De La Soul’s track had its roots in a 1971 ditty about the three-times table
With lyrics growled by Lemmy Kilmister, the thundering song helped spawn thrash metal — and punks loved it too
A magazine interview sparked Kristofferson to write a track that’s been covered in multiple styles and languages
Written for the 1930 Broadway musical ‘Girl Crazy’, the song has spawned cover versions and improvisations galore
Frankie Lymon’s boy soprano voice soared on the 1956 doo-wop track but he was laid low by success
The 1963 track was a hit for Peter, Paul and Mary, who insisted it had nothing to do with marijuana
Sparked by the death of an activist in Nicaragua, the track was used most recently in the Netflix series ‘Adolescence’
Written at a time of creative resurgence for the singer, the song has been covered widely
The 1920s track has popped up in films, musicals, jazz — and at the BBC Proms
The singer has returned to the track’s lonely charm several times, while acts such as Joan Jett have got behind the wheel
The band adopted a title used by John Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band in a song that became a staple of their live shows
Originating in Scotland, it was modified by Irish singer Francis McPeake and later sung by artists such as Bob Dylan and Judy Collins
The singer was not first in line for a song that made her a global star and spawned some curious covers
The track, with origins in 17th-century Yemen, has been remixed for dancefloors and adapted by Madonna
The 1969 song established Harrison as a songwriter on a par with Lennon and McCartney — and spawned hundreds of covers
The track’s wistful, elegiac quality captured a moment in the band’s story
The 1968 song summoned the spirit of voodoo and lives on in covers and samples
The Mael brothers were virtual unknowns until they decamped to the UK and released this surreal classic
Dating back to the 13th century, the track by the Pakistani singer has been remixed by Massive Attack and used in a Coca-Cola advert
The singer eventually reclaimed a funk classic that went on to be widely covered
Nancy Wilson and Randy Crawford are among those who have recorded this widely covered track
