10 of the Most Unexpected Covers by Rock Bands

Covers can be a good way for a band to show off their influences. While most of the time, what cover a band chooses can be easily anticipated, sometimes they bring something out of the left field. From The Offspring to The Beatles, below are 10 bands that have chosen to do the unexpected when it comes to covers.

1. “Barbie Girl” (The Offspring)

Perhaps the last song you’d expect The Offspring to cover is “Barbie Girl” by Aqua. Nevertheless, the punk rockers took on the 1997 dance hit once upon a time, turning the Norwegian band’s playful euphemisms into something far crasser. Depending on your temperament, Dexter Holland singing I’m a blond bimbo girl in a fantasy world / Dress me up, make it tight, I’m your dolly will either prompt a grimace or an impish smile.

2. “What Makes You Beautiful” (The 1975)

One Direction and The 1975 started to make waves in America around the same time, but the two groups couldn’t be more different—especially in their early days. In 2014, the defunct boyband was playing around with retro-inspired pop beats while The 1975 was ushering in a new iteration of indie rock. Their sonic paths did cross that year during a performance at BBC’s Live Lounge when The 1975 performed One Direction’s debut single “What Makes You Beautiful.” While the original version of the song is pure pop bliss, Matty Healy and Co.’s cover version feels far more tragic.

3. “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” (Arcade Fire)

“This is a song by one of our all-time favorites Cyndi Lauper,” Arcade Fire’s Win Bulter told the crowd at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 2011, prior to the outfit launching into “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” with Lauper herself. Arcade Fire’s musicality is anything but one note, so it’s not a stretch to think they could be inspired by ’80s dance hits, but it’s still a leap from their typical sound.

4. “Beat It” (Fall Out Boy)

Fall Out Boy covered Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” in 2008 with help from John Mayer on guitar duties. It’s the song’s central guitar riff that made the emo staples think they could take on this hit from The King of Pop. “The great thing about Michael Jackson is that he never gave a shit about his music being categorized: “Beat It” has a straight rock riff,” frontman Patrick Stump once told Rolling Stone. “It wasn’t incongruous for my pop-punk band to cover it. It’s the only song we’ve ever played that everyone knows all the words to, worldwide, guaranteed.”

5. “Shortenin’ Bread” (The Beach Boys)

The Beach Boys have done a number of folksy covers throughout their career—the intricate harmonies typically found in folk songs are fodder for the vocal group. Their most unexpected cover along those lines is the children’s song “Shortenin’ Bread.” Though the original rhyme has some negative light on it now given its racist origins, Brian Wilson arranges an endlessly catchy version with updated lyrics.

6. “Stupid Cupid” (Queen)

Queen has made their love of ’50s rock known on more than one occasion. In 1974, the rockers did a mash-up of “Jailhouse Rock” (no surprise there, given Queen’s Elvis-inspired hit “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”), Gene Vincent’s “Be Bop-a-Lula,” and Connie Francis’ “Stupid Cupid.” The Francis cover comes as the most surprising but is also the most effective. Freddie Mercury ups the playfulness of Francis’ already lively hit.

7. “Diamonds and Rust” (Judas Priest)

Heavy metal and folk couldn’t live on more opposite ends of the spectrum, but Judas Priest proved the two genres could go hand in hand when they covered Joan Baez’s “Diamonds and Rust.” As they say, a good song is a good song and Rob Halford proves that sentiment tenfold with this cover. While Baez’s version of “Diamonds and Rust” is a somber recollection of her relationship with Bob Dylan, Judas Preist’s version is an anthemic rocker worthy of their reputation in the metal community.

8. “Till There Was You” (The Beatles)

While The Beatles’ early career was characterized by up-tempo rockers, Paul McCartney took things for a sonic turn when he suggested a cover of “Till There Was You.” McCartney was drawn to the ballad through Peggy Lee’s 1961 version, but the song was originally written for the Broadway musical The Music Man. Though McCartney didn’t know the song’s origins, it makes for an interesting cover from a group whose inspiration tended to hover around early American rockstars.

9. “My Way” (Sid Vicious)

Sid Vicious stayed true to the sentiment of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” when he covered it for The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle in 1979. I did it my way the bassist sings in the chorus of this cover, indeed making it his own with a punk rock flavor.

10. “The Sound of Silence” (Disturbed)

Disturbed’s two most recognizable songs couldn’t be more different—their most famous original song “Down with the Sickness” being one and the other being a cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence.” With lead singer David Draiman being classically trained as a Cantor, his vocal style is endlessly applicable. Both songs feel natural as rain for the group, despite their differences.

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