Imitation isn't viewed as a form of flattery to all in music. Despite being meant as tributes to timeless works, cover songs are frequently the topic of insults, disdain, and legal action from the very people who wrote them. Twists and reinterpretations have often yielded scorn from original creators, creating tension between artistic legacies and creative freedom. Reactions can be swift and cutting, even forgetting that not every song remake is a love letter to its creator.

Sometimes a cover will breathe new life into an old classic, while others it's seen as a betrayal of authenticity or even bruises to an inflated ego. What we think would be the ultimate compliment can still easily backfire, as good intentions don't guarantee a good reception. Whether they complained, cringed, or called a lawyer, the original artists weren't fond of how their efforts listed below were reimagined.

10 Cake - “I Will Survive” (1996)

Original: Gloria Gaynor

For their second album, Fashion Nugget (1996), Cake put a twist on Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” (1978) that immediately crossed a line for the immortal singer. John McCrea, the lead vocalist for Cake, turned her lyric “I should’ve changed that stupid lock” into “that f***ing lock” instead, and Gaynor maintained a distaste for the American rock band’s cover due to the profanity. Cake’s version ultimately peaked at No. 28 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1997, regardless.

9 Barbra Streisand - “Life On Mars” (1974)

Original: David Bowie

Barbra Streisand covered David Bowie’s “Life On Mars” on her 1974 album Butterfly, but this wasn’t exactly met with any fanfare from its originator. Actually, Bowie referred to the Streisand version as “bloody awful” - although simultaneously apologizing for his harshness. “Sorry, Barb, but it was atrocious,” he said. The original “Life On Mars," which was loosely inspired by Frank Sinatra’s “My Way," peaked at No. 3 as a single in the United Kingdom.

8 Megadeth — “These Boots” (1985)

Original: Lee Hazlewood

Lee Hazlewood, writer of the iconic “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’” (1965), demanded the thrash metal rendition that followed 20 years later be omitted from Megadeth’s debut album Killing Is My Business… and Business Is Good! under the threat of legal action. Hazlewood took issue with Mustaine’s altered lyrics and forced the song to be removed from all releases after 1995 until the album was reissued in 2002 with a partial, censored version. Mustaine revealed in the deluxe edition liner notes that Hazlewood had received royalties for roughly 10 years before offering any objections to the cover.

7 Manfred Mann’s Earth Band - “Blinded By The Light” (1976)

Original: Bruce Springsteen

“Blinded by the Light” was written and recorded by Bruce Springsteen, appearing on his debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. (1973). Manfred Mann’s Earth Band later released a cover of the track on their 1976 album The Roaring Silence, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1977, while also becoming a top-10 hit in New Zealand, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Springsteen’s only No. 1 single on the Hot 100 as a songwriter didn’t come without a layer of controversy, though.

Specifically, Springsteen took issue with the line "cut loose like a deuce" being altered to "wrapped up like a deuce," (more so, infamously, sounding like "douche"), thus changing the focus from a 1932 V8-powered Ford to a feminine hygiene product. It very well might be the most misheard lyric in rock history. "It wasn’t written like that, and I screwed it up completely,"  Manfred Mann said in a 2006 Record Collector interview. "It sounded like ‘douche’ instead of ‘deuce’, 'cause of the technical process - a faulty azimuth due to tape-head angles, and it meant we couldn’t remix it."

Warners in America said, ‘You’ve got to change ‘douche’, ’cause the Southern Bible belt radio stations think it’s about a vaginal douche, and they have problems with body parts down there.' We tried to change it to ‘deuce’ but then the rest of the track sounded horrible, so we had to leave it. We just said, ‘If it’s not a hit, it’s not.’ But in the end, it was No. 1 in America, and so many people came up to us after and said, ‘You know why it made No. 1? Everyone was talking about whether it was deuce or douche.’ Apparently Springsteen thought we’d done it deliberately, which we hadn’t, so if I ever saw him I’d avoid him and cringe away like a frightened little boy.

6 Peter Gabriel - “Street Spirit” (2010)

Original: Radiohead

Peter Gabriel intended to invoke a song swap after covering Radiohead’s “Street Spirit” (1995) but tragically never received the nod from vocalist Thom Yorke. Gabriel even addressed the negative public perception, lack of response, and Yorke’s disinterest - to the tune of one lone stream.

“Not everyone likes it, and I’ve no real idea whether he likes it or hates it. We have a little clue, though,” he said. “We gave out codes for the artists to listen to their songs on a stream and we could see how many times they’ve heard them. I think he’s only streamed ‘Street Spirit’ once, which isn’t a good sign, but who knows?”

Gabriel even addressed the negative public perception, lack of response, and Yorke’s disinterest - to the tune of one lone stream.

Who knows? Even Gabriel knew it was an extreme take... we didn't have to tell him that. Simply put, Radiohead didn't like what he did with the song, so much so that even the record label declined to comment upon its release despite the group's implied commitments.

5 Pet Shop Boys - “Where The Streets Have No Name” (1991)

Original: U2

When this U2 song received a Pet Shop Boys spin, Bono joked, “What have we done to deserve this?” The synth-pop duo took “Where the Streets Have No Name” (1987) and made it a medley alongside Frank Valli’s 1967 record “Can't Take My Eyes Off You," and by all s, it was quite an unusual mashup - not to mention its stark differences in musical arrangement. Oddly enough, the two parties later set aside any remaining animosity after a random encounter at Elton John's home in .

4 Mötley Crüe - “Anarchy In The U.K.” (1991)

Original: The Sex Pistols

The Sex Pistols’ hit “Anarchy in the U.K.” (1976), a debut single also considered one of the greatest songs of all time, was later turned into a 1991 cover by Mötley Crüe. Nonetheless, this was just another check and more money in the bank for John Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten.

Lydon told NME (via Far Out Magazine), “They peppered it with the wrong words 'cause they didn’t know the full monty. I would have quite happily told them what the real words were. They lost the meaning somewhat.” Rotten reportedly called the reinterpretation “hilarious,” a mild comment from the former self-proclaimed anarchist, given it's often discussed among the worst rock covers of all time.

3 Eagles — “Ol’ 55” (1974)

Original: Tom Waits

“Ol’ 55” is a Tom Waits classic, appearing on his 1973 debut studio album Closing Time, and aptly centered around the singer's 1955 Buick Roaster. Once the flattery wore off, though, Waits didn't hold back on the Eagles, who he said were “about as exciting as watching paint dry,” also calling their 1974 cover “a little antiseptic.” Decades later, Eagles frontman Glenn Frey joked that Waits started getting his royalty checks and began to change his tune. “Since then, Tom and I, we're really close,” Frey said.

Interestingly, All Elite Wrestling President and CEO Tony Khan bought the rights to the original Waits version in late 2020. It was used in a tribute to AEW’s Brodie Lee during a celebration of life, something Khan wanted to last forever.

2 Van Halen - “You Really Got Me” (1978)

Original: The Kinks

Van Halen covered The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me” (1964) for their first single in 1978 and peaked at No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100, but following decades of silence since its release, a harsh and harbored opinion came from Dave Davies, founder of the original band. Davies dubbed this rework “Middle America” in an interview with Classic Rock (via Rayo), accusing it of being a low, tight-tro ploy to gain attention.

Davies dubbed the rework “Middle America” in an interview with Classic Rock, accusing it of being a low, tight-tro ploy to gain attention.

He even went as far as to say Eddie Van Halen shouldn't be encouraged in this regard, but that he played better when he was drunk. “But it must be a good record if people like it,” Davies said, sarcastically. This beloved classic rock piece mainly aggravated The Kinks because it got so popular that during a 1979 tour, several kids approached Davies to comically, and incorrectly, compliment his spin on the Van Halen hit. “You have to smile sometimes,” Davies added.

1 Limp Bizkit - “Behind Blue Eyes” (2003)

Original: The Who

“Behind Blue Eye” is, of course, one of The Who’s most well-received recordings, originally written by Pete Townshend. Rap-rock group Limp Bizkit released a cover of the record as a single from their 2003 album, Results May Vary, which was an arrangement that received overwhelmingly negative reviews. Between a Speak & Spell featured during the bridge, plus significant changes to the verses and an added chorus, Limp Bizkit replaced everything The Who meant to do with this song.

In 2011, Rolling Stone magazine readers voted this entry the second-worst cover song of all time. “It was an embarrassing effort and one that discredits a fine song,” Townshend said in 2005. Yet, somehow, it still reached No. 81 on the US Billboard Hot 100 - the Limp Bizkit phenomenon in a nutshell.