Al Green earned royalties from various cover versions — and from its use as the voice of Big Mouth Billy Bass

Darkness and humour pervade a track that yielded some surprising cover versions

It has been recorded hundreds of times, but Jimi Hendrix’s wild rendition stands out

This bittersweet song has been interpreted as both exaltation and elegy

ZZ Top’s 1983 hit was a breakthrough for the Texan band

Played annually at the Cenotaph, the haunting tune has been widely performed and recorded

The song had Biblical origins but became synonymous with an era of protest

The song was a patchwork of styles and samples, performed by the singer while heavily pregnant

This versatile song has also been performed as a country tune and a soul heartbreaker

The group’s 1976 hit captures the joy and sadness of being a teenager

Written by Richard Berry, the song went from obscurity to notoriety to respectability

Ethel Merman, Frank Sinatra and Lady Gaga are among those who have performed the 1934 classic

Full of force and majesty, Shirley Horn’s version remains paramount

Thought to be one of the top 10 most covered songs, it has lent itself to jazz piano, funky soul and reggae

Cover versions by male artists often amp up the hysteria, while women are more sympathetic to the original

The original has been sampled, covered and parodied by everyone from Bob Marley to the comedian Weird Al Yankovich

The song is based on Patrick Kavanagh’s poignant poem of unrequited love, written for a woman half his age

Franklin turned Otis Redding’s call for wifely submission into a song for women tired of being disrespected by men

The hit written by Lee Hazelwood took pop to places it had only previously fantasised about

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s song has been covered by artists as wide-ranging, musically and politically, as Kid Rock and Neil Young

It was the first number one hit by a solo Beatle, and had a long and complicated history following its 1970 release

The south London band’s cautionary tale spawned curious cover versions — and a sequel

The group’s 1983 track has been used as a wedding song and as the basis for a rap eulogy

The folk song has been covered by everyone from Ma Rainey to Nick Cave — and it inspired a blistering poem by James Baldwin

As the song hit the big-time, its composer’s daughters had to fight for their father’s writing credit