This question refers to the situation in the United States, mainly in the 1950s, where many songs by black artists were covered by white musicians. These covers generally sold better than the originals. This situation occurred because record companies and radio stations that had white audiences generally believed that their customers would not want to listen to music as it was played by the black musicians. They believed that white customers wanted versions that were somewhat toned down and, importantly, they believed that white customers wanted songs that were sung by white performers.
The 1950s was a time when racism was still very much a part of American society. White Americans felt superior to blacks and they wanted, for the most part, to keep black culture separate from white culture. White parents did not want their children to admire black performers. This was part of the reason why artists like Pat Boone covered many songs by black artists.
A second reason was because of the style of black rhythm and blues music. Many white parents felt that this music was overly sexualized and therefore immoral. We can see this very clearly in the reaction to Elvis Presley. Presley was white but was still vilified by many around the country because they felt that his music was too much like the black music on which it was based. White parents wanted performers like Pat Boone who would take songs by black artists and water them down, making them seem less edgy and less sexual.
In the 1950s, many white parents worried about the corrupting influence of new styles of music on their children. They did not like the style of black rhythm and blues music and they definitely did not want their children to listen to that kind of music being performed by black musicians. For these two related reasons, many record companies had white artists cover songs by black artists, toning them down and making them more acceptable (both in style and in the race of the performers) to white audiences.
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