Songs with Earlier Histories Than the Hit Version

Help support this site! Consider clicking an ad from time to time. Thanks!

 

Herod’s Song (from “Jesus Christ Superstar”)

First recorded (as “Try It and See”) by Rita Pavone (1969).
Hit album version by Mike D’Abo (from Jesus Christ Superstar) (1970).

From the wiki: “‘Try It and See’ was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice as their entry to represent England in the 1969 Eurovision Song contest. Instead, the original song ended up as the only English-spoken track on Rita Pavone’s Italian album, Rita. Lloyd Webber and Rice would rework the song and include it in their magna opus recording production Jesus Christ Superstar.

“The work had been first conceived as a stage production but, lacking the funds to get it produced, the two collaborators instead decided to use an album as the vehicle for introducing their Rock Opera, a fairly radical rock/theater hybrid about the final days in the life of Jesus as seen from the point of view of Judas. Former Manfred Mann vocalist Mike d’Abo (‘Handbags and Gladrags‘) was recruited to sing the part of King Herod on the original JST recording.”

Mike D’Abo, “Herod’s Song” from Jesus Christ Superstar (1970):

Comments are closed.