Summertime: Which is superior?

[DeathsHand]

Anna Brown from the film "Rhapsody in Blue":
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GXJ4NTgEchI&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed>

Billie Holiday:
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ApiOuBegj2g&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed>

Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald:
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1yKgAEkCKxY&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed>

The Zombies:
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ca70yapxQD4&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed>

Scarlett Johansson:
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5F_yCFtFn24&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed>

Billy Stewart:
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CDLDl0_pt_k&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed>

Doc Watson:
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/D3FymSV3_5o&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed>

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes:
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/g3ON7ENCgIM&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed>

Janis Joplin:
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mzNEgcqWDG4&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed>

Eva Cassidy:
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MQ-OtCqGT1w&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed>

Fantasia Barrino:
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4rOCwVsSW0Y&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed>

Sam Cooke:
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SBfdoJ4gRnE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed>

Miles Davis:
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0jPq_kFNApk&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed>

The Fifth Element:
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/iOf3SxEKbL0&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed>

GuessSation:
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eFHp06uk-G8&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed>

[GameMaster]

Question: What criteria did you use to narrow a song that's estimated to have been covered 2,600 times down to 15 artists?

In any event, I'll be honest, I don't have it in me to spend the 53 minutes and 29 seconds it would require to listen to all of these before making an informed and fair choice.

So I pick Eva Cassidy because I like other songs she sings.

Narrow the poll to 4 choices however, and I just might choose differently...

[DeathsHand]

Question: What criteria did you use to narrow a song that's estimated to have been covered 2,600 times down to 15 artists?

They were the first 15 I located on youtube, and unfortunately the forum does not allow anymore than 15 choices per poll.
I'm considering posting the others (in groups of 15, of course) as I find them so that they all have a shot to be judged fairly as either superior or inferior to their peers.

[manasecret]

In my opinion, this is the first great poll on who had the best version of a song. Great choice of song.

This is a tough choice. I appreciate how many different artists you represented, and it will thus take me some time to listen to all of them and choose which I think is the best version of the 15. But, for me, it is worth it to listen to all of them. This song breaks through all generations with every cover that comes along.

[uber_paddler]

tl;dr

[birdman]

No Sublime? I'm a tad shocked.

[BlueFire]

Ella and Louis.. I love their duets. Just a personal favorite of mine.