Summertime: Which is superior?

[DeathsHand]

Anna Brown from the film "Rhapsody in Blue":


Billie Holiday:


Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald:


The Zombies:


Scarlett Johansson:


Billy Stewart:


Doc Watson:


Me First and the Gimme Gimmes:


Janis Joplin:


Eva Cassidy:


Fantasia Barrino:


Sam Cooke:


Miles Davis:


The Fifth Element:


GuessSation:

[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]

Originally Posted by 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?

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.