
  • Since You've Been Gone - Clout (Rainbow)
  • So You Win Again - Copperfield (Hot Chocolate)
  • Substitute - Clout (The Righteous Brothers)
  • Substitute - Shine 4 (Clout/The Righteous Brothers)
  • Sugar Man - Just Jinger (Rodriguez)
  • the Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore - Roy Bulkin (The Walker Brothers)
  • Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down - Wonderboom (Kris Kristofferson)
  • Sunglasses - Hilary (Sandy Posey)
  • Take My Heart - Pendulum (Della Reese, based on a theme from Albert Ketelbey's 'In A Persian Market')
  • Tchaikovsky One - Omega Ltd (The Second City Sound, based on Tchaikovsky's '1st Piano Concerto')
  • Tchip Tchip - Dan Hill (a version of the Birdie Song (Birdie Dance) aka Chicken Dance)
  • Teddy Bear - Tommy Dell (Red Sovine)
  • Time And The River - Dream Merchants (Nat King Cole)
  • Tribal Fence - Rabbitt with Margaret Singana (Freedoms Children)
  • Tribal Fence - Margaret Singana (Freedoms Children)
  • Tribal Fence - Wildebeest (Freedoms Children)
  • Useless Illusions - The Flames (Moody Blues, 'Nights In White Satin' with different lyrics)
  • Venus - Stockley Sisters (Shocking Blue, also covered in 1986 by Bananarama)
  • War Pigs - Suck (Black Sabbath)
  • the Wedding - Jody Wayne (Julie Rodgers)
  • When I'm Dead And Gone - Bruce Millar (McGuinness Flint)
  • White Rabbit - No Friends Of Harry (Jefferson Airplane)
  • Whole Lotta Love - Not The Midnight Mass (Led Zeppelin)
  • the Winter and The Summer - Age of Innocence (Strawbs)
  • World In Union 95 - PJ Powers & Ladysmith Black Mambazo (theme based on 'Jupiter' from 'The Planets' by Gustav Holst - this theme was also used for 'Joybringer' by Manfred Mann's Earthband)
  • You Really Got Me - Disco Rock Machine (featuring Trevor Rabin) (the Kinks)
  • You're Living Inside My Head - John Ireland (based on the 'Greensleeves' melody)

The following are not cover versions, even though their titles are similar or even exactly the same as other famous hits.

  • Crazy Over You - Zen Arcade (not 'Crazy On You' by Heart)
  • Dreams - Age Of Innocence (not the Fleetwood Mac song)
  • Eloise - Tribe After Tribe (not the Barry Ryan song)
  • Free and Easy - Off The Edge (not the Uriah Heep song)
  • Love Hurts - Mattisson Brothers (not the Everly Brothers/Nazareth/Jim Capaldi song)
  • Love Kills - Robin Auld (not the Freddie Mercury song)
  • Once in a Lifetime - Petit Cheval (not the Talking Heads song)
  • Perfect Day - Robin Auld (not the Lou Reed song)
  • Running On Empty - Wonderboom (not the Jackson Browne song)
  • Shout - Fruit Fly Navigators (not the Isley Brothers or Lulu song)
  • Silence Is Golden - Square Set (not the Tremeloes song)
  • Take It Easy - Rabbitt (not The Eagles song)
  • Take It On The Run - Off The Edge (not the REO Speedwagon song)
  • Your Song - Just Jinger (not the Elton John song)

South Africa's Rock Lists

South Africa's Rock Legends