10 cover songs that outperformed the original

Marvin Gaye's 1968 version of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" was actually the third version of the song to be released, but is by far the most successful.

Unlike the versions of the song by Gladys Knight & the Pips and The Miracles that preceded it, Gaye's take on the track topped the charts in both the US and the UK and is now widely regarded as one of the greatest soul recordings of all time.

Nine Inch Nails' 1994 song "Hurt" — which includes references to self-harm and heroin addiction — is haunting enough as it is.

In 2003, however, country legend Johnny Cash added even more layers of audible pain with his own brooding rendition, in which he reflected on his morality and mistakes. Cash's cover is made even sadder by the fact that it proved to be his parting words to the world as he died just six months later.

Strangely, Cash's versions didn't perform as well in the charts as Nine Inch Nails', but greatly outsold it, shipping over 2 million copies in the US alone.

Leonard Cohen claimed to have tortured himself over the lyrics to his 1984 song "Hallelujah," famously writing as many as 150 draft verses while sitting in his underwear on the floor at New York's Royalton Hotel.

Despite his efforts, however, the song achieved little initial success and only became a hit when covered by Jeff Buckley in 1994.

"Cohen murmured the original like a dirge, but Buckley treated the song like a tiny capsule of humanity, using his voice to careen between glory and sadness, beauty and pain," wrote Time in 2004.

Written and recorded by, believe it or not, Neil Diamond in 1967, "Red Red Wine" didn't achieve international success until it was covered by British reggae band UB40 in 1983.

Their version went to No. 1 in both the UK and the US and sold nearly 2 million records worldwide.

"Tainted Love" has been put through the wringer multiple times.

First performed by soul singer Gloria Jones in 1964, it attained worldwide fame in 1981 thanks to British duo Soft Cell, who replaced the original's guitars, bass, and drums with synthesizers and rhythm machines.

In 2001, Marilyn Manson then rock-ified the song for his own cover — but it's Soft Cell's that remains the most successful, having spent a then-record-breaking 43 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100.

"Heartbeats" didn't garner much attention when it was first released by Swedish electronic duo The Knife in 2002, peaking at No. 26 on the Sverigetopplistan, Sweden's national pop chart.

The song became a smash in Europe in 2006, however, when it was covered by Swedish singer-songwriter José González, whose soft acoustic sound matched the track's lyrics so perfectly.

Both Roberta Flack and Fugees scored massive hits with their covers of Lori Lieberman's 1972 track "Killing Me Softly With His Song."

In 1973, Flack reached No. 1 with her cover, which went on to win the 1974 Grammy for record of the year and best female pop vocal performance.

In 1997, the Lauryn Hill-led Fugees' version shot to No. 1 in over 20 countries and won the 1997 Grammy for best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocal.

Though first recorded by the Top Notes in 1961 and made famous by The Beatles in 1963, it's reggae duo Chaka Demus & Pliers who can claim to have the most successful version of "Twist and Shout" — at least in the United Kingdom, anyway.

Unlike The Beatles' version, the pair's upbeat, island groove take on the song made it to No. 1 in the UK in the early 1990s.

With her 1990 cover of Prince's "Nothing Compares 2 U," Sinead O'Connor took what was an obscure track from one of Prince's side projects and made it a worldwide smash, with her haunting version going to No. 1 all over the globe and selling over 3.5 million copies.

"When I heard it I actually started crying," Chris Hill, co-director of O'Connor's record label, Ensign, told Mojo in 2009. "I just sat there with tears in my eyes."

Dolly Parton has released three versions of her 1973 song "I Will Always Love You," but none can compare to the success Whitney Houston had with her cover in 1995.

Recorded for the soundtrack to "The Bodyguard," her film debut, Houston's version topped the charts in almost all countries and sold over 20 million copies, making it the best-selling single of all time by a female solo artist.