For decades,Bob Dylanhas been one of the most iconic figures in American folk music. Over the 60-plus years of his career,Dylan has won dozens of awards, including ten Grammy Awards (out of almost 40 nominations), the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature, an Oscar, and a Golden Globe. He was also seen as iconoclastic in the folk music scene back in the 1960s, after his use of an electric guitar at a 1966 gig in Manchester prompted an audience member toheckle Dylan by calling him “Judas.”
Dylan has been immortalized in multiple films, too, but perhaps even more enduring is just how many musicians have covered his songs. At this point, especially considering tribute films likeA Complete UnknownandI’m Not There, Dylan may have beencovered even more than the Beatles. Musicians of all genres have covered Dylan’s work, and detailing the breadth of those would take an entire website, butthese rock covers of Dylan songs are the creme de la creme.
(Dis)honorable Mention: William Shatner – Mr Tambourine Man (1968)
It may seem unfair to dunk on William Shatner for a strange artistic choice he made almost 60 years ago, yet the entirety of his 1968 albumThe Transformed Manis a bizarre listening experience that Greg Pato ofAllMusiccompared to the comedy of Andy Kaufman. It’s strangely intense and over-indulgent in ways that make it impossible to tell if Shatner is either acting his heart out or just overselling the campiness. Either way, his version of Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man,” itself a rather silly song, is a beautiful example of hownotto cover Dylan.
10Bruce Springsteen – “Chimes of Freedom”
Chimes Of Freedom (1988) / Another Side Of Bob Dylan (1964)
“Chimes of Freedom,” one of Dylan’s most noteworthy and poignant songs, has been covered innumerable times. One of the most notable covers was released by The Byrds on their first album, 1965’sMr. Tambourine Man, which included a total of four songs originally by Dylan; the band would continue to include Dylan covers on their albums until their breakup in ‘73.
The band’s jangle-folk style incorporated elements of British Invasion bands like the Beatles with more traditional American folk, and was widely popular – buttheir version of “Chimes of Freedom” was eventually eclipsed
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In 1988, Bruce Springsteen was on theTunnel of Love Expresstour, where he and the E Street Band featured a cover of “Chimes of Freedom” on the setlist at numerous stops on the tour. The performance in Stockholm, Sweden was recorded and released on Springsteen’sChimes of FreedomEP; there, Springsteen took Dylan’s original song and found something transcendental in it, as the E Street Band’s signature full-band soundelevated it into a joyful chorus of hope.
9Franz Nicolay – “It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)”
Subterranean Homesick Blues: A Tribute To Bob Dylan’s Bringing It All Back Home (2010) / Bringing It All Back Home (1965)
While he’s most known as the best accordion player in punk rock, at least according to Dying Scene Records, Franz Nicolay is a true musical jack-of-all-trades. He’s played with the World/Inferno Friendship Society, helped found the Anti-Social Music collective, helped found the jazz-punk quartet Guignol, been an integral member of heartland rock fixture the Hold Steady, and also released numerous solo albums.
In 2010, he contributed toSubterranean Homesick Blues,a tribute album that covered the entirety of Bob Dylan’s 1965 smash albumBringing It All Back Home.
Nicolay’s version of “It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)” takes Dylan’s original – an earnest, stripped-down assault on consumerism and American cultural largesse – and makes the song’s subtext into a part of its acoustic landscape. It’s messy and frantic, with Nicolay’s vocals overdubbed on themselves at points so thatthe verses tangle up into a frenzied, chaotic explosion of frustrationwith the entire modern world.
Much like Nicolay’s solo work and various side projects, this version of “It’s Alright Ma” uses noise and dissonance as an instrument unto itself, pushing aside any concern with the listener’s comfort in favor of adamantly committing to the song’s emotional core.
8The Gaslight Anthem – “Changing of the Guards”
Chimes Of Freedom: The Songs Of Bob Dylan (2011) / Street-Legal (1978)
Chimes of Freedomwas a 2012 charity compilation album, with its proceeds donated to support Amnesty International. Released in single-disc, two-disc, and four-disc versions, the project involved a total of 69 new recordings out of the 76 songs used. New Jersey punks the Gaslight Anthem recorded their take on Dylan’s “Changing of the Guards,” which wasfirst released on Dylan’s lukewarm 1978 albumStreet-Legal.
While Dylan’s original cut of “Changing of the Guards” is a little on the messy side – art-pop musician Meghan Remy once saidit was her favorite Dylan song because of the audible mistakes on the recording– the Gaslight Anthem’s version is crisp and sweeping. While the Gaslight Anthem have a sound and style much more easily compared to their fellow New Jersey rocker Bruce Springsteen, their take on Dylan is appropriately cinematic, particularly in frontman Brian Fallon’s vocals.
7The Hold Steady – “Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?”
I’m Not There (2007) / Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window? (1965)
Never included on any albums, but released as a single with “Highway 61 Revisited” as the B-side, “Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?” is a strong example of Dylan’s early folk-rock sound. The original recording featured a group known then as the Hawks as the backing band – although after accompanying Dylan on tour in 1966, they changed their name to the Band, andbecame legends in their own right.
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Riding the high from their smash hit 2006 albumBoys and Girls in America, heartland rockersthe Hold Steady were tapped to add to the soundtrack ofI’m Not There, the 2007 Dylan-focused film that took a very experimental approach to the very idea of a biopic. Their cut of “Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?” is fantastic, with vocalist Craig Finn’s Sprechgesang style echoing Dylan not only on the original song, but his other notable talk-singing songs, such as “Subterranean Homesick Blues.”
Murder Ballads (1996) / Down In The Groove (1988)
Bob Dylan’s 1988 albumDown in the Groove, as with many of his late 20th-century releases, was critically divisive for a number of reasons. The predominant issue with the album was its disparate nature – unlike much of Dylan’s work, it was recorded over a large number of sessions, and also brought on a wide variety of guest musicians and producers.The mournful-yet-optimistic “Death Is Not the End"featured guest work by noted reggae duo Sly and Robbie, as well as guitar and production by Mark Knopfler, frontman for blues-rock legends Dire Straits.
Australian macabre rocker Nick Cave chose to cover “Death Is Not the End” as the final track for his 1996 albumMurder Ballads.Ironically, it’s the only song on the album to not actually be a murder ballad in the traditional sense, instead serving as a tongue-in-cheek way to tie up the album thematically;Cave even called it a “jokey little punctuation mark"in a 1995 interview with Australia’sTriple Jmagazine.
Yet the performance is no joke – thanks to guest vocals from Anita Lane, PJ Harvey, Kylie Minogue, and Shane MacGowan, it’s a beautiful ensemble interpretation of one of Dylan’s most underrated songs.
The Second Three Years (2011) / Bob Dylan (1962)
Although his music career started with fronting hardcore band Million Dead, English troubadour Frank Turner’s musical DNA isjust as beholden to the classic folk scene as it is to the annals of punk history. Dylan’s original version of this song was “Song to Woody,” something he wrote as a tribute to the great folk legend Woody Guthrie, even going so far as to use the melody of Guthire’s “1913 Massacre,” which told the story of the tragedy in Calumet, Michigan on Christmas Eve of 1913, when 73 striking mineworkers and their families were trampled in a panic.
Dylan’s “Song to Woody” tells of how Dylan looks up to the legendary Oakie and his contemporaries, such as blues prodigy Lead Belly. Turner’s interpretation, which changes the lyrics to put Dylan in the focal point, updates those references to his own musical heroes, namely Bruce Springsteen, Leonard Cohen, and Neil Young. Like the rest of Turner’s solo work, “Song to Bob"shows his skill at unifying both the folk and the punk in his musical roots, and hopefully he’ll continue on carrying the torch of anti-fascist labor songs for the next generation.
4Flogging Molly – “The Times They Are A-Changin’”
Chimes Of Freedom: The Songs Of Bob Dylan (2011) / The Times They Are A-Changin' (1964)
Generally considered one of the greatest songs of all time, and possibly one of Dylan’s most-covered songs, “The Times They Are a-Changin'” was Dylan’s attempt to create an anthem for the American Civil Rights movement and the rest of the anti-establishment counterculture that was coalescing around him and the next generation of folk musicians.
It’s an unmistakable classic, but it’sone that requires a vulnerable earnestness from any musician that covers it, as the lyrics and their occasionally blunt nature can come off as awkward if performed with too much artifice.
That isn’t a problem for Celtic punk superstars Flogging Molly, who contributed their version of “The Times They Are a-Changin'” to theChimes of Freedomtribute album. While the opening verse seems slow and sedate, like a very traditional take on Dylan’s song,the band’s iconic uptempo swagger slams into focusbefore the song feels forced or languid. While Dylan’s folk music was always quintessentially American, Flogging Molly’s cover is a natural fit – which is only appropriate, given that Irish folk songs were an integral component in the evolution of America’s own folk traditions.
3Warren Zevon – “Knocking on Heaven’s Door”
The Wind (2003) / Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid (1973)
“Knockin' on Heaven’s Door” isone of Bob Dylan’s most enduring songs, and featured prominently on the soundtrack to the 1973 filmPat Garrett & Billy the Kid, a Western that Dylan had a small role in. It’s been covered by artists of all stripes, including the particularly bombastic version by 80s rock legends Guns ‘N Roses, butfor all the GNR cut’s visibility and popularity, it’s all filler and no killercompared to Warren Zevon’s version.
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Recorded in 2003 as part of his final albumThe Wind, Zevon’s version of “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” carries all the gravitas and weight imaginable, considering it was deliberately selected as a part of Zevon’s farewell to his fans and his life. Diagnosed with mesothelioma shortly before recording the album, Zevon took the opportunity to record a true album of swan songs, of which"Knockin' on Heaven’s Door” is a heart-wrenching standout.
2Rage Against The Machine – “Maggie’s Farm”
Renegades (2000) / Bringing It All Back Home (1965)
“Maggie’s Farm” was a hallmark of Dylan’s early transition from traditional folk to an electrified sound, right down to how it was part of the controversy around his set at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival which was dramatized inthe Timothée Chalamet-starring biopicA Complete Unknown. It’s one of Dylan’s best, serving asa scathing look at either the state of the service industry or even Dylan’s own experiences with record companies.
It was also one of the working-class anthems chosen by Rage Against the Machine for the band’s final studio project,Renegades. The 2000 release was a full covers album, also featuring RATM’s takes on other songs with anti-capitalist or anti-imperialist messages like Bruce Springsteen’s “The Ghost of Tom Joad” and the Rolling Stones' “Street Fighting Man.” RATM’s version of “Maggie’s Farm"contains as much righteous fury as any original Rage song, between Zack de la Rocha’s gutteral snarls and Tom Morello’s legendarily intense guitar-playing.
1Jimi Hendrix – “All Along the Watchtower”
Electric Ladyland (1968) / John Wesley Harding (1967)
Some cover songs are forever seen as loving tributes to the original artists, but some covers transcend their original performer and become something wholly new, changing the public perception of the song forever – and that’s exactly what happened with “All Along the Watchtower"when Jimi Hendrix got his hands on it. Hendrix, who had been given a copy of unreleased Dylan recordings by his publicist that included Dylan’s cut of “Watchtower,” immediately latched on to the song as something he wanted to put his own spin on.
While composer Bear McCreary arranged a phenomenal and unique take of “All Along the Watchtower” for the soundtrack of the 2004Battlestar Galacticareboot – one which was integral to the show’s plot – the series chose to close its final moments not with McCreary’s version, or even Dylan’s, but Hendrix’s.
Released on the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s third album,Electric Ladyland, “All Along the Watchtower” found new life in Jimi’s powerfully evocative guitar playing. It’s been used in dozens of films, been featured on dozens of best-of lists from publications likeRolling Stone,Guitar World, andAmerican Songwriter, and perhaps most importantly,it profoundly changed the way Bob Dylan himself looked at the song. In the liner notes for his 1985 albumBiograph, Dylan said:
I liked Jimi Hendrix’s record of this and ever since he died I’ve been doing it that way … Strange how when I sing it, I always feel it’s a tribute to him in some kind of way.
