Classic rock music is most often meant to be heard loud. If the speakers and amplifiers are left standing by the end of the show, then something has gone wrong! Let all the hair get pushed back, let all the minds get blown. That’s the equation. But then every once in a while, a song comes along that when performed with an acoustic guitar, something special happens.
Case in point: these three tracks here. These songs are delightful on their own, but when performed with a jangley six-string, something else magical happens. Below, we wanted to explore a trio of beloved classic rock tunes that were covered by other artists and done so solo incredibly with an acoustic guitar.
Videos by American Songwriter
[RELATED: 3 Eternal Acoustic Led Zeppelin Songs]
“All Along the Watchtower” by Dave Matthews from Live at Red Rocks 8.15.95 (1997)
When Bob Dylan released the song “All Along the Watchtower” in 1967 on his album John Wesley Harding, even he didn’t know what it would turn into. But when Jimi Hendrix got a hold of it, the electric guitar playing dynamo turned the track into something entirely new for his 1968 LP Electric Ladyland. Then about 25 years later, Dave Matthews, the jam band icon, took the song in another direction and he’s been using it as a show-ender for decades. Here below, Matthews performs the song in a rare solo acoustic rendition in 2002.
“Thank You” by Chris Cornell from Carry On (2007)
Led Zeppelin released the song “Thank You” on the band’s 1969 LP Led Zeppelin II. But fast-forward almost 40 years and Chris Cornell, the big-voiced frontman for bands like Soundgarden and Audioslave, took on the track, performing it acoustically on The Howard Stern Show. Why? Well, he told Stern, “It sounds like a ’60s pop song to me, the way they have it arranged. With any other band it would have been their biggest hit. But because it was Led Zeppelin, and the album was so unbelievable, you almost pass over it.” Well, Cornell breathed new life into it here.
“In My Life” by Ed Sheeran from Tribute to the Beatles (2014)
Released on the former mop tops’ 1965 LP Rubber Soul, this song has been a favorite for many to cover and here below the British-born pop star Ed Sheeran offered his rendition in 2014 as a tribute to the tune’s originator, John Lennon. Giving the track a little bit of extra pop on his acoustic guitar, Sheeran turned it into a contemporary radio hit. Check out his solo acoustic offering here below.
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