12 Rock-Related Covers by Amy Winehouse You Should Hear

Amy Winehouse listened to a little bit of everything when she was growing up, picking up pieces from family members and other sources.

“My brother was listening to stuff like Sonic Youth and Pearl Jam and Therapy, really, like, I-want-to-die bands,” she explained in a 2006 interview (via The Guardian). “I had a really brief flirtation with that, but I must have been nine – and then I discovered Salt-n-Pepa and I was like: I’ve got my music now.”

Winehouse’s parents had slightly different taste.

“I would go to sleep listening to things like Sinatra and James Taylor,” she said in 2004, speaking with journalist Paul Du Noyer. “But that’s as far as my parents went. You discover music the most when it’s music that no one tells you to listen to, that you find out for yourself.”

The music Winehouse found out for herself were records by people like Sarah Vaughan, the Shirelles, Dinah Washington, Thelonious Monk and others — a melting pot of sounds that helped Winehouse develop her own jazzy, soulful style. Years later, she would occasionally dip back into the songs that influenced her with cover versions.

We’ve listed 12 highly-worthy instances below, alongside the artist that originally recorded it.

1. “A Song For You,” Leon Russell

The first person to record “A Song for You” was its writer, Leon Russell, who included it on his 1970 self-titled debut solo album. Cover versions came soon after that, and quite popular ones at that. Andy Williams did it in 1971, followed by Donny Hathaway in 1972 and then people like Cher, Willie Nelson, Aretha Franklin, Joe Cocker and more. Ray Charles had a version that earned him a 1994 Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.

Winehouse’s version wasn’t actually released into the world until after her July 23, 2011 death. It appeared on a posthumous album called Lioness: Hidden Treasures.

2. “Cupid,” Sam Cooke

Sam Cooke’s original 1961 recording of his song “Cupid” was quite the success — it went to No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 back then. It performed even better in the U.K., reaching the No. 7 spot.

Below is Winehouse’s studio rendition of “Cupid,” which appeared on her iconic Back to Black album in 2006, but we’d also recommend checking out when she sang it live at Glastonbury in 2007.

3. “Hey, Little Rich Girl,” The Specials

In August of 2009, Winehouse made a surprise live appearance with the Specials at that year’s V Festival in Chelmsford, England. It was even a surprise to the members of the band — Winehouse had been hanging out on the side of the stage while the Specials were performing, until singer Terry Hall simply invited her out.

“He didn’t tell us,” bassist Horace Panter later recalled. “Of course, he couldn’t ‘cos it was during the set. So at the start of ‘You’re Wondering Now’ he goes ‘I’d like to introduce our good friend Amy who’s going to come on with us.’ We all looked at each other and went ‘WHAT?!’ And there she was. She sort of staggered on stage and absolutely nailed it. Nobody knew anything about it until it actually happened and she was fantastic. She was really, really good and that got nine million views on whatever by the following weekend.”

Winehouse covered the Specials’ music on several occasions during her career, including “Hey, Little Rich Girl,” which you can watch below.

4. “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” Gladys Knight & the Pips

The only thing cooler than Winehouse performing “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” live in 2006 is her doing it with none other than Paul Weller. The Jam frontman later recalled it was Winehouse’s song choice.

“She was just amazing, she came down to rehearsals and just blew all of us away,” he said in 2020. “We were just astounded at how great she was – naturally gifted she was. Sorely missed.”

5. “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?” The Shirelles

There’s most definitely a line that can be drawn from Winehouse back to girl groups like the Ronettes, the Crystals and the Shirelles. Below is her version of “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?” which also appeared on 2011’s Lioness: Hidden Treasures.

“When I was younger, I didn’t really listen to a lot of soul,” Winehouse admitted in 2006. “But in the last year I got really into Motown girl groups.”

6. “All My Loving,” The Beatles

As we know, all roads lead back to the Beatles. Winehouse’s version of “All My Loving” has us swaying.

Paul McCartney met Winehouse just one time, but it wasn’t something he’d soon forget. It was in 2008, three years before her passing.

“And I knew she had a problem,” McCartney recalled to GQ in 2018, referencing what many people in the industry knew by that point: that Winehouse was struggling with her relationship to drugs and alcohol. “I ended up just saying hi, she said hi, but afterwards I thought I really should have just run after her — ‘Hey, Amy, listen, you’re really good, I really hope you…’ — and say something that broke through the despair. And she’d remember and think, ‘Oh yeah, I’m good, I’ve got a life to lead.’ But you always have those little regrets.”

7. “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know,” Blood, Sweat & Tears

Winehouse performed Blood, Sweat & Tears‘ “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know” on multiple occasions over the years — at least five as far as our research tells us.

The original song, written by Al Kooper, appeared on Blood Sweat & Tears’ 1968 debut album, Child Is Father to the Man. “It kills me,” Kooper said of Winehouse’s version of his song in 2021. “The first time I heard it, I was like, ‘Wow. Is she good or what?'”

8. “Beat It,” Michael Jackson

We sort of can’t believe we’re writing this sentence but yes, Winehouse once covered one of Michael Jackson‘s biggest hits, “Beat It.” In fact, she covered it twice and both instances happened in October of 2006.

For Winehouse, Jackson represented something she related to in a way.

“You know how you either grow up in a Michael Jackson house or a Prince house?” she said to The Guardian in 2004, barely out of her teenage years then. “For me it was Michael Jackson. I could never decide whether I wanted to be Michael Jackson or marry him. I don’t care what people say about him now because he’s a f***ing genius. That’s it — the end! He was robbed of his childhood, which is why he surrounds himself with children. When you’re around kids you can be a little kid yourself and pretend that life is magic and you don’t have to be one of those sweaty people going to work every day. I completely see what he’s doing.”

9. “Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn),” Bob Dylan

This version of Bob Dylan’s “Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)” is actually from the same show that saw Winehouse singing “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” with Paul Weller. This time Sam Moore of Sam & Dave fame was involved.

And in case you were wondering: Dylan was a fan of Winehouse’s. “She was the last real individualist around,” he said in a 2017 interview.

10. “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” Oasis

Just bear with the video below — around halfway through is when Winehouse shifts into singing Oasis‘ “Don’t Look Back in Anger” in a way only she could do. It doesn’t really get more British than that.

Winehouse was the sort of uber successful yet deeply troubled artist that Noel Gallagher recognized he too could have become if not for a strong support system.

“Fame can hit people really hard,” he said in 2022. “I always use the story of Amy Winehouse, a lovely girl from North London. All of a sudden she makes that album [Back to Black], she becomes a world superstar, fame hit her like a truck and she didn’t make it.”

11. “Remember (Walking in the Sand),” The Shangri‐Las

We love how Winehouse transitions seamlessly here between her famous “Back to Black” song into a little bit of the Shangri-La’s “Remember (Walking in the Sand).” It’s a perfectly clear demonstration of how those early girl groups played a huge role in influencing Winehouse’s own music.

12. “A Message to You Rudy,” Dandy Livingstone

We simply had to include Winehouse’s take on “A Message to You Rudy,” originally recorded by Dandy Livingstone but made famous by the Specials.