Songs with Earlier Histories Than the Hit Version

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Tagged: The Shirelles

Oh No Not My Baby

First recorded by The Shirelles (1964, released 1994).
Hit versions by Maxine Brown (US #24 1964), Manfred Mann (UK# 11 1964), Merry Clayton (US #71/R&B #30 1972), Rod Stewart (UK #6 1973).
Also recorded by Carole King (1980).

From the wiki: “‘Oh No Not My Baby’ was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. The first recorded version of the song was by The Shirelles, with the group’s members alternating leads – an approach that ultimately rendered the song unreleasable because it was a great departure from the Shirelle’s ‘standard’ sound. It would not be released until appearing on the compilation Shirelles: Lost and Found in 1994.

“Maxine Brown recalls, then, that Stan Greenberg, Scepter Records executive, gave her the song with the advisement that she had to ‘find the original melody’ from the recording by The Shirelles: ‘They [had gone] so far off by each [group member] taking their own lead, no one knew any more where the real melody stood.’

Baby It’s You

First recorded by The Shirelles (US #8/R&B #3 1961).
Other hit versions by Smith (US #5 1969), The Beatles (album 1963 |US #67/UK #7 1995).
Also recorded by The Carpenters (1970), Elvis Costello & Nick Lowe and His Cowboy Outfit (1984, released 1995).

From the wiki: “‘Baby It’s You’ was written by Burt Bacharach, Luther Dixon (credited as Barney Williams), and Mack David (elder brother of lyricist Hal David). The song was originally titled ‘I’ll Cherish You’, but was re-written at the request of Dixon who produced the track that the Shirelles released as a single in 1961. The group’s vocals were added directly to Bacharach’s demo recording.

“Dixon’s vocal arrangements for the Shirelles’ recording proved influential in subsequent versions, including that of The Beatles who performed ‘Baby It’s You’ as part of their stage act from 1961 until 1963 before recording it on February 11, 1963 for their first album, Please Please Me. Not released as a single in 1963, ‘Baby It’s You’ was re-released as both a CD single and a vinyl single in 1995 in the UK and the US, peaking at #7 in the UK and #67 in the US.

Dedicated to the One I Love

Originally recorded by The “5” Royales (US #81 1957).
Inspired by “I Don’t Want You to Go” by The Casanovas (1955).
Other hit versions by The Shirelles (US #89 1959 |US #3 1961 reissue) and The Mamas and The Papas (US #2/UK #2/AUS #5/NZ #10/IRE #7/SA #2 1967).

From the wiki: “‘Dedicated to the One I Love’ is a song written by Lowman Pauling and Ralph Bass which was a hit for The ‘5’ Royales, The Shirelles, and The Mamas & The Papas. Pauling was the guitarist of The ‘5’ Royales; Bass produced the 1957 recording session. The 1957 release peaked at #81 on the Billboard Hot 100. Songwriters Pauling and Bass owed a lot of their inspiration to Chester Mayfield’s song ‘I Don’t Want You To Go’ recorded by the Casanovas in 1955 on Apollo, the former label of The ‘5’ Royales.