Paul McCartney's "Yesterday" is often said to be the most covered song of all time, with well over 2000 recorded versions (others say the honor goes to George Gershwin's "Summertime"). The Beatles' original 1965 release featured McCartney's solo vocal, accompanied by an acoustic guitar and a string quartet. It was an indication of things to come, as the Beatles expanded their arrangements well beyond the standard rock quartet of the Cavern Club and Hamburg waterfront days. As the story goes, the melody came to Paul in a dream. Upon waking up, he ran to the piano to make sure he didn't forget it. For some time afterward, McCartney worried that he had actually remembered someone else's tune, and refrained from recording it for fear of unintentional plagiarism. He finally figured out that it was his own in time to include it on the album Help.
(Feel free to suggest more covers in the comments.)
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