The five strangest covers of The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones are widely regarded as the fathers of modern rock. Sure, The Beatles made a significant contribution to rock through their experimentation. Yes, they had peers such as The Who and Led Zeppelin, who helped to push the genre forward. However, when it came to combining blues, rock, and pop into the perfect recipe we know today, The Stones paved the way.

Throughout their decades-long career, the band has provided the world with an endless supply of hits. They’ve repeatedly written themselves into the global songbook. It was with hits like ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ and ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ among the most popular rock songs of all time. Thanks to their catchy riffs, hi-octane licks, and anthemic lyrics, Stones songs are beloved for their timelessness.

In many ways, the Stones established rock standards. In the jazz tradition, different artists perform the same songs repeatedly. It’s a rite of passage to tackle tracks that legends before you have attempted, with tracks being passed down through generations. When it comes to the British band’s hits and the thousands of covers that have been done for them, their songs seem to have the same kind of universal appeal and impact that spans generations, countries, and genres.

Some Stones covers are so good that they may even outperform the original. Covers such as Bowie’s take on ‘Let’s Spend The Night Together‘ and Merry Clayton’s full version of ‘Gimme Shelter‘. But on the flip side, some covers are downright odd. As a band, they expanded so far beyond the rock world as artists across all styles seemed to adopt and adapt the tracks. This has led to some combos that no one could predict, and people have shared some real left-field covers over the years.

Whether strange in a great way or weird in a terrible way, these five Rolling Stones covers stand out as something, well, special.