Musical Acts Whose Biggest Hit is a Cover or is Heavily Sampled from Another Song
Sometimes, a musical act comes around with a song that’s either heavily sampled from another act or an outright cover, and that song becomes their biggest claim to fame.
I heard that before he gave the credits to Queen and David Bowie, he claimed that the bass line wasn't stolen at all since he added an extra "dun". Going by that logic, if a classmate of mine lets me copy his homework, and that I just changed a few words but copied everything else directly, then it wouldn't be considered as copying anymore. That doesn't sound right...
Literally the only song anyone knows by him is his rip-off of Under Pressure. Seriously, has this guy done anything else?
Just a drugged man who likes ripping off major bands like queen
Queen is what he ripped off

'Nothing Compares 2 U' is probably her biggest thing, with her second biggest being an infamous SNL performance where she ripped up a photo of Pope John Paul II. But, did you know that it was originally a Prince song?
I agree with her statement against the Catholic church on SNL. While I do support the church, I don't support the fact that some of its leaders are kiddie diddlers.
Cannot stand this women. She is an insult to humanity.

A song that does not chart anywhere in the world is not a hit so this guy does not belong he simply has never had a hit song.
I hate him. He has no right to cover Bohemian Rhapsody.
Update: I just figured out why he’s here. He did a cover of bohemian rhapsody.
Why he take a selfie underground in DC

I liked I Wanna Dance with Somebody better than I Will Always Love You though...
Her version, takes my breath away. Sorry Dolly
She did have 10 other #1 pop hits
Famous for her “Crack is Whack” interview. When meanwhile back at the ranch granny was fighting off many a crack head.

He wrote almost none of his songs
'Hound Dog' is, arguably, his biggest hit. It wasn't written by him, as it originally came out in 1953 and was written by Big Mama Thornton. It’s often because the white elvis’ Version was more popular that some labeled him racist (yeah, seriously…).

They love rock and roll, and have loaded copious dimes in the jukebox over the years thanks to their 1982 hit. However, they wouldn't have had that hit if it weren't for the original writer of the song; Alan Merril of a lesser known glam band called the Arrows.

Jeff Buckley's 'Hallelujah' was written and originally recorded by 'Leonard Cohen' in 1984.

This one’s actually pretty upsetting. The Verve acquired the right to sample the Andrew Oldham orchestral Version of the Rolling Stones’ song ‘The Last Time’. With this, they made the 90’s anthem ‘Bittersweet Symphony’.
The Verve and the Stones originally agreed on splitting the royalties 50/50, but, following the song’s immense popularity, The Rolling Stones (former business manager Allen Klein in particular) demanded 100% of the royalties, and the song’s credit. They ultimately got that wish.
While the Verve continues to do this song live today, they do not use the iconic strings backing track, and instead opt to give it an original sound.
The most ironic thing of the whole situation was how the writer of the sheet music for the orchestral music, David Whitacre, did not receive any credit whatsoever.

Girls just wanna have fun! And, boy, did Cyndi have a lot of fun raking in the money with this infectious 1970’s punk hit!
Oops, no, she did the 1980s pop anthem. The 1970s punk song was the original writer, Bo Hazard.
Time after time my fave old person

Quiet Riot’s biggest hit was ‘come on Feel the Noise’, a cover of a Slade song of the same name. While their fans may know other good songs of theirs, such as the Wild and the Young from QRIII, many people mostly know them from this slade cover.
The Newcomers

He’s known for his 1999 hit Mambo #5. Which’s actually a cover of Perez Prado’s mambo jazz hit of the same name that was made in 1949 & released in 1950. He then went on to sample part of the original piece along with some sound effects. A copyright lawsuit took place but was then settled. His song became an worldwide hit that & his only big hit (which made Lou Bega a 1 hit wonder). To this day Mambo #5 stands the test of time. R.I.P. to the original master Perez Prado.

Okay, but it was ten million times better than Michael Jackson's version.
I love the cover.
UPDATE: I’ve come to appreciate this song! Thanks for showing me the light!

He covered a song called All Along the Watchtower, I forget who the original artist of that song is.
I was not aware All Along the Watchtower was a cover. That's cool!

They were surfin’ USA, and then the wave carried them into trouble.
Basically, Brian Wilson took instrumental influence from Chuck Berry’s ‘Sweet Little 16’. And by influence, I mean he copied the instrumental outright and called it his own.
Berry’s publisher, of course, sued the band, and got Berry a writer’s credit on the song.
I’m considering this a case of sampling. Deal with it.

You know Coldplay has other big hits than viva la Vida
This one ranks lowest due to a technicality: Viva La Vida neither samples nor is a cover of another song. But, if you ask Joe Satriani, he’d tell you that it was an outright ripoff.
In 2009, he sued the British band for Viva La Vida’s similarities with his 2004 song ‘If I Could Fly’, which are hard to deny upon good examination.
Ripped off Joe Satriani

And now for a little bit of irony. Coolio was pissed off at weird Al for his parody of gangsta’s paradise, Amish Paradise, claiming that It took away from the serious nature of the song.
Then, he turned around and allowed post hard-core band falling in reverse to cover it, giving it a much more ridiculous sound than the weird Al parody.
Trust me, falling in reverse’s cover is ass.
Coolio's biggest song is 'Gangsta's Paradise' feat. L.V. which quite heavily samples Stevie Wonder's 'Pastime Paradise'.

He also sampled Led Zeppelin's "D'yer Mak'er" in his song "Me Love."
His song "Beautiful Girls" sampled Ben E. King's "Stand By Me"


He samples popular songs but most of them have major changes or are just better in general. he didn't rap Daft Punk lyrics he rapped over it. If that counts I'll dare you to put Eminem and Nas on the list
"Stronger" sampled "Harder Better Faster Stronger" by Daft Punk- which itself was a sample of Edwin Birdsong's "Cola Bottle Baby".
No his biggest hit is Gold Digger not Stronger

�Tainted Love’ was a Gloria Jones cover. Marilyn Manson would also go on to cover this song.

Their biggest hit "Butterfly", samples a song from Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Yup, Butterfly heavily sampled ‘Pretty Little Ditty’ by RHCP.

Without You is a simple cover version. Also, Mariah used a lot of samples in her music, just like Beyonce Knowles
Boys of Summer is still and Awesome Song

Lemme guess: Yellow Submarine? Is that it? If not, educate me.

Wasn't he involved with the making of Blurred Lines?

If you’ve ever been to a 90s themed party, chances are you’ve heard that fun little dance/country song ‘Cotton-Eyed Joe’.
The Swedish Rednex actually covered a traditional American folk song that dates back to 1861 for their only worldwide hit.
And, boy, what a hit it was.