First recorded by Kristine (1975).
Hit version by Cliff Richard (US #6/UK #9 1976).
From the wiki: “‘Devil Woman’ was written by Terry Britten and Christine Holmes (singer of the Family Dogg, ‘Arizona‘) and was first recorded by Holmes under the name ‘Kristine’. It became a #9 UK hit in June 1976 for Cliff Richard, and was his first single to reach the Top 20 in the US. The song is told from the point of a view of a man jinxed from an encounter with a stray cat with evil eyes, and his discovery that the psychic medium (a Gypsy woman) whose help he sought to break the curse was the one responsible for the curse in the first place. Richard supposedly was hesitant to cut it until he modified some lyrics to play down the occult theme.”
First recorded (as “Boy Watcher”) by Ginger Thompson (recorded January 1968, released August 1968).
Hit version by The O’Kaysions (first released April 1968 |US #5/R&B #6 June 1968).
From the wiki: “‘Girl Watcher’ was written by Buck Trail (a pseudonym used by songwriter Ron Killette) and was first recorded as ‘Boy Watcher’ in January, 1968 by Atlanta, GA, singer Ginger Thompson for 1-2-3 Records but was not released until August 1968.
“The song was also given to The O’Kaysions, a pop/blue-eyed soul group originally from Wilson, North Carolina, who had first formed in 1959 under the name The Kays, who recorded their production of ‘Girl Watcher’ in April 1968 for North Carolina-based North State Records. (This can be determined, somewhat, by the presence of only Trail’s name as songwriter on the Thompson release vs. the inclusion of O’Kaysions’ group member and manager Wayne Pittman on the latter’s releases.)
“However, by the time ABC Records chose to distribute the O’Kaysions’ April 1968 recording nationally, the original master tape had gone missing. So, a ‘needle-drop’ of the O’Kaysions’ regionally-issued North State label recording was used and that recording was then duplicated by ABC to create a nationally-distributed single in June 1968. ‘Girl Watcher’ was the O’Kaysions’ only chart hit.”
First recorded (as “Bull Doze Blues”) by Henry Thomas (1928).
Hit version by Canned Heat (US #11 1969).
From the wiki: “Canned Heat, who were early Blues enthusiasts, based ‘Going Up the Country’ on ‘Bull Doze Blues’, recorded in Chicago for Vocalion Records in 1928 by Texas bluesman Henry Thomas. Thomas was from the songster tradition and had a unique sound, sometimes accompanying himself on quills, an early Afro-American wind instrument similar to panpipes.
“For Canned Heat’s recording ‘Going Up the Country’, Alan Wilson used Thomas’ melody on the quills and his basic rhythm, but re-arranged it for a rock setting and rewrote the lyrics; multi-instrumentalist Jim Horn reproduced Thomas’ quill parts on the flute.
First recorded by Jerry Butler (1969).
Hit version by Dusty Springfield (US #24/MOR #3 1970).
From the wiki: “Written by Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff and Jerry Butler, ‘A Brand New Me’ was first recorded by Butler in 1969. Dusty Springfield would cover the song later that year, adding it as the title track to her album A Brand New Me. It is Springfield’s only album on which every song was produced by the same production team: Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. Gamble also co-wrote every track on the album, and the Gamble-Huff duo would go on to have success with many groups and singers in the 1970s, including Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, The O’Jays, MFSB and The Three Degrees. The single, ‘A Brand New Me’, would be Springfield’s last Top 40 chart success until her 1987 collaborations with Pet Shop Boys (‘What Have I Done to Deserve This?’) and Richard Carpenter (‘Something in Your Eyes’).”
Written and first recorded (as “(You Got to Have) Friends”) by Buzzy Linhart (1970).
Hit version by Better Midler (US #40/MOR #9 1973).
From the wiki: “‘Friends’ (also titled ‘(You Got to Have) Friends’) was written by Buzzy Linhart and Mark ‘Moogy’ Klingman and was first recorded by Linhart in 1970. Bette Midler was one of Linhart’s close friends during the early 1970s. While rehearsing for an audition for a Broadway show called Mirror Cracked, Linhart sang ‘Friends’ to Midler.
“After hearing the song, Midler asked Linhart if she could sing the song during a show that she was performing at the Continental Baths in New York. Soon after, Midler recorded the song (twice!) on her debut album The Divine Miss M, and released the song as a single backed with ‘Chapel of Love‘.
First recorded (as “Frankie and Johnnie”) by Gene Greene & Charley Straight (1912).
First US recording by Al Bernard (1921).
Also recorded by Mississippi John Hurt (1928), Mae West (1933).
Popular versions by Ted Lewis & His Band (US #9 1927), Brook Benton (US #20/MOR #6/R&B #14 1961), Mr. Acker Bilk (UK #42 1962), Sam Cooke (US #14/MOR #2/R&B #4/UK #30 1963), Elvis Presley (US #25/UK #21 1966).
From the wiki: “The song ‘Frankie and Johnny’ (sometimes spelled ‘Frankie and Johnnie’; also known as ‘Frankie and Albert’ or just ‘Frankie’) was inspired by one or more actual murders. One took place in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1899 when Frankie Baker, a 22-year-old woman, shot her 17-year-old lover Allen (also known as ‘Albert’) Britt in the abdomen. The song has also been linked to Frances ‘Frankie’ Stewart Silver, convicted in 1832 of murdering her husband Charles Silver in Burke County, North Carolina. Popular St Louis balladeer Bill Dooley composed ‘Frankie Killed Allen’ shortly after the Baker murder case. The first published version of the music to ‘Frankie and Johnny’ appeared in 1904, credited to and copyrighted by Hughie Cannon, the composer of ‘Won’t You Come Home Bill Bailey’.
“In 1934, John A. & Alan Lomax counted some 300 published versions in their American Ballads And Folk Songs. Comment of the Lomaxes: ‘No one has ever publicly heard the same version twice, unless from two convict performers who shared the same cell for years.’ These 300 variations begged for a doctorate’s degree paper, finally written by Bruce Buckley who makes a clear distinction between the Frankie & Albert’s following the St. Louis facts and the more popular fantasy variation, ‘Frankie & Johnny’, published in 1912.
Written and first recorded by Harold Dorman (US #21 1959).
Other hit versions by Kenny Lynch (UK #33 1960), Johnny Rivers (US #9/CAN #4/AUS #19 1964), Charlie Pride (C&W #1/CAN #1 1981).
From the wiki: “‘Mountain of Love’ was written by Harold Dorman who first recorded the song in 1959, releasing it as a single in 1960 that peaked in the Top 40 at #21.
“In 1960, UK singer Kenny Lynch covered ‘Mountain of Love’ for the UK market, becoming his first charting single on the UK Singles chart. (Trivia: Lynch was on the same bill as the Beatles for their first UK tour, with the top-billed Helen Shapiro, in early 1963, and made the acquaintance of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Later that year, he would become the first singer to cover a Beatles song (‘Misery’). In 1973, Lynch would also be among the celebrities appearing on the album cover of Wings’ Band on the Run.)
“A Johnny Rivers 1964 cover recording went Top 10 in the US and Top 5 in Canada. Charlie Pride topped the US Country singles chart in 1981 with his cover of ‘Mountain of Love’, his 26th #1 country hit.”
First recorded by Bob Crosby with Marion Mann (1940).
Hit versions by Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra (US #17 1940), Tony Martin (US #16 1940), The Glenn Miller Orchestra (US #1 1940), Billy Eckstine (R&B #6 1949), Brook Benton (US #24/R&B #5 1960), Etta James (US #87 1962), Ricky Nelson (US #12/R&B #24/UK #12 1963).
From the wiki: “‘Fools Rush In’ was written in 1940 by lyricist Johnny Mercer with music by Rube Bloom. First recorded by the Bob Crosby orchestra with Marion Mann, major hits at the time of introduction were recorded by Tony Martin, Glenn Miller with Ray Eberle, and Tommy Dorsey with Frank Sinatra. It was also recorded by Billy Eckstine. In the 1960s, ‘Fools Rush In’ saw a resurgence of popularity, resulting in charted remakes in 1960-61 (Brook Benton), 1962 (Etta James), and 1963 (Ricky Nelson).”
First recorded by Freddy Martin & His Orchestra (US #7 1946).
Other hit version by B. Bumble & the Stingers (US #21 1961).
https://youtu.be/7lhy-1qZQAI
From the wiki: “Earl Palmer, René Hall and Plas Johnson were the house band at Rendezvous Records. According to Palmer, the three friends ‘always talked about how we could make some money and not leave the studio. One day I said, ‘Let’s do a rock version of ‘In the Mood”.’ The single, credited to the Ernie Fields Orchestra, became a hit, peaking in the US Top 5 in early 1960. Hall then came up with the idea for B. Bumble and the Stingers, taking the same approach to a piece of classical music. Pianist Jack Fina was approached. His 1946 swing arrangement of Rimsky-Korsakov’s ‘Flight of the Bumble Bee’ for Freddy Martin and his Orchestra, titled ‘Bumble Boogie’, had reached #7 on the Pop charts and was later used in the 1948 Walt Disney animated film Melody Time.
“Using Fina’s arrangement, producer Kim Fowley recorded pianist Ernie Freeman on two tracks, one using a grand piano for the rhythm part, while the other track featured a ‘tack piano’ – a modified upright piano with tacks attached to the hammers that created a tinny ‘honky tonk’ sound. The other musicians on the session, at Gold Star Studios, included Wrecking Crew regulars: Palmer on drums, Red Callender on bass, and Tommy Tedesco on guitar.”
First recorded by The We Three Trio (1964).
Hit version by Glen Yarbrough (US #12/MOR #2 1965).
Also recorded by Chris Connor (1965).
From the wiki: “‘Baby the Rain Must Fall’ was written by film score composer Elmer Bernstein (‘The Magnificent Seven’) and Ernie Sheldon, and was first performed and recorded by The We Three Trio for the motion-picture Baby the Rain Must Fall where it was heard during the opening credits.
“The song was later covered by Glenn Yarbrough for his 1965 album Baby the Rain Must Fall, with an arrangement by future Bread founder David ‘Dave’ Gates. ‘Baby the Rain Must Fall’ was also covered in 1965 by Chris Connor, who included it on her album of pop song covers performed pseudo-bossa nova, Chris Connor Sings Gentle Bossa Nova.”
First recorded by Big Joe Williams’ Washboard Blues Singers (1935).
Also recorded by Muddy Waters (1953), Mose Allison (1960), Georgia Fame (1963).
Hit versions by The Orioles (R&B #8 1952), Them (US #102/UK #10 1964).
From the wiki: “‘Baby, Please Don’t Go’ is a blues song which has been called ‘one of the most played, most arranged, and most rearranged pieces in blues history’ by music historian Gerard Herzhaft. Delta blues musician Big Joe Williams popularized it with several versions beginning in 1935.
“The song’s roots have been traced back to nineteenth-century slave songs, dealing with themes of bondage and imprisonment. In 1952, a doo-wop version by The Orioles reached the R&B Top 10 (an early 45 rpm issue available only on red vinyl); Muddy Waters’ 1953 recording recast the song as an electric Chicago Blues ensemble piece, influencing many subsequent renditions.
First recorded by Manfred Mann (US #95/UK #5 1968).
Also recorded by The Country Gentlemen (1970).
Other hit version by Tom T. Hall (C&W #9 1976).
From the wiki: “Note: NOT the mid-’70s hit by Sweet. ‘Fox on the Run’ was first recorded by Manfred Mann as a single issued 29 November 1968. It was introduced to Bluegrass by Bill Emerson and quickly became a Bluegrass favorite, first recorded in that genre by The Country Gentlemen in 1970. In 1976, ‘Fox on the Run’ was covered by Country music singer-songwriter Tom T. Hall whose recording peaked in the US Country Top-10, its highest-charting US performance.”
Written and first released by Rod McKuen (1964).
Also recorded by The Kingston Trio (1964), Mark Lindsay (1969).
Hit version by Frank Sinatra (US #75/MOR #8/UK #8 1969).
From the wiki: “Rod McKuen wrote over 1,500 songs, including ‘Love’s Been Good to Me’, ‘Seasons in the Sun‘, and ‘Jean‘, which have accounted for the sale of over 100 million records worldwide according to the Associated Press.
“First recorded in 1964 by McKuen, the Kingston Trio covered ‘Love’s Been Good to Me’ the same year for their own album, The Kingston Trio (Nick Bob John). In 1969, Frank Sinatra commissioned an entire album of poems and songs by McKuen. Arranged by Don Costa, it was released under the title A Man Alone: The Words and Music of Rod McKuen. The album featured the song ‘Love’s Been Good to Me’, which then would become one of McKuen’s best-known songs.
“Former Paul Revere & the Raiders lead singer Mark Lindsay would also cover ‘Love’s Been to Me’ in 1969, for his debut solo album, Arizona ”
Co-written and first recorded by Ray Stevens (1976).
Hit version by The Captain & Tennille (US #13/MOR #12/CAN #11/AUS #67 1977).
From the wiki: “”Can’t Stop Dancin” is a song written by John Pritchard Jr. and Ray Stevens. It was first recorded by Stevens in 1976 for his album Just for the Record.
“The following year, husband-and-wife singing-duo the Captain & Tennile covered ‘Can’t Stop Dancing’ for their third studio album, Come In from the Rain. Released as that albums first promotional single, it peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S., and #11 on the Canadian RPM Top Single chart.”
First recorded by The Move (B-side US #93/UK #7 1972).
Also recorded by Utopia (1975).
Hit version by Electric Light Orchestra (US #24/CAN #13/GER #42 1977).
From the wiki: “‘Do Ya’ was written by Jeff Lynne in 1971 and was first recorded by British Rock band The Move in 1972 when Lynne was a member of the group. The final Move line-up of 1972 that first recorded ‘Do Ya’ was the trio of Lynne, Roy Wood and Bev Bevan; together, they rode the Move’s transition into the Electric Light Orchestra. Released on a maxi single along with ‘California Man’ and ‘Ella James’, ‘Do Ya’ proved to be the Move’s farewell disc, and the only song recorded by the group to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 – albeit as a B-side. (The Move had ten UK Top 20 hits before its breakup.)
“ELO formed during The Move’s latter years to accommodate Wood’s and Lynne’s desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones. ELO’s sixth album, the platinum-selling A New World Record, became their first UK Top 10 album when it was released in 1976. It contained the hit singles ‘Livin’ Thing’, ‘Telephone Line’, ‘Rockaria!’ … and ‘Do Ya’, a re-recording of the Move song, that charted Top 30 in the US in 1977.
First recorded and performed (in Breakfast at Tiffany’s) by Audrey Hepburn (1961, released 1993).
Hit versions by co-writer Henry Mancini (US#11/MOR #3/UK #44 Oct 1961), Jerry Butler (US #11/MOR #3/R&B #14 Oct 1961), Danny Williams (UK #1 Nov 1961).
Also recorded by Andy Williams (1961).
From the wiki: “‘Moon River’ was written by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer, and was used as Audrey Hepburn’s theme song in the 1961 movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Hepburn sings the song in the movie, but the version used on the soundtrack was an instrumental by Henry Mancini and his orchestra. Mancini’s instrumental version was released as a single, the first to chart in the US and UK. Hepburn’s version, even though recorded first, was not released until after her death in 1993. It then appeared on the album Music From The Films of Audrey Hepburn.
“Although the instrumental version is played over the film’s opening titles, the lyrics are first heard in a scene where Paul ‘Fred’ Varjak (George Peppard) discovers Holly Golightly (Hepburn) singing them, accompanied by her guitar, on the fire escape outside their apartments. There was an eruption of much behind-the-scenes consternation when a Paramount Pictures executive, Martin Rackin, suggested deleting the song from the film immediately after a very successful San Francisco preview. Hepburn’s reaction was described by Mancini and others in degrees varying from her saying ‘over my dead body’ to her using somewhat more colorful language to make the same point.
First recorded (as “Pistol Pete’s Midnight Special”) by Dave Cutrell (1926).
Also recorded (as “The Midnight Special Blues”) by Sam Collins (1927).
Hit versions by Lead Belly (1934), Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper (C&W #4 1959), Paul Evans (US #16/UK #41 1960), Johnny Rivers (US #20/CAN #36/AUS #86 1965).
Also recorded by Harry Belafonte (1962), Creedence Clearwater Revival (1969).
From the wiki: “‘Midnight Special’ was first commercially recorded on the OKeh label in 1926 as ‘Pistol Pete’s Midnight Special’ by Dave ‘Pistol Pete’ Cutrell (a member of McGinty’s Oklahoma Cow Boy Band). (In March 1929, the band, now named ‘Otto Gray and the Oklahoma Cowboys’, recorded the song again, this time with the traditional title using only the traditional lyrics.)
“Sam Collins recorded the song commercially in 1927 under the title ‘The Midnight Special Blues’ for Gennett Records. Collins’ version also follows the traditional style but his recording was the first to name the woman in the story, Little Nora, and he was the first singer to refer to the Midnight Special’s ‘ever-living’ light. In 1934 Huddie William ‘Lead Belly’ Ledbetter recorded a version of the song at Angola Prison for John and Alan Lomax, who mistakenly attributed it to him as the author. Ledbetter recorded at least three versions of the song, including one in 1940 with the Golden Gate Quartet, a gospel group.
First recorded by The Off-Broadway Cast of Hair (1967).
Hit version by The 5th Dimension (US #1/R&B #6/CAN #1/UK #11/AUS #3 1969).
https://youtu.be/x5kNrTtRqI4
From the wiki: “‘Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In’ is a medley of two songs written for the 1967 musical Hair by James Rado & Gerome Ragni (lyrics), and Galt MacDermot (music). Originally recorded as separate performances by the cast of Hair, the medley recorded by The 5th Dimension became one of the most popular songs of 1969 worldwide. ‘Aquarius’ was ranked #33 on the 2004 American Film Institute’s 100 Years … 100 Songs listing (in the motion-picture adaptation of Hair, produced in 1979).
“The lyrics of this song were based on the astrological belief that the world would soon be entering the ‘Age of Aquarius’, an age of love, light, and humanity, unlike the then-current ‘Age of Pisces’. The exact circumstances for the change are ‘When the moon is in the seventh house, and Jupiter aligns with Mars.’ This change was presumed to occur at the end of the 20th century; however, major astrologers differ extremely widely as to exactly when: Their proposed dates range from 2062 to 2680. ”
First recorded as “Did God Make Honky Tonk Angels” by “Al” Montgomery (1952).
Inspired by “The Wild Side of Life” by Hank Thompson (1951).
Based on “Thrills That I Can’t Forget” by John Ferguson (1927), “Great Speckled Bird” by Roy Acuff (1936).
Hit version by Kitty Wells (C&W #1 1952).
From the wiki: “Jay Miller wrote ‘Did God Make …’ as a reply to Hank Thompon’s hit ‘Wild Side Of Life‘. Alice ‘Al’ Montgomery was a gas station attendant in Louisiana at the time of her recording, which Miller produced and issued on one of his many labels. When covered by Kitty Wells in 1952, the song – which blamed unfaithful men for creating unfaithful women – became the first #1 Billboard Country hit for a solo female artist.
“In addition to helping establish Wells as country music’s first major female star, ‘It Wasn’t God …’ her success paved the way for other female artists to achieve chart success in Country music, particularly Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, and Dolly Parton, and for songs where women defied the typical stereotype of being submissive to men and having to put up with their oft-infidel ways.
“Even with its popularity, there was plenty of resistance to the song and its statement: the NBC radio network banned the song for being ‘suggestive,’ while Wells herself was prohibited from performing it on the Grand Ole Opry and NBC’s ‘Prince Albert’ radio programs.
First recorded (as a demo) by Lisa Loeb (1992).
Hit version by Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories (US #1/MOR #5/CAN #1/UK #6/AUS #6 1994).
From the wiki: “‘Stay (I Missed You)’ was written by singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb. It was released in May 1994 as the lead single from the original motion-picture soundtrack for Reality Bites. ‘Stay’ was originally conceived by Loeb in 1990. Loeb, who had attended Berklee School of Music in Boston for a summer session after graduating from Brown University, formed a full band called Nine Stories in 1990.
“The band, named after a book by J.D. Salinger, included Tim Bright on guitar, Jonathan Feinberg on drums, and Joe Quigley on bass. Loeb began working with producer Juan Patiño to make the cassette Purple Tape in 1992. It included the earliest recordings of later popular tracks such as ‘Do You Sleep?’, ‘Snow Day’, ‘Train Songs’, ‘It’s Over’ and ‘Stay (I Missed You)’. Loeb sold the violet-colored cassette to fans at gigs and used it as a sonic calling card to music industry gatekeepers.
First recorded by Paper Lace (US #96/UK #1 1974).
Other hit version by Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods (US #1 1974).
From the wiki: “‘Billy, Don’t Be a Hero’ was written by two British song writers Mitch Murray and Peter Callander, was first a hit in the UK for Paper Lace (‘The Night Chicago Died’); some months later it was covered in the US by Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods who scored a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
“In the song, a young woman is distraught that her fiancé chooses to leave the area with Army recruiters and go with them to fight. Because the song was released in 1974, it was associated by some listeners with the Vietnam War, though it actually does not reference a specific ‘war’.”
First recorded by Peter Frampton (1975).
Hit versions by Peter Frampton (US #12/UK #45/CAN #3 1976), Will to Power (US #1 1988), Big Mountain (US #6/UK #2/EUR #1 1994).
From the wiki: “‘Baby, I Love Your Way’ was written by Peter Frampton, and first released in September 1975 on the his self-titled studio album Frampton. A live version of the song was later released on Frampton’s 1976 multi-platinum album Frampton Comes Alive!, and it charted Top 15 on the US Billboard Hot 100. In 1988, the group Will To Power had a US #1 hit with a medley of this and ‘Free Bird’. Big Mountain hit #6 in the US and #2 in the UK with ‘Baby, I Love Your Way’ in 1994, from the soundtrack to Reality Bites.”
Written and first recorded by Moon Martin (1978).
Hit version by Robert Palmer (US #14/CAN #1/AUS #13/NZ #20 1979).
From the wiki: “‘Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)’ was written by Moon Martin (‘Cadillac Walk’) and first recorded for his 1978 album Shots From a Cold Nightmare. A year later the song was covered by Robert Palmer for his 1979 album Secrets and went on to become a US and Canadian hit. The main difference between Moon’s version and the cover by Robert Palmer is that Palmer’s version is in major key while Moon’s is in minor, making Martin’s original arrangement sound more ominous.”
Based on “On Top of Old Smoky” by The Weavers (US #2 1951).
Hit version by Tom Glazer & the Do-Re-Mi Children’s Chorus (1963).
From the wiki: “‘On Top of Spaghetti’ is a ballad and children’s song with the most known performance by folk singer Tom Glazer with the Do-Re-Mi Children’s Chorus in 1963. The song is sung to the tune of ‘On Top of Old Smoky’, first recorded in 1925 by George Reneau and made popular in 1951 by The Weavers. It is the tale of a meatball falling off of a pile of spaghetti and rolling away ‘after somebody sneezed.'”
