Original Versions Of Songs You Didn't Know Were Covers. →[More:]

Mars Bonfire - Born To Be Wild. Mars Bonfire was the stage name of Dennis Edmonton, whose later joined a band called the Sparrows, which morphed into Steppenwolf. Dennis' brother Jerry stayed on as drummer after Dennis left, and took the song with him. Steppenwolf's version is far superior (one critic calls it 'the first Classic Rock song' )but this has a nice sinuous, more psychedelic feel to it.

Arrows - I Love Rock And Roll. The Arrows were a pop-rock band from England, who recorded this tune in 1975. They also had their own TV show, which was stumbled upon by a young Joan Jett when she was touring England. She liked what she heard and turned this fine stomper into something of a higher order entirely.

Jerry Jeff Walker - Mr. Bojangles. Jerry Jeff was a country-rock singer/songwriter (although he briefly was in the lighter-than-air psyche band Circus Maximus, who had a minor hit with the utterly doofy 'The Wind') from upstate New York, who wrote a song about a jailhouse encounter with an alcoholic tap-dancer that was covered by just about every one else on earth, most notably the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, who recorded the definitive version.

and as a bonus, a not-exactly-a-cover-but close enough:

Freddie Scott - You Got What I Need. I got this late sixties nugget on a downloading spree from a soul collection. When I clicked on play and heard the opening, I immediately burst into a smile, as will any hip-hop fan or child of the late-eighties and early-nineties. Serendiptious discoveries like that are one of the reasons I collect music.

Enjoy y'all.