Co-written and first recorded by Albert Hammond (1975).
Also recorded by Bobby Vinton (1980).
Hit version by Julio Iglesias & Willie Nelson (US #5/C&W #1/UK #17/CAN #4/AUS #1/NZ #2/SPN #2 1984).
From the wiki: “‘To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before’ is a song written by Hal David (former lyricist for Burt Bacharach; ‘Do You Know the Way to San Jose’, ‘Alfie‘, ‘Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head’, ‘One Less Bell to Answer‘) and Albert Hammond (‘The Air That I Breathe‘,’When I Need You‘). It was originally recorded in 1975 by Albert Hammond for his album 99 Miles From L.A., but his song became most famous nearly a decade later with the 1984 recording by Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson, which appeared on Iglesias’s album 1100 Bel Air Place.
First released by Roger Whittaker (1982).
Also recorded by Sheena Easton (1982)
Hit versions by Colleen Hewett (AUS #52 1982), Lou Rawls (US #65/MOR #10/R&B #60 1983), Gladys Knight & The Pips (as “Hero (Wind Beneath My Wings)” US #104/MOR #23/R&B #64 1983), Gary Morris (C&W #4/CAN #10 1983), Bette Midler (US #1/UK #5/AUS #1/NZ #4 1989).
From the wiki: “Wind Beneath My Wings’ (sometimes titled ‘The Wind Beneath My Wings’ and ‘Hero’) was written in 1982 by Jeff Silbar and Larry Henley. They recorded a demo of the song, which they gave to publisher and songwriter (and one-time Buddy Holly cohort) Bob Montgomery (‘Heartbeat‘, ‘Love’s Made a Fool of You‘, ‘Misty Blue‘).
“Silbar recalls, ‘It was on a Friday that we gave a tape of our demos to Bob Montgomery. Then when we saw Bob on Monday, he immediately told us he loved ‘Wind Beneath My Wings.’ Then he had a surprise for us. He played us a beautiful, ballad version of the song that he had recorded over the weekend. We couldn’t believe how fantastic it sounded. We both had tears in our eyes. Bob had taken our rough, midtempo demo and produced a new version which truly showed the potential of the song.” who, then, recorded his own demo version of the song – changing it from the mid-tempo version he was given to a ballad.’
“Silbar and Henley then shopped the song to many artists, eventually resulting in Roger Whittaker becoming the first to release the song commercially. It appeared on his 1982 studio album, also titled The Wind Beneath My Wings. It was also recorded by Australian artist Colleen Hewett in 1982, becoming a minor local hit in 1983.
First recorded (in an uptempo arrangement) by The Beatles (1964).
Hit versions by The Beatles (US #12/CAN #15/BEL #10 1964), Esther Phillips (as “And I Love Him” US #54/R&B #11 1965), The Vibrations (US #118/R&B #47 1966).
From the wiki: “‘And I Love Her’ was written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon-McCartney) for the movie soundtrack of A Hard Day’s Night. It was composed in the music room in the basement of the house in Wimpole Street, London, which belonged to the parents of Jane Asher, Paul‘s then-current girlfriend. It is likely that Asher was the inspiration behind the song.
“The Beatles began recording the song on 25 February 1964. They recorded two takes that day, with a full electric line-up, but it was evidently not the sound they were after. The second take was later released in 1995 on Anthology 1. The group returned to it the next day, recording 16 takes and changing the song’s arrangement as they went along.
Written and first recorded by Kristy MacColl (1979).
Hit version by Tracey Ullman (UK #2 1983 |US #8/MOR #11 1984).
Also recorded by Anja Niskanen (1984), Ben Gibbard (2010).
From the wiki: “‘They Don’t Know’ was written by Kristy MacColl, who recorded it in 1979. It became popular on radio in the United Kingdom, reaching #2 on the Music Week airplay chart. However, complications involving a strike at her record distributor prevented the single from being shipped and promoted properly. MacColl’s version of ‘They Don’t Know’ thus failed to appear on the official UK Singles chart, which is entirely sales-based.
First recorded by Winston Ford (1984).
Hit version by Dan Hartman (US #6/UK #12/CAN #11/AUS #3/IRE #4 1984).
Also recorded by Hall & Oates (2004)
(Below: Original motion picture audio)
From the wiki: “‘I Can Dream About You’ was written by Dan Hartman and first appeared in the 1984 movie Streets of Fire, where it was performed by the fictional group The Sorels. The real voice behind the version used in the movie was Winston Ford, but Hartman’s version was the one used on the soundtrack and released as a single.
“In a Songfacts interview with the film’s musical director, Kenny Vance, he recalled ‘The same guy that sings lead on that and ‘Countdown to Love’, a song that I wrote for the film, was a guy working at a Radio Shack (Winston Ford), and I think when you look at the film and The Sorels are singing it live in the movie, that was the version that was supposed to come out, and I recorded that version. But then when Dan Hartman heard it, I don’t know what happened next, but I know that he took that guy’s voice off and he put his own on, and he had a hit with it. Hollywood is a very slippery place.’
First recorded by England Dan & John Ford Coley (1978).
Hit version by Michael Martin Murphey (US #19/C&W #1/CAN #1 1982).
From the wiki: “‘What’s Forever For’ is a song written by Rafe VanHoy and first recorded by England Dan and John Ford Coley on their 1978 album Dr. Heckle & Mr. Jive. The song saw its biggest success when it was recorded by Country music artist Michael Martin Murphey. It was released in June 1982 as the third single from his album, Michael Martin Murphey.”
First recorded by Dionne Warwick (FRA #39 1963).
Hit versions by Dusty Springfield (US #6 1964), The Merseybeats (UK #13 1964).
Also recorded by The (UK) Eagles (1964).
From the wiki: “Wishin’ and Hopin” was written by Hal David and Burt Bacharach, and was first recorded by Dionne Warwick as the B-side of her 1963 single ‘This Empty Place’ and for her debut album, Presenting Dionne Warwick. The single charted only in France, peaking at #39, but Warwick’s was the recording Dusty Springfield heard and which prompted her to complete her own version in 1964. The track was included on Springfield’s solo album debuts in the UK (A Girl Called Dusty) and the US (Stay Awhile/I Only Want to Be with You). It was Bacharach himself who encouraged Dusty, who was ambivalent about her recording, to release it as a single.
First recorded and released by White Plains (UK #8 1970).
Hit version (as “Julie (Do Ya Love Me)”) by Bobby Sherman (US #5/UK #28 1970).
From the wiki: ‘Julie Do Ya Love Me’ was first released in February 1970 in the US as the B-side to White Plains’ Top 20 hit, ‘My Baby Loves Lovin”. It would later be re-released as an A-side in the UK in October 1970, peaking at #8 on the UK Singles Chart.
“Bobby Sherman’s cover version, released in August 1970, peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 – his last Top-10 hit in the US.”
Co-written and first recorded (as “Made It Thru The Rain”) by Gerard Kenny (1979).
Hit versions by Barry Manilow (US #10/UK #37 1980), John Barrowman (UK #14 2009).
From the wiki: “Gerald Kenny and Drey Shepperd penned the original version of the song, and Kenny released his recording of it, titled ‘Made It Thru the Rain’, in 1979. In 1980 (now credited to Gerald Kenny/Drey Shepperd/Bruce Sussman/Jack Feldman/Barry Manilow), it was the only hit in the US from Barry Manilow’s self-titled Barry album. The song enjoyed a revival in UK in 2009 when actor and TV host John Barrowman made the charts with a cover version taken from his album Music Music Music. The song’s chart success was due to the BBC Radio One breakfast host Chris Moyles, who asked his listeners to download a copy of the single to give the actor a hit.”
Written and first recorded by Secret Garden (2001).
Hit versions by Daniel O’Donnell (UK #22 2003), Josh Groban (US #73/MOR #1/UK #74 2003), Westlife (UK #1 2005), Wesley Klein (NETH #4 2010).
From the wiki: “‘You Raise Me Up’ was composed by the duo, Secret Garden, with music by Rolf Løvland and lyrics by Brendan Graham.
“The song was originally written as an instrumental piece titled ‘Silent Story’. Parts (most musicologists would claim) of the melody are based on a traditional Irish tune (especially the opening phrase of its chorus), ‘Londonderry Air’, which is best known as the usual tune to the 1910 song ‘Danny Boy’. Løvland approached Irish novelist and songwriter Graham to write the lyrics to his melody after reading Graham’s novels.
Co-written and first recorded by Raf (ITA #1/SWZ #1 1984).
Other hit version by Laura Branigan (US #4/UK #5/CAN #1/GER #1/SUI #1 1984).
From the wiki: “‘Self Control’ was co-written by Italian singer Raffaele Riefoli (‘Raf’) with Giancarlo Bigazzi (who had also co-written Branigan’s hit ‘Gloria‘) and Steve Piccolo. The song was first recorded by Raf but both it and Branigan’s recording weres also released contemporaneously in Europe, with both songs ascending various Euro music charts at the same time.
“Branigan’s version first hit #1 in Germany on June 15, 1984; Raf’s version first hit #1 in Italy on June 23, 1984. The only other territory where Raf topped the charts was in Switzerland but Branigan’s recording, there, would end the year as Switzerland’s most-successful single. ‘Self Control’ also afforded Branigan a #1 hit in Austria, Sweden and South Africa and was also a smash hit for Branigan in Norway (#2), Ireland (#3), Australia (#3) and the UK (#5).”
First recorded by Georgia Lee (1960).
Also recorded by Laurie Loman (1960), Rocky Volcano (1962).
Hit versions by Shelley Fabares (US #1/UK #41/CAN #1/NZ #1 1962), Patti Lynn (UK #37 1962).
From the wiki: “Songwriters Lyn Duddy and Lee Pockriss wrote ‘Johnny Angel’ while trapped in Duddy’s apartment during a blackout. They each had other songwriting partners (Pockriss, with Paul Vance, wrote ‘Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini’) but with nothing else to do, the two decided to brainstorm some ideas and, so, wrote a song from the point of view of someone who waited on the corner every night for someone to pass by.
“‘Johnny Angel’ was first recorded in January 1960 by Georgia Lee, followed in April by the release of a version by Laurie Loman. Neither of the recordings charted.
First recorded by Glen Campbell (US #62/MOR #15 1961).
Hit versions by The Letterman (US #105 1962), The Vogues (US #7/MOR #3 1968).
Also recorded by The Bee Gees (1964).
From the wiki: “‘Turn Around, Look at Me’ was written by Jerry Capehart. In 1961, Glen Campbell was the first to release the song, and it would become his first song to chart in the United States. The Letterman recorded a version in 1962 that ‘bubbled’ under the Billboard Hot 100. In 1964, while Bee Gees were still in Australia, they released a version of the song which did not chart. In 1968,
“The Vogues released their cover version in 1968, by far the most successful recording of the song, reaching #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #3 on the Adult Contemporary chart.”
Co-written and first recorded (as a demo) by Eric Carmen (1984).
Hit version by Mike Reno & Ann Wilson (US #7 1984).
http://youtu.be/yN38Qc9Fn4c
From the wiki: “‘Almost Paradise’ was co-written by Dean Pitchford and Eric Carmen (‘Hungry Eyes‘) for the Footloose movie soundtrack. According to Pitchford: “That song was written in a day, but in an 11-hour, 12-hour day. The next morning we went into the studio and into the office of our director, who had an upright piano installed in his office specifically to hear all the songs as I created them, with my various collaborators. Eric and I went in and we sang – I brought a girlfriend of mine in to sing the female part, and Eric sang the male part, and that sold that song.”
First recorded by The Goggles (1971).
Hit version by Beverly Bremers (US #15/MOR #5 1972).
From the wiki: “‘Don’t Say You Don’t Remember’ was written by Estelle Levitt with Helen Miller, who had started out in the late-1940s songwriting before leaving the business to raise her children. Returning to the business in the early-1960s as one of Don Kirshner’s Aldon label songwriters, Miller would collaborate with several lyricists, most notably with Howard Greenfield (who also famously collaborated with Neil Sedaka).
“‘Don’t Say You Don’t Remember’ was first broadcast in 1971 on the NBC-TV Children’s Theater production Looking Through Super Plastic Elastic Goggles at Color and subsequently released as a single by Audio Fidelity Records in 1971 on the original soundtrack recording, performed by The Goggles, with no apparent chart success.
Originally recorded by The Frantic Elevators (1982).
Hit version by Simply Red (UK #51/#8 BEL/#3 NETH 1985 |US #1/UK #2/CAN #6/IRE #1/AUS #22 1986).
From the wiki: “Frontman of Simply Red, Mick Hucknall, first began writing ‘Holding Back the Years’ when he was 17 while living at his father’s house. Hucknall’s mother left the family when he was three; the upheaval caused by this event later inspired him to write the song while he was a fine arts student at Manchester School of Art. The chorus did not come to him until many years later. Hucknall’s early group, The Frantic Elevators, first recorded the song in 1982. Bandmate Neil Moss was also co-credited with the song’s composition.
First recorded by Nicolette Larson (1979).
Hit soundtrack version by Lauren Wood (DEN #1/SNG #2/MLY #3 1990).
Also recorded by Johnny Mathis (1988), Larry Coryell (1993).
From the wiki: “Lauren Wood’s career began in the mid 1970s when she formed a band called Rebecca & The Sunnybrook Farmers. In 1972, Wood provided back-up vocals on Frank Zappa’s album The Grand Wazoo. In 1979, she released her first self-titled album on Warner Bros. Records. Guests included Michael McDonald, Little Feat members Bill Payne and Fred Tackett, and Doobie Brother Patrick Simmons. A duet, with Michael McDonald, ‘Please Don’t Leave’ went to #24 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #5 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart.
“After a follow-up album, Cat Trick, Wood vanished from the music scene. However, she spent time continuing to write for other artists (see Nicolette Larson below) along with writing and performing songs for television and movie soundtracks, including ‘Fallen’, her song used in the 1990 movie Pretty Woman (from which was also released Roxette’s ‘It Must Have Been Love’). The soundtrack album went on to sell 18-million copies worldwide (3-million in the US), and the single for ‘Fallen’ topped music charts in Europe and SE Asia.
First recorded by Robert Maxwell (1953).
Hit versions by Frank Chacksfield & His Orchestra (US #2/UK #9 1953), Vic Damone (US #10 1953), Roy Hamilton (R&B #5 1954), The Platters (US #56/AUS #59 1960), Righteous Brothers (US #5/UK #48 1965).
From the wiki: “‘Ebb Tide’ was written in 1953 by composer-harpist Robert Maxwell. (The song’s build-up is reminiscent of ocean waves coming in and out, to and from the shore; thus, ‘ebb tide’.) Playing the harp, Maxwell’s multi-tracked arrangement, still a novelty when released in March 1953, did not chart. Frank Chacksfield & His Orchestra released a more traditionally arranged instrumental version of ‘Ebb Tide’ in June 1953 which did ‘hit’, peaking at #2 in the U.S. and #9 in the U.K.
“Lyricist Carl Sigman would soon add verses to the melody. Vic Damone released the first vocal arrangement of ‘Ebb Tide’ in September 1953. Other charting vocal versions of ‘Ebb Tide’ were released by Roy Hamilton (1954), The Platters (1960), and the Righteous Brothers (1965). For the Righteous Brothers, this Top-5 hit would be their last recording produced by Phil Spector.”
Co-written and first recorded by Tony Wilson (1979).
Hit version by co-writer Randy Vanwarmer (US #4/C&W #71/UK #8 1979).
From the wiki: “‘Just When I Need You Most’ was written by Randy Vanwarmer and Tony Wilson (of Hot Chocolate, ‘Brother Louie‘) in 1977. It first appeared on Wilson’s Catch One album, released three records before his label mate Randy Vanwarmer’s hit version (Tony’s: Bearsville BRK 6985; Randy’s: Bearsville BRK 6988).
“On the Tony Wilson album, Vanwarmer and Wilson are listed as co-writers; on Randy Vanwarmer’s Warmer album there is no mention of Wilson as co-writer.”
First recorded by George Michael (1983).
Hit version by Wham! (US #1/UK #1/IRE #1/AUS #1/JPN #1/SUI #1 1984).
From the wiki: “‘Careless Whisper’ was co-written by George Michael with Andrew Ridgeley, the other member of the duo Wham!. The song went through at least two rounds of production: The first was during a trip Michael made to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where he went to work with producer Jerry Wexler at Muscle Shoals Studio. But, Michael was unhappy with that production and, almost a year after returning to England, decided to re-record and produce the song himself, at Sarm Studios, West London, this time coming up with the version that was finally released. The Wexler-produced version did, eventually, see the light of day – but only later on, as a (4:41) B-side ‘Special Version’ on 12”, released in the UK and Japan.
Written and first recorded by Jesse Winchester (1977).
Hit version by Nicolette Larson (US #48 1979).
Also recorded by Little Feat (2011).
From the wiki: “‘Rhumba Man’ was written and first recorded by Jesse Winchester for his 1977 album Nothing But the Breeze. It was later covered, in 1979, by Nicollete Larson for her debut album Nicolette (backed in the studio by Little Feat, who would record their own version in 2011 for the Jesse Winchester tribute album Quiet About It).”
Co-written and first recorded/released as “European Queen” by Billy Ocean (GER #2/SUI #3/NETH #20 1984).
Also recorded as “African Queen” by Billy Ocean (SA #7 1984).
Other hit version (as “Caribbean Queen”) by Billy Ocean (US #1/R&B #1/MOR #1/UK #6/CAN #1/NZ #1 1984).
From the wiki: “‘Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)’ was co-written and co-produced by Billy Ocean with Keith Diamond, and was recorded using the same backing track under different titles for different parts of the world resulting in the earlier versions ‘European Queen’ and ‘African Queen’.
“Released first on the Continent, ‘European Queen’ went Top 10 in German and Switzerland, and Top 20 in the Netherlands and Austria. ‘African Queen’ peaked at #7 on the South Africa singles chart. ‘Caribbean Queen’ topped both the US and Canadian singles charts, both the Billboard R&B and Adult Contemporary charts, and New Zealand’s Singles chart, and went Top-5 in Australia and Top-10 in the UK and Ireland. ‘Caribbean Queen’ also won the 1984 Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance.”
First recorded by Dusty Springfield (US #12/UK #4 1964).
Other hit versions by Bay City Rollers (US #12/UK #4 1976), The Tourists (US #83/UK #4 1979), Samantha Fox (US #31/UK #16 1989).
From the wiki: “‘I Only Want to Be with You’ was written by Mike Hawker and Ivor Raymonde, and was the first solo single released by British singer Dusty Springfield. Although she recorded the song while still a member of The Springfields, it was released in November 1963 – three weeks after The Springfields’ final concert. Bay City Rollers released a version in December 1976 that reached #12 in the US. The song was also a #4 hit in the UK for The Tourists, who were the group Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart were in before they formed Eurythmics. A 1989 cover version of this was the last hit for British singer Samantha Fox.”
First recorded by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds (1972).
Hit version by The Four Tops (US #4/R&B #2 1973).
From the wiki: “‘Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I’ve Got)’ was written by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter who first joined Talent Associates in 1970 as producers and songwriters, and were responsible for many of that label’s hits, including Original Caste’s ‘One Tin Soldier‘, and hits by Seals & Crofts. After leaving Talent Associates for ABC-Dunhill, Lambert and Potter wrote for Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds (‘Don’t Pull Your Love’) or produced several of ABC’s hits including Glen Campbell’s ‘Rhinestone Cowboy‘ in 1975. The Lambert-Potter-composed ‘Ain’t No Woman’ was first recorded in 1972 by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds and released on their album, Hallway Symphony.
