Songs with Earlier Histories Than the Hit Version

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Pablo Picasso

First recorded (as a demo) by The Modern Lovers (recorded 1972, released 1976).
First released by John Cale (1975).
Also recorded by David Bowie (2003).

From the wiki: “‘Pablo Picasso’ was written by Jonathan Richman for his proto-punk group The Modern Lovers. The song was first recorded by the group in 1972, produced by former Velvet Underground member John Cale. However, the recording was not released until 1976, on The Modern Lovers’ self-titled debut album. In the meantime, Cale recorded a cover of ‘Pablo Picasso’ for his own album, Helen of Troy, released in 1975.

“In 2003, David Bowie released Reality, an album consisting mostly of original compositions but which did include two songs written by others: George Harrison’s ‘Try Some, Buy Some’, and The Modern Lovers’ ‘Pablo Picasso’. Both these tracks had originally been intended to be recorded by Bowie for his never-compiled Pin Ups 2 album from the early 1970s.”

John Cale, “Pablo Picasso” (1975):

David Bowie, “Pablo Picasso” (2003):

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