Country music artists sing plenty of original songs. But there are also numerous artists who have had big hits by singing songs written for someone else. We picked four of our favorite country covers that might just be better than the original.
Videos by Wide Open Country
1. "The Secret of Life" by Faith Hill
Faith Hill had a big hit in 1999 with "The Secret of Life," from her third studio album, Faith. The song was written by Gretchen Peters, who released it on her own in 1996, when Peters was pursuing becoming a singer-songwriter.
Three years later, Hill made it her own.
"I loved it," Peters tells The Tennessean, adding that it was "a little bit of a change of pace" for Hill at the time.
"I've been on both sides of the coin, recording other people's songs and having people record my songs," she adds. "You always have to bear in mind that an artist needs to feel like they can inhabit the song, and that it means something to them, for them to want to record it."
2. "Blue Bayou" by Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt did such a great job on "Blue Bayou," it's hard to remember it's actually a cover song. Roy Orbison wrote the song with Joe Melson, releasing it on his own in 1963. 14 years later, Linda Ronstadt released it as well, on her Simple Dreams record. Ronstadt's version was so successful, it became a Top 5 hit on the country and pop charts.
Ironically, both J.D. Souther and Glenn Frey suggested the song to Ronstadt.
"J.D. and Glenn simultaneously suggested [the song] to me sorta like Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum," Ronstadt later recalls (via American Songwriter). "We sat up all night talking like mice at incredible speeds, playing and singing half the song we knew, all of us singing in different keys. I've got a tape of it and it's the fastest tape I've ever heard. It sounds like R2D2."
3. "My Maria" by Brooks & Dunn
Before Brooks & Dunn had a mulit-platinum, No. 1 hit in 1996 with "My Maria" on their Borderline album, the song was a minor hit for B.W. Stevenson in 1973. Stevenson wrote the song with Daniel Moore, likely never imagining it would become a big country music hit more than two decades later.
"I was hesitant to do it because I thought, 'Oh man, it's just that falsetto thing,'" Ronnie Dunn admits (via Taste of Country). "It's a rock song, in my opinion. And I was very much wrong."
"Ronnie did not want to cut that song, and I did not see that as a cover song," Kix Brooks adds. "It was a regional hit, but I can't tell you how many people to this day think we wrote that song."
4. "Shameless" by Garth Brooks
"Shameless" is written by Billy Joel, who also first released the song on his 1989 Storm Front album. Few people would be brave enough to tackle a Joel song, but fortunately, Brooks isn't most artists. Brooks released the song in 1991, on his Ropin' the Wind record.
Brooks reveals in the liner notes for his 1994 The Hits compilation album that he heard the song when he was a member of a CD club, and came home from being on the road for six months to find six new albums, including Storm Front.
"I fell in love with the album and fell back in love with Billy Joel's music," Brooks says. "One of his songs really captured me, a song called 'Shameless.' I kept watching it, and when he did not release it as a single, we contacted his people in the hopes that we could cut it. His people sent us a letter acknowledging that he knew who I was and was very honored that I was cutting it. That was quite a compliment for me then, as it is now."
Ironically, his now-wife, Trisha Yearwood, sings background vocals on the song.
