Songs with Earlier Histories Than the Hit Version

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1289 total songs ... and counting!

1930s, Swing

Heart and Soul

First recorded by Larry Clinton & His Orchestra with Bea Wain (US #1 February 1939).
Other hit versions by Eddy Duchin (US #12 1939), Al Donahue & His Orchestra (US #16 1939), The Four Aces (US #11 1952), Jan & Dean (US #25 1961), The Cleftones (US #18 1961).

From the wiki: “‘Heart and Soul’ was written by Hoagy Carmichael (‘Stardust‘, ‘Georgia on My Mind‘) with lyrics by Frank Loesser and first recorded in 1938 by Larry Clinton & His Orchestra featuring Bea Wain. In 1939, three versions charted: Larry Clinton (reaching #1 on the chart in February, 1939), Eddy Duchin (reaching #12), and Al Donahue (reaching #16).

“The Four Aces covered and charted ‘Heart and Soul’ in 1952. Two contrasting cover versions charted in 1961: surfers Jan & Dean reachedg #25, while the Cleftones reached #18 with a neo-doo wop arrangement. The Cleftones’ recording became more widely and popularly known after it was used in the 1972 movie American Graffiti, and was included on the soundtrack album.

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1950s, Country

Heartaches by the Number

First recorded by Ray Price (C&W #2 1959).
Other hit version by Guy Mitchell (US #1/R&B #19/UK #5 1959).

From the wiki: “‘Heartaches by the Number’ was written by Harlan Howard and first recorded in 1959 by Ray Price (‘Make the World Go Away‘, ‘(You’re the) Best Thing That Ever Happened’). His recording became a Top 5 Country single.

“The most successful version was the cover recording by Guy Mitchell (‘Singing the Blues‘), also produced in 1959. Mitchell’s rendering topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in December 1959. It also was a Top 5 UK Single and a Top 20 R&B hit.”

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1970s, Country

Willin’

First recorded by Johnny Darrell (1970).
Also recorded by The Byrds (1970, released 2000), Seatrain (1970).
Album hit versions by Little Feat (1971 |1972 |1978), Linda Ronstadt (1974).

From the wiki: ‘Willin” was written by Lowell George, of Little Feat, but first recorded in the spring of 1970 by Johnny Darrell for his album California Stop-Over. The song is about a truck driver in the American southwest who makes some extra cash smuggling cigarettes and transporting illegals across the border from Mexico. George’s opening line, in which the narrator describes himself as being ‘warped by the rain,’ originated in a conversation between George and drummer Richie Hayward. Hayward had used it to describe a rocking chair. Prior to forming Little Feat, George was a member of Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention. It is probable that this song was a reason for his departure, due to its drug references in the chorus. It is known that his leaving had something to do with his drug use, which Zappa heavily frowned upon.

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1960s, Pop

Lovin’ Things

First recorded by The Pathfinders (1967).
Also recorded by Bobby Rydell (1968), December’s Children (1968).
Hit versions by The Marmalade (UK #6 1968), The Grass Roots (US #49 1969).

https://youtu.be/_aF4ty0XP-k

From the wiki: “‘Lovin’ Things’ was co-written by Artie Schroek and Jet Loring, and first recorded for commercial release in 1967 by the Scottish band The Pathfinders. A version by Bobby Rydell was put out as a 45 rpm on the Reprise label in January 1968. Then, in April 1968, UK group The Marmalade released their cover recording and took it into the UK Top Ten. Later that year, US group December´s Children also covered ‘Lovin’ Things’ with a somewhat different orchestral arrangement but with no apparent chart success. “Lovin’ Things” finally became a Billboard Hot 100 hit in the US when The Grass Roots covered it in early 1969.”

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1950s, Country

Caribbean

Written and first released by Mitchell Torok with the Louisiana Hayride Band (US #26/C&W #1 1953).
Other hit version by Mitchell Torok (US #27 1957).

From the wiki: “‘Caribbean’ was written and first recorded in 1953 by Mitchell Torok. It became a Country #1 single, and also charted in the US Top 40. In 1957, Torok recorded an updated but very similarly-arranged version of ‘Caribbean’ and it again charted in the US Top 40.

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1950s, Doo wop

Only You (And You Alone)

First recorded by The Platters (1954).
Hit versions by The Hilltoppers (US#8/UK #3 1955), The Platters (US #5/R&B #1 1955 |UK #18 1957), Frank Pourcel (US #9/R&B #18/CAN #3 1959), Ringo Starr (US #6/MOR #1/UK #28 1975), Reba McEntire (C&W #13 1982).

From the wiki: “‘Only You (And You Alone)’ (often shortened to ‘Only You’) was composed by Buck Ram, originally intended for the vocal group The Ink Spots.

“Instead, The Platters, with whom Ram was then working as manager and vocal coach, would first record ‘Only You’ in 1954 but the results were disappointing and Federal Records decided to shelve the recording. The following year, in 1955, another attempt at the song was made by the vocal quintet – with astounding results. ‘Only You’ became the Platters’ first charting single, peaking at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping the R&B chart.

“Platters bass singer Herb Reed later recalled how the group hit upon its successful version: ‘We tried it so many times, and it was terrible. One time we were rehearsing in the car … and the car jerked. Tony went ‘O-oHHHH-nly you.’ We laughed at first, but when he sang that song – that was the sign we had hit on something.’

“‘Only You’ was the only Platter’s recording on which songwriter and Platter’s manager Ram played the piano. The Platters’ re-recording also beat out a rival cover version by The Hilltoppers (‘Marianne‘).

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1960s, Pop

Never Let Her Go

First recorded (as “Never Let Him Go”) by Jody Miller (1965).
Hit version by David Gates, writer (US #29/MOR #3 1975).

From the wiki: “‘Never Let Him Go’ was written by David Gates and was first recorded by Jody Miller (‘You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me‘) in 1965 (B-side ‘Be My Man’) with no apparent chart impact (but which some consider to be one of her best Capitol Records recordings).

“Discovered by actor Dale Robertson, Miller began her career in the early 1960s as a folk/pop singer, singing in the Los Angeles area. By the mid-1960s, Miller became a pioneer crossover female vocalist, opening the doors for Linda Ronstadt, Anne Murray, and Olivia Newton-John and others as a pop singer recording a strong Country influence. Miller enjoyed modest success in both genres.

“Songwriter Gates, who had also arranged and produced Miller’s original recording, covered ‘Never Let Her Go’ for his own album, Never Let Her Go, in 1975 – Gates’ second solo album but his first after the break-up of the group Bread – and the single charted in the US Top 30.”

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1970s, Soul

Harry Hippie

Written and first recorded by Jim Ford (1970).
Hit version by Bobby Womack (R&B #8 1973).

From the wiki: “‘Harry Hippie’ was written by Jim Ford for a self-titled album scheduled to be issued by Capitol in the fall of 1970. But, Ford had a falling out with the label and the album was shelved. ‘Harry Hippie’ was written by Ford in tribute to Bobby Womack’s laid-back brother, bass guitarist Harry Womack. ‘Harry Hippie’ would, after Womack recorded it in 1973, become a Top-10 R&B hit for Womack.

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1960s, Pop

The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)

Written and first recorded by Simon & Garfunkel (1966).
Hit version by Harpers Bizarre (US #13 1967).

From the wiki: “‘The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)’ was written by Paul Simon and first recorded by Simon & Garfunkel, appearing on their 1966 album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. ’59th Street Bridge’ is the colloquial name of the Queensboro Bridge in New York City. The most popular cover version of the song was recorded in 1967 by Harpers Bizarre, reaching #13 on the Billboard Hot 100.

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1950s, Pop

Learnin’ the Blues

First recorded by Joe Valino (1955).
Hit version by Frank Sinatra (US #1/UK #2 1955).
Also recorded by Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong (1957).

From the wiki: “‘Learnin’ the Blues’ was written by Dolores Vicki Silvers, and first recorded in 1955 by Joe Valino. It’s not clear whether Silvers was the sole composer or possibly had help from Valino, a pop-jazz vocalist in the vein of Frank Sinatra and a breed of lounge singer singer who would be swept away in the late ’50s with the advent of rock ‘n’ roll.

“After a rep from Barton Music – Frank Sinatra’s publishing company – heard the song, they acquired its rights, effectively thwarting Valino from gaining his first hit. (Valino would, in 1956, find chart success with ‘Garden of Eden’.) Frank subsequently listened to Joe’s record and decided to cut it himself, giving Sinatra his best-charting single of the ’50s, peaking at #1.

“Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong covered the song on their 1957 collaboration Ella and Louis Again.”

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1960s, Pop

Softly, As I Leave You

First recorded (as “Piano”) by Mina (1960).
Hit versions by Matt Munro (US #18/UK #10 1961), Frank Sinatra (US #27/MOR #4 1964), Elvis Presley (C&W #8 1978).

From the wiki: “‘Softly, as I Leave You’ was first composed in Italian as ‘Piano’ (trans. ‘softly’) by Giorgio Calabrese and Tony De Vita. It was first performed by Mina at the 1960 Sanremo Music Festival, and was first released as a recording by her in 1960.

“English songwriter Hal Shaper noticed the song and in November 1961 wrote English-language lyrics to the melody, titling it ‘Softly, As I Leave You’. The best-known versions of this are those by Matt Munro (#10 on the British charts in 1962) and Frank Sinatra (#27 on the Billboard Hot 100/#4 on the MOR chart in 1964). When the Sinatra family announced Frank’s death on May 14, 1998, they placed an announcement on his website that was accompanied by his recording of ‘Softly, As I Leave You’.

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1970s, Rock

Happiness is Just Around the Bend

First recorded by Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express (1973).
Hit version by The Main Ingredient (US #35/R&B #7/CAN #51 1974).
Also recorded by Cuba Gooding, Sr. (1983), Altern-8 (1991).

From the wiki: “‘Happiness is Just Around the Bend’ was written by Brian Auger and first recorded in 1973 by Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express. A cover recording in 1974 by The Main Ingredient charted in the US Top 40, peaking at #35, and the R&B Top 10, peaking at #7.

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1960s, Rock 'n Roll

Pony Time

Co-written and first recorded by Don Covay & the Goodtimers (1960).
Hit version by Chubby Checker (US #1/R&B #1 1960).

From the wiki: “‘Pony Time’ was written by Don Covay and John Berry (a member of Covay’s earlier vocal group, the Rainbows), and originally recorded in 1960 by Covay with his group the Goodtimers. The song achieved greater success later that same year when it was recorded by Chubby Checker the following year, becoming his second US #1 (after his 1960 single ‘The Twist.’). It also topped the US R&B chart. ‘Pony Time’ does bear a resemblance to ‘The Twist‘, first recorded in 1959 by Hank Ballard & the Midnighters.”

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1900s, Pop

Melody of Love

First recorded by The Edison Symphony Orchestra (1903).
Hit versions by Billy Vaughn & His Orchestra (US #2 1955), David Carroll & His Orchestra (US #9 1955), The Four Aces (US #11 1955), Frank Sinatra (US #19 1955), The Ink Spots (UK #10 1955), Jim Reeves (B-side C&W #10 1970).

From the wiki: “‘Melody of Love’ was originally written by Hans Engelmann and first recorded in 1903 by the Edison Symphony Orchestra, with lyrics added in 1954 by Tom Glazer (‘On Top of Spaghetti‘).

“An instrumental version recorded by Billy Vaughn in 1955, one of several instrumental and vocal versions released that year, became the highest-charting arrangement of ‘Melody of Love’ on the Billboard charts in 1955. Arrangements by David Carroll, the Four Aces, Frank Sinatra, and, in the UK, the Ink Spots, also charted.

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1970s, Rock

Video Killed the Radio Star

First recorded by Bruce Wooley & the Camera Club (1978).
Hit version by The Buggles (US #40/UK #1/CAN #6/AUS #1/IRE #1/ITA #1/SWE #1/JPN #1 1980).

From the wiki: “‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ was written by Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes and Bruce Woolley in 1978, and was first recorded by Bruce Woolley & the Camera Club (with Thomas Dolby on keyboards) for the album English Garden.

“Horn, Downes and Woolley wrote ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ in an hour of one afternoon in 1978, six months before it was first recorded. Horn has said that the short story ‘The Sound-Sweep’, in which the title character – a mute boy vacuuming up stray music in a world without it – comes upon an opera singer hiding in a sewer, provided inspiration for ‘Video’, and he felt ‘an era was about to pass.’ Horn claimed that the German synth-group Kraftwerk was another influence of the song: ‘…It was like you could see the future when you heard Kraftwerk, something new is coming, something different. Different rhythm section, different mentality.’

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1960s, Pop

Love Hurts

First recorded by The Everly Brothers (1960).
Also recorded by Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris (1969, released 1974).
Hit versions by Roy Orbison (AUS #5 1961), Jim Capaldi (US #97/UK #4/CAN #15/AUS #6 1975), Nazareth (US #8/UK #41/CAN #1/AUS #8/DEN #2/NZ #4 1975), Cher (1975 |UK #43/NOR #2 1991).

From the wiki: “‘Love Hurts’ was written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant (‘All I Have to Do Is Dream’, ‘Bye Bye Love’), and was first recorded by The Everly Brothers in July 1960. The song was introduced in December 1960 as an album track on A Date with The Everly Brothers, but was never released as a single (A-side or B-side) by the Everlys. (The duo would re-record the song with a more up-tempo arrangement in 1964.)

“The first hit version of the song was recorded by Roy Orbison, who earned Australian radio play for ‘Love Hurts’ even though the song was issued as the B-side to ‘Running Scared’, hitting the Top-5 on that country’s singles charts in 1961.

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1960s, Pop

Make Your Own Kind of Music

First recorded by The Will-O-Bees (1968).
Hit version by “Mama” Cass Elliot (US #36/MOR #6 1969).
Also performed by The Carpenters (1971).

From the wiki: “‘Make Your Own Kind of Music’ was written by Barry Mann (‘Never Gonna Let You Go‘, ‘We Gotta Get Out of This Place‘, ‘Venus in Blue Jeans‘) and Cynthia Weil (‘Don’t Know Much‘, ‘I Just Can’t Help Believing‘, ‘We Gotta Get Out of This Place‘) first recorded in 1968 by New York City-based trio the Will-O-Bees (Janet Blossom, Steven Porter, and Robert Merchanthouse) who regularly performed Mann/Weil compositions. After ‘Mama’ Cass Elliot had a solo hit in the summer of 1969 with Mann/Weil’s ‘It’s Getting Better’ she recorded ‘Make Your Own Kind of Music’ as the follow-up single. Her album Bubblegum, Lemonade, and… Something for Mama was then re-released as Make Your Own Kind of Music, the title cut having been added to the original track listing.”

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1960s, Rock

Let’s Live for Today

First recorded (as”Piangi Con Me”) by The Rokes (1967).
First recorded (in English) by The Rokes (1967).
Also recorded (and first released) by The Living Daylights (1967).
Hit version by The Grass Roots (US #8 1967).

From the wiki: “The song that would become ‘Let’s Live for Today’ was originally written by David Shapiro and Ivan Mogul in 1966, with Italian lyrics and the Italian title of ‘Piangi Con Me’ (translated as ‘Cry with Me’). At the time, Shapiro was a member of The Rokes, an English beat group who had relocated to Italy in 1963. Following its success on the Italian charts, plans were made to release ‘Piangi Con Me’ in the United Kingdom and as a result, the song was translated into English and given the new title of ‘Passing Thru Grey’. However, the song’s publisher in Britain, Dick James Music, was unhappy with the lyrics of “Passing Thru Grey” and decided that they should be changed.

“Michael Julien, a member of the publisher’s writing staff, was assigned the task of composing new words for the song and it was his input that transformed it into ‘Let’s Live for Today’. Before the Rokes could release the song in the UK, however, another British group, The Living Daylights, released a version of it. Ultimately, neither The Living Daylights nor The Rokes would reach the charts with their recording of the song.

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1960s, Rock 'n Roll

Little Honda

First recorded by The Beach Boys (US #65 1964).
Other hit version by The Hondells (US #9 1964).

From the wiki: “‘Little Honda’ was written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for The Beach Boys. It was released on the group’s 1964 album All Summer Long, and was also featured on the EP Four by The Beach Boys but was not released as a single until after The Hondells’ version had charted and peaked. The song pays tribute to small Honda motorcycles, specifically the Honda Super Cub. Carl Wilson recalls:

[Brian Wilson] does exactly what he wants to do. I remember [sits back and laughs] — this is so funny — when we did ‘Little Honda’, Brian wanted me to get this real distorted guitar sound, real fuzzy. ‘This guitar sounds like shit,’ I said. ‘Brian, I hate this.’ And he goes, ‘Would you fucking do it? Just do it.’ When I heard it, I felt like an asshole. It sounded really hot. That was before fuzz became a big deal.

“It was during the recording sessions of ‘Little Honda’ (and ‘I Get Around’) when Brian relieved his father, Murry Wilson, of his managerial duties after three years. An attempt at reconciliation on Murry’s part, much of it captured on the tapes for the 1965 recording sessions of ‘Help Me, Rhonda’, cemented the break.

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1960s, Pop

Never on Sunday

First performed by Melina Mercouri (1960).
Hit versions by Don Costa (US #19/UK #27 1960), Lynn Cornell (UK #30 1960), The Chordettes (US #13/MOR #4 1961).

From the wiki: “‘Never on Sunday’, also known as ‘Ta Pediá tou Pireá’ (Greek: ‘Τα Παιδιά του Πειραιά’; English: ‘The Children of Piraeus’), was written by Manos Hadjidakis originally in Greek and was performed in the 1960 film Never on Sunday by Melina Mercouri. The song was nominated and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, a first for a foreign-language picture since the Academy began recognizing achievements in that category in 1934. An orchestral version recorded by Don Costa reached #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960, then returned to the Billboard Top 40 when reissued in 1961. Costas’ version also peaked at #27 in the UK Singles chart.

“Following the success of the orchestral version, as well as the Oscar win, an English-language version of ‘Never on Sunday’ was commissioned to match the title of the film. A vocal of the song by The Chordettes (‘Mr. Sandman’, 1954) reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1961.”

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1960s, Broadway/Movies/Television

Hair

First recorded by the Original Off-Broadway Cast of Hair (1967).
Also recorded by the Original Broadway Cast of Hair (1968).
Hit versions by Zen (NETH #1 1968), Doug Parkinson in Focus (AUS #5 1969), The Cowsills (US #2 1969).

From the wiki: “Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical was a Rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni, and music by Galt MacDermot. The musical broke new ground in musical theater by defining the genre of ‘rock musical’, using a racially integrated cast, and inviting the audience onstage for a ‘Be-In’ finale.

“After an off-Broadway debut in October 1967 at Joseph Papp’s Public Theater and a subsequent run in a midtown discothèque space, the show opened on Broadway at the Biltmore Theatre on April 29, 1968 and ran for 1,750 performances. A cast album recorded by the original off-Broadway cast was released in 1967; the original Broadway cast recording, released in 1968, received a Grammy Award for Best Score from an Original Cast Show Album.

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1960s, Folk

Back on the Street Again

First recorded by Steve Gillette (1967).
Also recorded by The Stone Poneys (1967).
Hit version by The Sunshine Company (US #36 1967).

From the wiki: “‘Back on the Street Again’ was written by Steve Gillette and first recorded by him for his own debut eponymous album released in 1967. Later the same year, Gillette would record a cover of his own song as a member of The Stone Poneys, singing harmony to Linda Ronstadt’s lead on the group’s debut album which yielded the hit single, ‘Different Drum‘. The Sunshine Company (‘Up, Up and Away‘) would also record the song in 1967 and with it achieve the group’s biggest chart success with their only US Top 40 hit.”

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1960s, Pop

Pied Piper

First recorded by The Changin’ Times (US #87 1965).
Also recorded by The Jets (1966).
Other hit versions by Crispian St. Peters (US #4/UK #5/CAN #1/AUS #5 1966), Bob & Marcia (UK #11 1971).

From the wiki: “‘The Pied Piper’ was written by the duo of Steve Duboff and Artie Kornfeld, who first recorded the song in 1965 as a Dylan-esque group they called The Changin’ Times.

“However, it was British pop singer Crispian St. Peters who scored the major hit with the song during the summer of 1966, when his single went to #4 in the United States, #5 in the United Kingdom and #1 in Canada. (In the Netherlands, the beatgroup The Jets from Utrecht recorded their version a few months before St. Peters did. Rumors had it that this version inspired the Crispian St. Peters version.)

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1970s, Country

Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys

Co-written and first recorded by Ed Bruce (C&W #15 1975).
Other hit version by Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson (US #42/C&W #1/CAN #1 1978).

From the wiki: “‘Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys’ was first recorded in 1975 by Ed Bruce, written by him and his wife, Patsy Bruce. Bruce’s rendition of the song peaked at #15 on the Hot Country Singles charts in 1975.

“Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson covered the song on their 1978 duet album Waylon & Willie. Unbeknownst to Bruce, Jennings had recorded it himself in 1977. Unfortunately, Waylon was unhappy with his recording. So he brought it to a session with Nelson, who added vocals to the existing recording. Jennings recalls, ‘Me and Willie were talking about recording again, and I said, ‘Willie, I cut this thing, but I ain’t sure about it.’ I said, ‘It don’t sound right, but it might be a great duet.’ {Even though my] whole record was finished, I just took [out] part of my voice and put his on.’

“The Jennings/Nelson cover recording peaked at #1 on the Hot Country Singles chart in March 1978, spending four weeks topping the chart while also crossing-over to the Billboard Hot 100. In 1979, the song won the Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Members of the Western Writers of America have also chosen ‘Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys’ as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.”

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