[2] A performance by African-American inmate Smith Casey, who accompanied himself on guitar, was first recorded by musicologist couple John and Ruby Terrill Lomax in 1939 at the Clemens State Farm in Brazoria County, Texas.
[7] The Byrds' lead guitarist Jim McGuinn rewrote the song's lyrics in late 1963 to give it a more contemporary slant and transform it into a eulogy for President Kennedy.
[9] The song has since been recorded by many artists, including the Washington Squares, Bobby Bare, Mercury Rev, the Black Crowes, the Mitchell Trio, Willie Nelson, Nanci Griffith, Cat Power, and the Leaves.
[citation needed] That same year, Petula Clark released a French version of the song under the title "Toi qui m'as fait pleurer" ("You, who have made me cry"), with Bobby Bare credited as the writer.
[citation needed] Stephen Stills' band Manassas covered "He Was a Friend of Mine" during a 1972 performance at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Netherlands, which was released in 2017 as the Live Treasure album.
[17] Tom Goodkind of the Washington Squares sang the song with Marco Sin of Dirty Looks on bass and Billy Ficca of Television on drums at NYC's Paladium as a tribute to friend Abbie Hoffman.
American actor Billy Bob Thornton included a cover of the Byrds' version of the song on his 2001 debut album Private Radio.
[19] In 2018, Mike Peters and Dave Sharp of the Alarm performed a live version of the song that included lyrics referring to the late singer for Big Country, Stuart Adamson.
[20] In 2020, folksinger Max Gomez released a version of "He Was a Friend of Mine" in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, with verses referencing the murder of George Floyd, the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Lincoln, and the removal of Confederate statues.