Songs with Earlier Histories Than the Hit Version

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A Hazy Shade of Winter

Written by Paul Simon and first recorded by Simon & Garfunkel (US #13/UK #30 1968).
Other hit version (as “Hazy Shade of Winter”) by The Bangles (US #2/UK #11/CAN #3/AUS #7 1987).

From the wiki: “‘A Hazy Shade of Winter’ was written by Paul Simon, recorded and released by Simon & Garfunkel in 1966, and then included on their 1968 album, Bookends (although it also appeared on their Live from New York City, 1967).

“In 1987, The Bangles were approached to record a song for the soundtrack of the film Less Than Zero. They chose to record a cover of ‘A Hazy Shade of Winter’, a song they had been performing since their early days as a band. Their cover, simply titled ‘Hazy Shade of Winter’, was vastly different from the original; turned into a harder-edged rock song. The record, like the rest of the soundtrack album, was produced by Rick Rubin. When released as a single in November 1987, ‘Hazy Shade of Winter’ became a worldwide hit, surpassing the popularity of the original version, peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 (behind ‘Could’ve Been’ by Tiffany) and also #11 in the UK.”

The Bangles, “Hazy Shade of Winter” (1987):

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