Just briefly googling I can find a cover of WATC by an Italian singer called Mina, recorded in 1978, as well as a cover of the same song by some disco group called Mizz from 1980. That convinced me that there are going to be plenty of Queen-covers from well before 1987, so I stopped searching. The sheer volume of Queen-covers suggests you might have your work cut out for you if you're going to look for the first one.
I know Mina, one of the most famous italian singers.
So yes, there was a lot more than One Vision by Laibach. Said that, Laibach cover is one of the most stranger covers ever did.
Anybody knows this one? link link
Sugar Daddy - Another One Bites The Dust
A rap cover released in the same year as Queen's original. Don't know how many months after Queen's original release though.
That brings another question to me:
There are many cover of Queen songs around. Most however were made years after Queen's original release.
What is the cover of a Queen song that was released in the shortest time after Queen's own original release?
Penetration_Guru wrote:
When did Linda Ronstadt do WWRY?
1996. Much later than I thought.
Mooghead will be correct, but my next guess other than that is probably Weird Al Yankovic.
Another One Rides the Bus was recorded and broadcast live on the Doctor Demento Show on September 14, 1980, before Another One Bites the Dust reached #1 in the US as a single.
^
Thank you, Captain Obvious
I got a kick out of Weird Al's AOBTD. Also, at the time, the Detroit Lions had adopted the Queen version as their theme song in '80, and Freddie wore their hat on stage during the encore at their concert at Joe Louis Arena.
The Lions won two more after that night, starting 4-0 for the season. The song would be in the background of almost every televised highlight reel.
But....the Lions being the Lions, stumbled to a 7-7 record before winning their final two, and missed the playoffs for the tenth straight year.
And then, what got a lot of airplay was a satirical version on the local stations called 'Another One Beats Our Butts'. THAT might have been the best cover of a Queen song ever! ;-)
Moog is right I think. Seven Seas Of Rhye by Martin Jay on Top Of The Pops 37 1974 - as shared on here by my good self. It's actually amazing although probably doesn't count as it's a 'sound-a-like' rather than a named artist.