From Bob Dylan to The Beatles: David Bowie's 25 greatest covers of all time

“I don’t see any boundaries between any of the art forms. I think they all inter-relate completely.”—David Bowie

Here at Far Out Magazine, we believe you can tell a lot about an artist from how they cover other’s work. How a single performer can take in, re-mould, and deliver another expression in the most sincere form is of great importance to their inner artistic integrity. After extensive research, we don’t think anyone is better at it than the wonderful David Bowie.

Bowie straddles the line between paying homage to the original as well as adding a few layers of his own creative artistry to proceedings. Constantly walking the line between tribute and originality, the Starman did it better than anyone. What’s more, unlike some of his contemporaries, who perhaps felt their egos being bruised by such an activity, Bowie did it regularly too.

As well as his landmark covers record Pin Ups, which arrived at the zenith of Bowie’s career, he also produced later covers for his album, Reality. It speaks highly of an artist who not only values the work of others but pictures themselves as a storyteller, pure and simple — no matter whose story it is.

So below we’re bringing you our 25 favourite covers from the genius musical talents of David Bowie as he delivers a reem of immaculate covers. Expect to see some of the world’s greatest artists pop up as Bowie doesn’t hold back—no song too small or not too big for the Thin White Duke to handle in his stride.

Here are 25 of David Bowie’s greatest covers of all time.

David Bowie’s best covers:

25. ‘I’ve Been Waiting For You’ – Neil Young

Neil Young and David Bowie aren’t natural bedfellows. The glam rock icon operated as the antithesis of the machismo rock and roll that Young had been slinging during the late sixties and early seventies. However, they connect perfectly on this cover.

Shared as part of Bowie’s album Heathen, the track is given a rock overhaul by Bowie who lends his always ethereal vocal to the song. Somehow, he kicks the song into science-fiction territory with dissonant chords and a captivating orchestral moment.

24. ‘Almost Grown’ – Chuck Berry

When David Bowie was invited to perform at the BBC as part of a session for the acclaimed DJ John Peel, he came equipped with his own songs and a special cover for all his fans—a cover of Chuck Berry’s song ‘Almost Grown.’ Originally released in 1959, Bowie takes the song to a new height on this recording.

As well as including a singer who just so happened to live on Bowie’s road, a “community” feel that pleases Peel, the version of the track is a searing and rocking rendition. It’s proof of Bowie’s love for Berry and his ability to let rip a rocker whenever he needed to.

23. ‘Try Some, Buy Some’ – George Harrison

David Bowie described the song as being “totally neglected” — the brilliant ‘Try Some, Buy Some’ — and featured it on his 2003 album Reality.

The track was penned by Harrison but released by Ronnie Spector before Harrison shared his own version a few years later. The track was leftover from Harrison’s All Things Must Pass sessions and contains his unique vision of cyclical harmonies and returning lyrical themes.

For Harrison, it was a system that mirrored his own beliefs but for Bowie, it was something different: “Now my connection to the song is about leaving a way of life behind me and finding something new. It’s overstated about most rock artists leaving drugs … But when I first heard the song in ’74 I was yet to go through my heavy drug period. And now it’s about the consolation of having kicked all that and turning your life around.”

22. ‘Debaser’ – Pixies

Though not a solo cover from Bowie, using the vessel of his band Tin Machine to pay homage to one of his favourites bands, the Starman takes on the iconic indie anthem.

The song, originally written and sung by Pixies frontman Black Francis, arrived as a pivotal moment in the development of indie rock as the first track to appear on the band’s now-iconic 1989 album Doolittle. Bowie’s rendition of a Pixies number signifies a full-circle moment for Pixies, a group who have made no secret of the inspiring influence the Starman had on their creative vision.

After supporting Bowie on a number of his Sound and Vision dates, he was also quick to heap praise on the alternative rock group throughout his time: “I found [the Pixies] just about the most-compelling music outside of Sonic Youth in the entire 1980s,” he once said. “I always thought there was a psychotic Beatles in them.”

This live cover from 1991 is our particular favourite.

21. ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ – Bob Dylan

As part of Mick Ronson’s final solo record, Heaven and Hull, Bowie jumped on to the cover of Bob Dylan’s iconic 1965 classic.

Never shy to show his admiration for Dylan, Bowie famously wrote a song in tribute to the great man where he would sing: “Now hear this Robert Zimmerman, though I don’t suppose we’ll meet.”

Funnily enough, Bowie would rise to fame would go on to meet Dylan numerous times throughout the 1970s and 1980s with muted success: “I think he hates me,” Bowie once said in an interview after their first meeting. However, the years would go by and mutual respect would develop between the two.

While it may not reside high on some of Bowie’s best vocal work, it’s made the list for the gravity of the song.

20. ‘See Emily Play’ – Pink Floyd

Bowie was a massive fan of Pink Floyd in his day, and here he takes on the Syud Barrett penned 1967 release ‘See Emily Play’, which found its way onto the 1973 album Pinups.

“Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd was the first person in rock I had seen with makeup on,” Bowie once said when discussing some of his earliest inspirations. “He wore black nail polish and lots of mascara and black eye shadow, and he was so mysterious.”

He added: “It was this androgynous thing I found absolutely fascinating.”

19. ‘It’s Hard To Be A Saint in the City’ – Bruce Springsteen

David Bowie’s interstellar otherworldliness and Bruce Springsteen’s rather more straight-laced blue-collared ways might seem like two pretty disparate creative realms, but their paths have crossed more than a few times. Throughout this interlinking relationship, there has been a healthy stem of mutual admiration.

For instance, in 1979 for a BBC Radio Show, Bowie picked out ‘Saint In The City’ as one of his favourite songs of all time, and upon the Starman’s tragic passing in 2016, Springsteen announced: “Over here on E Street, we’re feeling the great loss of David Bowie. David was a visionary artist and an early supporter of our music. Always changing and ahead of the curve, he was an artist whose excellence you aspired to. He will be sorely missed.”

He covered that song during his lifetime and offered a supremely swashbuckling account of it. It’s a perfect combination of style, substance and the ultimate power couple.

18. ‘Across The Universe’ – The Beatles

When you put two great artists together like David Bowie and The Beatles then you know it is always going to be something very special.

“I asked John one day, ‘how do you write your songs’, he said ‘it’s easy, you just say what you mean, you put a back beat to it,” Bowie once reflected on his friendship with John Lennon. A friendship that also spawned their fantastic hit ‘Fame’.  

Adding: “I said ‘what do you think of my kind of rock ‘n’ roll?, he said ‘it’s great but it’s just rock ‘n’ roll with lipstick on.”

Bowie took on the Fab Four’s 1969 song from Let It Be to devastating effect.

17. ‘Mother’ – John Lennon

For years, the rumours of a cover of John Lennon’s song ‘Mother’ from David Bowie swam around the music industry like distressed guppies. But, it appears, they were all right on the money as, to celebrate Bowie’s birthday, his estate released a cleaned-up version of the song.

It’s one of Lennon’s most arresting compositions. Stark and unrelenting, the song deals with the loss of the Beatle’s mother and how it affected his life as he finally bids farewell. Released on John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band in 1970, the single has been covered by countless artists, with Bowie collaborator Lou Reed also providing a fitting tribute to the Liverpudlian.

Bowie’s powerful vocal means his version remains the most memorable.

16. ‘My Way’ – Frank Sinatra

From Sid Vicious to Elvis Presley, anyone who is anyone has covered Frank Sinatra’s classic ‘My Way’, meaning that, at one point or another, David Bowie would have naturally gravitated to the tune.

Bowie’s super rare rendition of ‘My Way’ actually precedes the version that was later popularised by Sinatra. Bowie’s music publisher, it is said, had the unknown singer write English lyrics for Claude François and Jacques Revaux’s ‘Comme d’habitude’ which arrived as the basis of the song ‘My Way’.

Bowie’s unreleased cover of Sinatra’s anthem from was later released in 2016 via BBC 4.

15. ‘I Can’t Explain’ – The Who

A song so synonymous with The Who it is hard to imagine any other artist getting close to the swinging power of the original. But if anyone could, then it was probably Bowie.

The song, famously written by Pete Townshend, arrived as pioneering moment in music history when it was released as just second single release and first under the Who name.

Yet on Bowie’s 1973 album Pinups the mercurial artist does just that and adds another layer of glam rock glitz to the track’s pulsating rhythm.

14. ‘Pablo Picasso’ – The Modern Lovers

Originally written by Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers the track found it’s way on to Bowie’s 2003 record Reality and is given a shimmying new sparkle as it moves away from its proto-punk roots.

Taking on Richman’s dry wit and comical lyrics, Bowie tells the wonderful fictional story that suggests the great Pablo Picasso never struggled romantically despite his short stature, singing: “Well he was only five foot three but girls could not resist his stare / Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole / Not in New York.”

It’s one of Richman’s most famous songs but Bowie treats it with a delicate affection that proves he was a diehard fan.

13. ‘I Know It’s Gonna Happen Someday’ – Morrissey

Bowie found himself at the helm of was that of another singer with a penchant for the dramatic: Morrissey and his song ‘I Know It’s Gonna Happen Someday’.

Discussing the former Smiths frontman, Bowie once said: “I rate Morrissey as one of the best lyricists in Britain. For me, he’s up there with Bryan Ferry.”

The pair, who crossed paths a number of times throughout their careers, developed a strong creative relationship. Telling a story behind their friendship, Morrissey wrote in his autobiography: “David [Bowie] quietly tells me, ‘You know, I’ve had so much sex and drugs that I can’t believe I’m still alive,’ and I loudly tell him, ‘You know, I’ve had SO LITTLE sex and drugs that I can’t believe I’m still alive.”

Using the track on his 1993 record Black Tie White Noise Bowie shows his skill at turning any song and vocal, even one as idiosyncratic as Morrissey’s, into something completely unique.

12. ‘Dancing in the Street’ – Martha and The Vandellas

Easily the most famous of Bowie’s covers, he took on the iconic 1964 track alongside his close friend and Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger after some huge artists had already had their go.

While Van Halen, The Mamas and The Papas, and The Grateful all had a shot, it’s Bowie and Jagger’s that will outlast them all partly because of the mesmeric video.

Bowie and Jagger joined forces in 1985 to raise money for the Live Aid famine relief cause, a collaboration that would solidify their friendship with a now-iconic music video. “I think Mick Jagger would be astounded and amazed if he realised that to many people he is not a sex symbol, but a mother image,” Bowie would later comment.

11. ’20th Century Boy’ – T Rex

At the Brits in 1995, Bowie would join the wonderfully talented Brian Molko alongside his band Placebo on stage for a special cover.

“I can tell you about the time I first met Marc Bolan, who became a very, very good friend of mine. We actually met very early on in the ’60s before either of us were even a tad known,” Bowie once said. “We were just two nothing kids with huge ambitions. We both had the same manager at the time, and we met each other firstly, painting the wall of our then manager’s office.” From there, the two artists never looked back and became relentlessly close friends until Bolan’s tragic death.

The two, clearly enamoured with one another, then delivered a cover of T-Rex’s iconic track ’20th Century Boy’ in a small tribute to Bowie’s friend Marc Bolan.

10. ‘God Only Knows’ – The Beach Boys

Featuring on Bowie’s 1984 record Tonight, the Starman adds a heavy dose of his dulcet tones on this harmony-driven classic. It’s one of the greatest songs ever written, which are some pretty big shoes to fill, unless, of course, you’re David Bowie.

The song, originally written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher, would later lay the foundations for popular music because of Wilson’s use of an unorthodox and pioneering selection of instruments during its period of recording.

Brian Wilson’s impeccable writing is given yet another lease of life by Bowie here who adds not only another layer of vocal purity but the sultry and sexy nonchalance of an artist who knows exactly what he’s doing.

9. ‘China Girl’ – Iggy Pop

A rock and roll friendship like no other. It’s safe to say that the great Iggy Pop and David Bowie were inseparable and Mr Pop needed to be included here.

“The friendship was basically that this guy salvaged me from certain professional and maybe personal annihilation — simple as that,” Pop said later. “A lot of people were curious about me, but only he was the one who had enough truly in common with me, and who actually really liked what I did and could get on board with it, and who also had decent enough intentions to help me out. He did a good thing.”

He added, “He resurrected me. He was more of a benefactor than a friend in a way most people think of friendship. He went a bit out of his way to bestow some good karma on me.”

While the debate on whether this is officially a cover or not will rage on for millennia, the fact that the original song comes via Iggy Pop’s 1977 record The Idiot before landing on Bowie’s most commercially successful LP, Let’s Dance, six years later, means it makes our list as one of his best.

8. ‘Waiting for the Man’ – The Velvet Underground

The long love affair shared between David Bowie and Lou Reed is well documented, and their friendship would often spill out on to their respective careers.

“Lou Reed is the most important definitive writer in modern rock,” Bowie once said of his close friend. “Not because of the stuff that he does, but the direction that he will take it.” As well as being enamoured by the talent of Lou Reed, Bowie had also been a diehard Velvet UNderground when literally nobody had ever heard of them, providing what is commonly thought of as the first-ever Velvet Underground cover.

On many occasions, the pair would share the stage, and on many others, they would take on each other’s songs. Here, we’re looking at Bowie’s 1972 cover of The Velvet Underground hit ‘Waiting For The Man’ as our favourite of the bunch.

7. Waterloo Sunset’ – The Kinks

“I’ve never heard a Kinks song that I didn’t like,” David Bowie once said of his admiration for the band who many have seen as defining the British youth most accurately.

“Of course, from their noisy and brash beginnings, The Kinks have come to stand for some of the most enduring and heart-clutching pop of all time.

“They are in the gut of every British songwriter who followed them and are indisputably a cornerstone of everything pop and rock. I love ’em. The world loves ’em.”

On the tour edition of 2003 album Reality, Bowie gave his fans a very special cover of The Kinks song ‘Waterloo Sunset’. Adding his iconic vocal to an already iconic song, Bowie makes the 1967 hit his own.

6. ‘Wake Up’ – Arcade Fire

When Bowie suffered a heart attack following the gruelling world tour from the previous years, there was a degree of worry that he may not ever take the stage again.

“David Bowie was one of the band’s earliest supporters and champions. He not only created the world that made it possible for our band to exist, he welcomed us into it with grace and warmth,” Arcade Fire once reflected on Bowie’s influence. “We will take to the grave the moments we shared; talking, playing music and collaborating as some of the most profound and memorable moments of our lives.

They added in tribute after his death: “A true artist even in his passing, the world is more bright and mysterious because of him and we will continue to shout prayers into the atmosphere he created.”

In 2005, with concerns about his health, Bowie was soon back at it and joined Arcade Fire for a rendition of their song ‘Wake Up’ as part of a Fashion Rocks performance. It’s a wonderful thing to see.

5. ‘Wild is the Wind’ – Nina Simone

As one might be able to guess from the list so far, Bowie was never afraid to take on a big song or, indeed, a big singer. One such moment occurred when he decided to cover Nina Simone’s mammoth vocal on ‘Wild is the Wind’.

Originally written and recorded for the titular 1957 film, Simone would make the world pay attention to the track with her powerful 1966 rendition of the song. There is no artist better at capturing the soulful loss of hope than Simone, and her cover is the kind of song to make one’s hairs stand on end. Bowie was one of those people who were left with chills, admitting that the song “really affected me… I recorded it as a homage to Nina.”.

Bowie met Simone in 1975 and, in 1976, he picked up the track as a tribute to the singer. It’s a spares and gorgeous arrangement and does well to match Simone’s powerhouse rendition where Bowie’s vocal maybe doesn’t quite reach.

4. ‘I Got You Babe’ – Sonny & Cher

Recorded for American television on October 19th 1973, at the Marquee Club, this is one of the best Bowie duets you’ll ever see. Bowie reportedly told the audience: “This isn’t anything serious; it’s just a bit of fun. We’ve hardly even rehearsed it.”

With that line in your heads, take in the splendour of this brilliantly nuanced performance of ‘I Got You Babe’ from David Bowie and Marianne Faithfull. It’s obviously not as cleverly constructed as the previous entry or many of the entries on this list, but it takes a spot near the top because of one reason and one reason only: the spectacle of it all.

Not only is Faithfull dressed in a full nun’s habit nor Bowie looking like a perverted alien lifeform, but they’re singing one of the most saccharine songs in pop music history with a devilish glint in their eyes. It’s a joyful moment.

3. ‘Imagine’ – John Lennon

The love David Bowie and John Lennon shared before Lennon’s untimely passing in 1980 was special. The two had written Bowie’s brilliant single ‘Fame’ together before he was tragically killed, but it seems clear that their friendship went beyond music. No, these two guys, aside from all the fame, the talent and the intrigue, were mates—pure and simple. Fitting then that on December 8th, 1983, while Bowie was on the road with his ‘Serious Moonlight Tour’, he paid tribute to his friend and Beatle legend Lennon with a cover of his most inspiring song, ‘Imagine’.

In the clip, before he begins his rendition of that enigmatic track, Bowie shares a few candid moments that he and John enjoyed throughout their friendship. Firstly, Bowie shares John’s response to Bowie’s music, recalling: “What do you think of my kind of rock and roll?” to which Lennon replied: “It’s great, but it’s just rock and roll with lipstick on,” with a perfect impression, might we add.

It’s one of Bowie’s best covers and it is enriched by the sincere connection the two otherworldly icons of music shared.

2. ‘I Wanna Be Your Dog’ – The Stooges

The performance below is from the Sydney stop of the Glass Spider tour and sees Bowie in swashbuckling form. Holding court, he delivers a spine-tingling performance of ‘I Wanna Be Your Dog’.

With it, Bowie found a home in the retrospective rock and roll revelry, at a time where he was trying to match the theatricality in his heart with the big-budget stadium tours his growing legend deserved.

Revisiting Bowie’s wonderful friendship with Iggy Pop, it’s worth recalling Pop’s wonderful tribute: “David’s friendship was the light of my life,” he said in the immediate aftermath of his death.

“I never met such a brilliant person. He was the best there is.”

1. ‘Let’s Spend The Night Together’ – The Rolling Stones

Bowie, like much of his work at this time, would add a heavy dose of sex to this cover of The Rolling Stones’ ‘Let’s Spend The Night Together’.

“There was always an exchange of information within our friendship,” Jagger once said of his friendship with Bowie. “And I suppose there was always an element of competition between us, but it never felt overwhelming. When he’d come over, we’d talk about our work — a new guitarist, a new way of writing, style and photographers. We had a lot in common in wanting to do big things onstage — using interesting designs, narratives, personalities.”

Now, revisiting our number one song. Originally released in 1967, the track was buoyed by the exuberance of the seventies and seemed to fit Bowie’s style more than the Stones’.

Something Richards and Jagger clearly agreed with as they avoided playing the track until the late seventies. When it did return to their setlist it appeared as though Jagger had adopted Bowie’s tone.

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