Cover Versions that are Superior to the Original (as per the Wakefield Doctrine)

What the hell is it about the end of the Year and making Lists?
How do we get (from), New Year coming up! (to) Remind yourself of what you failed to do over the last twelve months!(?)
Not only only make a List, but itemize the areas of your life that show, according to your performance over the last 12 months, your total shortcomings!
The Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers ) has much to offer to help you understand this impulse to measure oneself against an 'external value' and an all too arbitrary set of standards. Perhaps the best way, the most constructive way to view this annual rite of self-criticism is to view these 'end of the year lists' as the basic 'prep-work' for the self-flagellating, overly self-critical proclaiming of our deficiencies, aka New Year's Resolutions.
It is an endless source of surprise just how many people feel the need to pretend to have a desire to set goals for the coming year; particularly in the light of said goals usually being established on that one night a year when drinking to excess is not only condoned, but encouraged.

But this Hub is not about New Year's Resolutions. It is about a List. The List comprised of (the) songs that have a Cover Version that is un-mistakeably superior to the original version.
While not an over original topic for a Hub, it is certainly an intriguing concept.
How can it be that one musician can take the work of another and produce a better version? In most, if not all, of the examples to follow, the author of the song is also the (first) performer of the song. This is not as naive a question as it may sound on first blush. Music, as with all art, is usually the creation of one (single person, songwriting team still one source of creation and original expression). Like most people of my generation, I played an instrument in a band, and in that particular milieu rock 'n roll bands, a good amount of the material would be covers. We all attempted to create original music, of course, to varying degrees of success.The point being that in most cases the composer not only conceivess the music, but the ideal expression of that music. One might argue that the composer's original idea is the music. Having a song that you created brought to life by another performer and have that version be superior has got to be a strange experience.

So what does the Wakefield Doctrine have to say about musicians and performers and the creation of original music? A lot. Since this hub is supposed to be about covers that are better than (their) original versions, we really should focus on the List below.
But we have a couple of minutes to kill while the phonograph cranks up. (btw. the term phonograph is actually appropriate to the time when the original version of 'Happy Together' came out in 1967. aka a record player, a phonograph often had the turntable and speakers built into one unit.)
But I was going to tell you about the Doctrine's take on music and performers:

clarks are the truly creative musician/songwriters/composers and being creative they are often 'ahead of their time'. The nature of what they do is to "hear the un-heard" and translate it into a form that hopefully is acceptable to the contemporary audience, but usually not. Examples of clarklike musicians: Jimi Hendrix, Prince. Stravinsky,

scotts are not the creative ones, but they are the natural performer (of music) they the solo performers or at very least they are the front man. Their scottian confidence gives them the charisma to hold the attention of the audience, it becomes about the performer as much as it is about the song. Examples of scottian muscians: Frank Sinatra, Louie Prima, Franz Lizst and David Lee Roth.

rogers are the storytellers, so as musicians, they will be either the rhythm section or (if solo) they will be folk singers. They have the ability to communicate in a language that the average listener finds accessible. Examples of rogerian musicians: James Taylor, Beethoven, Justin Bieber

But I am getting off-topic! Lets get back to the List.
Following ( Song Title- Original Artist- Superior Cover Artist) is my Starter List: