Songs with Earlier Histories Than the Hit Version

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Call Me

First recorded by Petula Clark (1965).
Hit version by Chris Montez (US #22/MOR #2 1966).

From the wiki: “‘Call Me’ was composed by Tony Hatch for Petula Clark (although some suggest he had written the song with Keely Smith in mind), and first appeared as the title cut on Clark’s EP, Call Me, released in 1965 by Pye in the UK and in the US on the album I Know a Place (1965) but was not released as a promotional single.

“Chris Montez, who had scored the hit ‘Let’s Dance’ in 1962 and subsequently dropped out of the music business, was invited to resume recording by A&M Records’ founder Herb Alpert. Alpert was unhappy when Montez began recording for A&M in his previous Chicano rock style and personally suggested Montez shift to easy listening, choosing ‘Call Me’ as the song to be Montez’s debut single in 1966 on A&M.

“Other versions of ‘Call Me’ have been recorded by Shirley Bassey, Vikki Carr, Eliane Elias, Astrud Gilberto, Peggy Lee, Trini Lopez, Mimì Bertè [Mia Martini], the New Classic Singers, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra, Joanie Sommers and Nancy Wilson.”

Chris Montez, “Call Me” (1966):

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