Many Rivers To Cross

An excellent indicator of the impact of a song lies in the number of artists that choose to cover it. Jimmy Cliff's 'Many Rivers To Cross', listed as #317 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time is one such tune. Having discovered this track while researching for the previous post, I set about to listen to many of the versions available on YouTube. The list of artists included here span each of the decades that have come and gone since the song was written in 1969. According to Wikipedia, the song was released or notably perfomed at least once within 25 of the 27 years since it was released on the legendary The Harder They Come soundtrack. The only artists to chart with the song are UB40 (1983/UK), Cher (1993/UK), and Annie Lennox (2008/US).

Bruce Sprinsteen (1993)

NOFX (2008)

U2 (2005)

Elvis Costello and the Attractions (1988)




The Animals (1977)




Little Milton (1971)





John Lennon and Harry Nillson (1974)




Joe Cocker (1996)




Lenny Kravitz (2002)




Annie Lennox (2008)




UB40 (2002)




Cher (1992)




Marcia Hines (1982)




Gov't Mule (2005)




Oleta Adams (1994)