10 Cover Songs Much Better Than The Original

6. Johnny Cash - "One" (U2)

There are a lot of songs from Johnny Cash's American Recordings collection that could have found their way onto this list, but a few are that are commonly lauded as superior (namely "Hurt" and "Personal Jesus") aren't unequivocally better so much as they are wonderfully different. That, however, is certainly not the case with his cover of U2's "One." Johnny Cash's version is just plain better. Hands down.

There really was only one guy who could take a Bono track, blend it with country, rock, gospel, folk, and a healthy dose of heartache, and then absolutely own that !*$% song. It's hard to listen to U2's "One" these days--which sounds a bit too self-important and needlessly grandiose by comparison--without pining for Cash's take.