Top Ten Covers of Bob Marley Songs

I genuinely love a good cover song. When done well, they can shine a completely new light on a great song, and also provide a frame of reference for understanding the stylings of a new artist. I'm not saying that every cover song is great, of course. Most are actually pretty terrible. However, it seems like there's a fairly simple formula for creating a good cover song: first, the song actually has to be outstanding. Second, the artist covering it needs to be outstanding. Third, the artist covering the song needs to put their own mark on the song - copping the entire arrangement is just cheesy. This formula is what gave us such gems as Joe Cocker's "With A Little Help From My Friends", Aretha Franklin's "Respect", and Janis Joplin's "Me and Bobby McGee". Are these songs better than the original? I certainly can't answer that in any sort of quantifiable way, but I think the songs themselves take on another layer of excellence because these great covers exist.

In keeping with my theory, I've assembled a list of ten great covers of Bob Marley songs. Bob Marley is, in my estimation, one of the greatest songwriters of all time. His songs about love, peace, justice and the human condition are legendary. As such, he's also one of the most covered artists of all time. Some of these covers are absolutely outstanding, and fulfill all of my requirements for a great cover. Most of these covers fall somewhere between "acceptable" and "terrible". A few are absolutely horrifying; for example, one cover that came nowhere near this top ten list was Barbra Streisand's cover of "Guava Jelly". Yes, it exists. Yes, it is the creepiest thing ever. If you must, you can listen or download the track, but the pool rule applies: do not consume food for one half hour before listening.

So, now it's your turn: what are your favorite cover songs of all time? And your least favorite? Leave a comment and let us know!