SINGAPORE, Oct 5 — You have been warned not to judge a book by its cover. But when it comes to music, you can probably judge the quality of a song by its cover.

We are, of course, talking about Ryan Adams’ deconstruction of Taylor Swift’s 1989 album. Adams had recently released his version of 1989 to much acclaim and brickbats (seemingly in equal measure, if the online reaction was anything to go by).

Some fans have questioned his need to cover the album in such a manner, while others have praised his take on Swift’s songs. Whatever the case may be, it has reaped rewards for Adams. Last week, his album (of her album) entered the Billboard 200 chart at No 7, just ahead of Swift’s original version, which dropped three places to land at No 8. Several of the songs Adams reinterpreted have also charted on Billboard’s Hot Rock Songs chart, including Bad Blood, Shake It Off, Welcome To New York and Out Of The Woods.

Artistes releasing cover versions is not new — they have been doing that for decades. The Beatles’ Yesterday is reputed to have been covered seven million times in the 20^th century alone. And the success of cover versions has invited much debate time and again about whether its success is a victory for the cover artiste or the original singer, for example.

But, what we are amazed by is the number of covers that has been out there. Some, such as R&B band Booker T & The MGs or guitarist George Benson, even covered entire albums (both artistes took on The Beatles’ Abbey Road). Others released cover versions that equaled, or sometimes bettered, the original. And still, others did covers in such a way that nobody actually knew they were covers. For instance, did you know that the song Within You’ll Remain, the one with the “wo ai ni” chorus that Tokyo Square turned into such a hit here, is actually a cover? (It was originally recorded by a group called Chyna.)

Will a future generation who hears Adams singing Blank Space not know that Swift originally recorded it? Probably not. Then again, you will never know: We have spoken to people who still swear that Boyzone originally sang Love Me For A Reason.

I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU

Whitney Houston made the powerful ballad a smashing success (we are still singing her version years later) but many had no idea a blonde bombshell called Dolly Parton was the mastermind behind the hit. Incidentally, Houston also turned George Benson’s The Greatest Love Of All into a hit.

NOTHING COMPARES 2 U

The onomatopoeic use of numerals for words should have given it away, but Sinead O’Connor’s breathy No 1 smash hit was actually written by Prince and recorded by the artiste along with the band The Family.

I LOVE ROCK ‘N’ ROLL

Everybody associates this song with female rocker Joan Jett who, upon releasing this song after her stint with The Runaways, shot to the top of the charts. But, it was actually previously recorded by a trio called The Arrows back in 1976.

TAINTED LOVE

This 1981 hit has become Soft Cell’s signature song, but it was originally recorded almost two decades earlier by Gloria Jones in 1964. Her recording was not a hit back in America, but it did get quite a bit of airplay in the United Kingdom, which was probably how Soft Cell discovered the tune.

HALLELUJAH

Jeff Buckley’s haunting vocals and heartfelt treatment for his 2007 hit is the version many of us know, made even more poignant by Buckley’s tragic death (the song was released a decade after his death). But, it was originally written by Leonard Cohen (no, really) who released it in 1984.

GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN

The 1983 hit by Cyndi Lauper was originally recorded as a demo by — can you hazard a guess? — a dude called Robert Hazard in 1979.

RESPECT

Aretha Franklin’s 1967 hit was originally written and released two years earlier by soul star Otis Redding. She made it such a signature tune of female empowerment that we cannot imagine any guy singing this song.

MICKEY

Also known as the song everybody thinks Taylor Swift copied for her No 1 hit Shake It Off. Toni Basil topped the charts with this song in 1982, but it was originally called Kitty by the songwriting duo Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn. Basil changed the lyrics a little, added the famous “you’re so fine, you blow my mind” cheer-leader chant in the middle and it became Mickey. It was first recorded a few years earlier in 1979 by a British group called Racey. Both Kitty and Racey have largely been forgotten (except for when people are referencing them for stories about cover songs you did not know were covers). — TODAY