Tracklist:

1. Marianne Rosenberg, “Wer Liebe Sucht” (1970) German cover of “Stand By Your Man” This was the B-side to Rosenberg’s first hit, “Mr. Paul McCartney,” released when she was just 15 years old. This German version has itself been covered by a variety of other singers throughout the years.

2. Joe Dassin, “Un Garçon Nommé Suzy” (1970) French cover of “A Boy Named Sue” Dassin recorded songs in French, German, Greek, Italian, Russian, Spanish, and English. His repertoire included translated versions of many popular American folk and country songs. I chose this one because I’ve always loved “A Boy Named Sue” (my great grandmother sang it to me when I was a kid, leaving out the “son of a bitch” part).

3. Noriel Vilela, “16 Toneladas” (1971) Portuguese cover of “Sixteen Tons” This is the top of the bunch, in my opinion. It’s a funky Brazilian pop number in which Vilela’s commanding baritone is front and center. I don’t speak Portuguese, but a friend told me that the lyrics in this version are not about working in a coal mine, but about how great samba music is.

4. Jussi & The Boys, “Oon Yksin Niin” (1975) Finnish cover “Oh Lonesome Me” The album this is from is called Kantri & Rock, and is a mix of originals and covers of–you guessed it–country and rock music. It was a toss up between this and the version of Rick Nelson’s “Garden Party,” for which Jussi changed the lyrics to be about going to a school reunion.

5. John Foster, “Non Finirò D’amarti” (1962) Italian cover of “I Can’t Stop Loving You” This one is almost overpowered by all those heart-wrenching strings! And no, John Foster is not this Italian singer’s real name. It’s Paolo Occhipinti.

6. Conjunto Casino, “Jinetes en el Cielo” (1950) Spanish cover of “(Ghost) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend” Conjunto Casino is a Cuban dance music ensemble that has been performing in various configurations for over 70 years. The band mambo-ized the song with a more upbeat rhythm and lots of horns. I love it!

7. Gustav Winckler, “Jeg Vil Vente Ved Telefonen” (1961) Danish cover of “He’ll Have to Go” Winckler was known as Denmark’s Bing Crosby and he lives up to that nickname with the sly croon he uses for his stylistically faithful take on the Jim Reeves classic.

8. Pairote, “Tee Makhuea Pok” (1964) Thai cover of “Your Cheatin’ Heart” This isn’t exactly what I’d call “good,” but it’s definitely interesting, and since I don’t know about too many American country song covers by Asian musicians, I figured I’d include it. The second half of the song is sung in an Alvin and the Chipmunks-style voice. Sure, why not?

9. Gil Dobrică, “Hai Acasă” (1979) Romanian cover of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” Super corny, but in a good way, just like the original. It has been remixed by a few DJs in the past few years in an effort to bring more sappy sentimentality to the Romanian dance club scene.

10. Inger Lise Rypdal, “Fru Johnsen” (1968) Norwegian cover of “Harper Valley PTA” It turns out even Norwegian women have to deal with dirty, rotten, no-good, hypocritical gossips. It’s a global problem!

11. Agnaldo Timóteo, “Os Verdes Campos Da Minha Terra” (1967) Portuguese cover of “Green Green Grass of Home” There are many covers of this in a wide variety of languages; I included this one because Timóteo is especially good at making extravagantly romantic–even kitschy–music for the masses, and so he nails the song precisely.

12. Dafna Armoni, “Ani Shmurat Teva” (1980) Hebrew cover of “You’re Lookin’ At Country” Loretta Lynn’s hit gets a nice redo by a star of Israel’s stage and screen. This is from the soundtrack to an early ’80s Israeli movie called Red River Valley, which you can watch on YouTube.

13. Réal Giguère, “Gros Jambon” (1962) French cover of “Big Bad John” Talk show host Giguère injects a bunch of personality into this rendition, delivering it as if he’s passing along the greatest story ever told (which “Big Bad John” really kind of is). “Gros jambon” means “big ham,” which is a pretty funny thing to call a guy.

14. Johnny Cash, “Wo Ist Zu Hause, Mama” (1959) German cover of “Five Feet High and Rising” In the ’50s and ’60s, Johnny recorded Spanish and German versions of some of his biggest hits. You can find homemade compilations of these songs around the web, or spring for The Man in Black: The International Johnny Cash, which also includes a handful of other artists singing his songs in German.

15. Wanda Jackson, “Santo Domingo” (1966) Japanese cover of “Santo Domingo” Jackson was super popular in Japan in the late ’50s, when her song “Fujiyama Mama” became a number one hit there. A few years later, she recorded a Japanese version of “Santo Domingo,” a song she’d originally sung in Dutch and which was a big hit in Germany. I have never been able to find an English version of this, so it’s possible she never recorded one.

16. Gnonnas Pedro, “Dark as a Dungeon” (1980) English cover by Beninois artist I have two versions of this—this album version and a shorter recording that was released as a single. Pedro played a wide variety of music and I’d highly recommend spending some time digging into his catalog.

17. Kazuya Kosaka and the Wagon Masters, “Wagon Master” (1956) Original song in English by Japanese artist Kosaka was known as the “Japanese Elvis” and had a hit with a cover of “Heartbreak Hotel.” This song is the A-side of a single that has a version of “Sixteen Tons” on the flip.