Songs with Earlier Histories Than the Hit Version

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Tagged: Searchers

All My Trials (All My Sorrows)

First recorded as “All My Trials” by Cynthia Gooding (1956).
Popular versions by Glenn Yarbrough (as “All My Sorrows” 1957), Kingston Trio (as “All My Sorrows” 1959), Joan Baez (as “All My Trials” 1960), The Shadows (as “All My Sorrows” 1963), The Searchers (as “All My Sorrows” 1963), Peter Paul & Mary (as “All My Trials” 1963), Dick & Dee Dee (as “All My Trials” US #89 1964).
Also recorded (in medley) by Elvis Presley (1972).

From the wiki: “”All My Trials” is a folk song during the social protest movements of the 1950s and 1960s. It is based on a Bahamian lullaby that tells the story of a mother on her death bed, comforting her children. The message — that no matter how bleak the situation seemed, the struggle would ‘soon be over’ — propelled the song to the status of an anthem, recorded by many of the leading artists of the era.

“Cynthia Gooding first recorded the song in 1956. It quickly became a Folk song staple, with recordings by Glenn Yarbrough (1957), The Kingston Trio (1959), and Joan Baez (1960) following soon thereafter. (Gooding would later go on to host a Folk music show on NYC radio station WBAI and, in 1962, would conduct the first radio interview, ever, with a young Bob Dylan.) In the UK, Cliff Richard’s backing band, The Shadows, recorded an instrumental cover of ‘All My Sorrows’ in 1961 for their first solo outing, The Shadows; The Searchers would also cover the song in 1963 for the album Sugar and Spice.

“Folk music trio Peter, Paul & Mary released ‘All My Trials’ on their best-selling 1963 album, In the Wind, from which yielded the hit singles ‘Don’t Think Twice (It’s Alright)‘ and ‘Blowin’ in the Wind‘. But, Dick & Dee Dee’s 1964 recording of ‘All My Trials’ is the only arrangement to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.

“A fragment of ‘All My Trials’ is used in the Mickey Newbury anthem ‘An American Trilogy’, also recorded by Elvis Presley and broadcast worldwide in 1972 on Aloha from Hawaii.”

It’s in His Kiss (The Shoop Shoop Song)

First recorded by Merry Clayton (1963).
Also recorded by Ramona King (1963).
Hit versions by Betty Everett (US #6/R&B #1 1963 |UK #38 1968), The Searchers (1964), Bootleg Family Band (AUS #5 1974), Linda Lewis (UK #6 1975), Kate Taylor (US #49 1977), Cher (US #33/UK #1/IRE #1/SPN #1/NOR #1 1990).
Also performed by Linda Ronstadt & Phoebe Snow (1979).

From the wiki: “‘It’s in His Kiss’ was first rejected by the premier girl-group of the early 1960s, the New York-based Shirelles, and was instead first recorded in Los Angeles by Merry Clayton as her first credited single. Clayton had previously provided an uncredited female vocal to the hit ‘You’re the Reason I’m Living’ recorded by Bobby Darin as his debut on Capitol Records, and Darin had subsequently arranged for Clayton herself to be signed to Capitol.

“Clayton recorded ‘It’s in His Kiss’ – whose composer Rudy Clark was a staff writer for TM Music which Bobby Darin headed – in a session produced by Jack Nitzsche with The Blossoms (‘Stoney End‘, ‘He’s a Rebel‘) as chorale: the single was released June 10 1963 with no evident chart success.

Needles and Pins

First recorded by Jackie DeShannon (US #84/CAN #1 1963).
Other hit version by The Searchers (US #13/UK #1 1964).

From the wiki: “‘Needles and Pins’ was written by Jack Nitzsche and Sonny Bono. Jackie DeShannon (‘What the World Needs Now’, ‘Bette Davis Eyes‘) recorded the original in 1963 on Liberty Records, but her version stalled at #84 on the Hot 100.

“DeShannon explained (via Songfacts.com) why her recording didn’t hit:

‘There were a lot of issues with the record company, a lot of marketing things I wasn’t happy with. For instance, ‘Needles And Pins’ was Top 5 in Detroit, Top 5 in Chicago, and Top 5 in every city it was played in. However, unless you’re coordinated across the country and the song hits the charts at the same time, you can’t get the big leaps. My record didn’t have [momentum], because it would be going down in Chicago while it was going up in some other city. So that was a problem.’

Solitaire (The Carpenters)

Written and first recorded by Neil Sedaka (1972).
Also recorded by Petula Clark (1972), The Searchers (1973).
Hit versions by Andy Williams (MOR #23/UK #4 1974), The Carpenters (US #17/MOR #1/UK #32 1975), Elvis Presley (1976 |B-side C&W #10 1979).

From the wiki: “Neil Sedaka recorded ‘Solitaire’ as the title cut for a UK-only 1972 album recorded at Strawberry Studios, Manchester. Members of the band 10cc – Lol Creme, Kevin Godley and Graham Gouldman – accompanied Sedaka while Eric Stewart, also of 10cc, engineered the session.

“Appearing on 1972 album releases by both Tony Christie and Petula Clark, ‘Solitaire’ had its first evident single release in February 1973 with a recording by The Searchers. However, it was the autumn 1973 single by Andy Williams which would reach #4 UK. In 1974, Sedaka’s original 1972 recording of ‘Solitaire’ was included on his comeback album Sedaka’s Back. Later in 1975, a live-in-concert version recorded by him at the Royal Festival Hall was issued as the B-side of ‘The Queen of 1964’.