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1291 total songs ... and counting!
First released by Trash (UK #27 1969).
Hit album version by The Beatles (1969).
From “One Hit Wonders“: “If you were going to isolate an aspect of the Abbey Road album song cycle and issue it as a single, ‘Golden Slumbers/ Carry That Weight’ would be the obvious pairing. The Beatles clearly had no interest in doing so, but Trash – one of their Apple signings – were encouraged to exploit the potential of the tunes by Apple Corp’s enterprising employee Richard Dilello.
First recorded by The Willows (US #62/R&B #11 1956).
Other hit version by The Diamonds (US #14/CAN #23 1956).
From the wiki: “After two flops as ‘The Five Willows’ in 1954, the group hit as The Willows in 1956 with ‘Church Bells May Ring’ (which featured an uncredited Neil Sedaka playing the chimes).
“As the Willows’ original version began climbing the charts, a number of cover singles were quickly released to cash in on the song’s popularity, including one by The Cadets (‘Stranded in the Jungle’). However, the biggest cover by far of ‘Church Bells May Ring’ came from a Canadian group, the Diamonds (‘Little Darlin”, ‘Silhouettes’).
“The Willows’ arrangement hit #11 of the R&B chart but stalled at #62 on the Billboard pop chart while the Diamonds’ single soared to a peak at #14 on the Hot 100.”
First recorded by Kai Winding (1963).
Hit versions by Irma Thomas (B-side US #52 1964), The Rolling Stones (US #6/AUS #4 1964 |UK #64 1982).
From the wiki: “Session arranger Garry Sherman contacted songwriter friend and colleague Jerry Ragovoy (‘Piece of My Heart‘) after big band trombonist, bandleader, and former Benny Goodman, Stan Kenton and Miles Davis sideman Kai Winding had expressed an interest in going in a more commercial, contemporary and rhythmic direction at the onset of the British Invasion. Coming up with a melody was easy, but Ragovoy could think of no lyrics for the song other than ‘time is on my side’ and ‘you’ll be comin’ back to me’. Produced by Creed Taylor and engineered by Phil Ramone, ‘Time Is On My Side’ was also recorded using background vocals by Cissy Houston, Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick, ‘Time Is On My Side’ was released on the Verve Records label in October 1963. It did not chart.
Written and first recorded (as a demo) by Carole King (1967).
Hit versions by Aretha Franklin (US #8/R&B #2 1967), Celine Dion (MOR #31 1995), Mary J. Blige (R&B #39/UK #23 1995).
Also recorded by Carole King (1971).
From the wiki: “Written by the celebrated partnership of Gerry Goffin and Carole King, ‘You Make Me Feel (Like a Natural Woman)’ was inspired by Atlantic Records co-owner and producer Jerry Wexler.
“As recounted in his autobiography, Wexler, a student of African-American musical culture, had been mulling over the concept of the ‘natural man’, when he drove by Goffin on the streets of New York. Wexler shouted out to him he wanted a ‘natural woman’ song for Aretha Franklin’s next album. In thanks, Goffin and King granted Wexler a co-writing credit.
“Franklin’s recording features all three Franklin sisters, including Erma and Carolyn singing backup. Erma had a record deal in the ’60s, but didn’t have much success. Her biggest hit was her 1967 original recording of ‘Piece Of My Heart‘, made famous by Janis Joplin.”
First recorded (as “Histe Up the John B.”) by Cleveland Simmons Group (1935).
First popular version recorded (as “The Wreck of the John B.”) by The Weavers (1950).
Also recorded by Blind Blake Higgs (1952), The Kingston Trio (1958), Johnny Cash (1959), Jimmie Rodgers (1960), Dick Dale & His Del-Tones (1962).
Hit version (titled “The Sloop John B.”) by The Beach Boys (US #3/UK #2 1966).
From the wiki: “According to Blind Blake Higgs, the Bahamanian calypso entertainer, the John B had been a sponger boat that one day went under. That’s not so unusual, all thing considered. So, what made this tragedy so special? One possible explanation is the name of the vessel: to illiterate ears, ‘John B’ sounds like ‘Zombie’. So, when said sloop vanished with no one returning, that’s the stuff where legends are made of.
“The popularity of the song triggered interest in the wreck’s whereabouts. The hull was found and rescued from under the sands of Governor’s Harbor in 1926. John T. McCutcheon, philosopher and cartoonist on holiday with his wife in the West Indies at that time, learned the song and brought the song to New York where poet Carl Sandburg collected it for his songbook The American Songbag (1927).
First recorded (as “I’m All Shook Up”) by Dave Hill (1957).
Hit version by Elvis Presley (US #1/C&W #1/R&B #1/UK #1 1957).
Also recorded by Otis Blackwell, writer (1978).
From the wiki: “Otis Blackwell wrote the song at the offices of Shalimar Music in 1956 after Al Stanton, one of Shalimar’s owners, after dropping a bottle of Pepsi-Cola on the floor, challenged his songwriter Blackwell to write a song based on the fizzing soda contents.
First recorded by Dickey Doo & the Dont’s (1958).
Hit version by Bad Manners (UK #28 1980).
From the AllMusic.com: “Dickey Doo & the Dont’s started out as a joke with a purpose. Gerry Granahan, a producer, songwriter, and performer needed an alias under which he could release his newest record without getting into legal trouble with another record label to which he was already under contract and the alias turned into a successful recording act. Signed to Sunbeam Records in 1957, he had a hit in mid-1958 with ‘No Chemise Please’, a novelty song charted in the Top 30 of the Billboard Hot 100.
“Granahan’s next four singles stiffed, but then he found himself with a song that seemed like a certain hit, ‘Click Clack’, and a label – Swan Records of Philadelphia – that wanted to release it; moreover, with Swan behind it, the label’s silent partner, Dick Clark, would give it a boost on the local version of his daily music showcase, American Bandstand, thus ensuring it had every chance to become a hit. Thus were born Dickey Doo & the Dont’s, a mythical act whose name, it was suggested, was an ‘in’ joke that obliquely referred to Clark’s secret involvement with Swan Records.
Written and first recorded (as “Pussy”) by Harry Roy & His Bat Club Boys (1931).
Also recorded by R. Crumb & His Cheap Suit Serenaders (1978).
From the wiki: “Harry Roy was born Harry Lipman in Stamford Hill, London, England, and began the study of the clarinet and alto saxophone at the age of 16. He and his brother Sidney formed a band which they called The Darnswells, with Harry on saxophone and clarinet and Sidney on piano. During the 1920s they performed in several prestige venues such as the Alhambra and the London Coliseum, under names such as The Original Lyrical Five and The Original Crichton Lyricals. They spent three years at the Café de Paris, and toured South Africa, Australia and Germany.
“By the early 1930s, Harry Roy was fronting the band under his own name, and broadcasting from the Café Anglais and the Mayfair Hotel. In 1931 he wrote and sang ‘My Girl’s Pussy’, which has since been the subject of many cover versions and remakes, including a novelty 78-rpm 10-inch single released in 1980 by R. Crumb & His Cheap Suit Serenaders (after its 1978 appearance on R. Crumb and his Cheap Suit Serenaders No. 3 long-play album).”
Written and first recorded by J.J. Cale (1966).
Hit versions by Eric Clapton (US #18 1970), J.J. Cale (re-recording US #42 1972), Eric Clapton (re-recording Rock #4/UK #99 1988).
Also recorded by The Pioneers (as “Let It All Hang Out” 1971), Chet Atkins (1972), Sergio Mendes (1972), Maggie Bell (1974), The Jerry Garcia Band (1980), Pretty Lights (2009).
From the wiki: “J.J. Cale wrote ‘After Midnight’ in 1966 and first released it as single (on Liberty Records) the same year with no apparent chart success. But, the song would become the catalyst for his future success.
“When Eric Clapton was working with Delaney & Bonnie Bramlett, Leon Russell introduced Eric to Cale’s music. Among the songs that attracted Clapton’s attention, ‘After Midnight’ became the first to be released. It appeared on his 1970 self-titled debut album and was released as a single in late 1970, peaking at #18 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Cale was unaware of Clapton’s 1970 recording until it became a radio hit. He recalled to Mojo magazine that when he heard Clapton’s version on his radio, ‘I was dirt poor, not making enough to eat and I wasn’t a young man. I was in my thirties, so I was very happy. It was nice to make some money.’ Cale’s friend and producer Audie Ashworth then encouraged J.J. to capitalize on the success of ‘After Midnight’ by recording a full album, Naturally, released in 1972. A re-recording by Cale of ‘After Midnight’ was taken from the album as a promotional single in 1972, peaking at #42 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Written and first recorded by The Melodians (JAM #1 1970).
Other hit version by Boney M. (US #30/UK #1/CAN #9/AUS #1/IRE #1/GER #1 1978).
From the wiki: “The Melodians’ original version of the song appeared in the soundtrack album of the 1972 movie The Harder They Come, making it internationally known. The lyrics are adapted from the texts of Psalm 137 and Psalm 19 in the Bible [KJV]: ‘By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion… ‘
First recorded by The Dell-Vikings (1956).
Hit versions by The Del-Vikings (re-recording US #4/R&B #2 1957), Dion (US #48 1962), The Beach Boys (US #18 1981).
From the wiki: “‘Come Go with Me’ was written by C. E. Quick (aka Clarence Quick), an original member of the doo-wop vocal group The Del-Vikings (also spelled ‘Dell-Vikings’ on Dot records releases, with no dash). The song was originally recorded by The Del-Vikings in 1956 and was released by them on Fee Bee Records with Quick as the lead vocalist. The 1957 re-recording released on Dot Records featured Norman Wright as the lead vocalist.
First recorded by Merry Clayton (1963).
Also recorded by Ramona King (1963).
Hit versions by Betty Everett (US #6/R&B #1 1963 |UK #38 1968), The Searchers (1964), Bootleg Family Band (AUS #5 1974), Linda Lewis (UK #6 1975), Kate Taylor (US #49 1977), Cher (US #33/UK #1/IRE #1/SPN #1/NOR #1 1990).
Also performed by Linda Ronstadt & Phoebe Snow (1979).
From the wiki: “‘It’s in His Kiss’ was first rejected by the premier girl-group of the early 1960s, the New York-based Shirelles, and was instead first recorded in Los Angeles by Merry Clayton as her first credited single. Clayton had previously provided an uncredited female vocal to the hit ‘You’re the Reason I’m Living’ recorded by Bobby Darin as his debut on Capitol Records, and Darin had subsequently arranged for Clayton herself to be signed to Capitol.
“Clayton recorded ‘It’s in His Kiss’ – whose composer Rudy Clark was a staff writer for TM Music which Bobby Darin headed – in a session produced by Jack Nitzsche with The Blossoms (‘Stoney End‘, ‘He’s a Rebel‘) as chorale: the single was released June 10 1963 with no evident chart success.
Written and first recorded by Laura Nyro (1966).
Also recorded by The Blossoms (B-side 1967 |A-side 1969), The Stone Poneys (1968), Peggy Lipton (US #121 1968).
Hit version by Barbra Streisand (US #6/MOR #2/CAN #5/UK #27 1971).
From the wiki: “Laura Nyro (1947–1997) was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist. She achieved critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums Eli and the Thirteenth Confession (1968) and New York Tendaberry (1969), and had commercial success with artists such as Barbra Streisand and The 5th Dimension recording her songs.
“Nyro’s style was a hybrid of Brill Building-style New York pop, jazz, gospel, rhythm and blues, show tunes, rock, and soul. As a child, she taught herself piano, read poetry, and listened to her mother’s records by Leontyne Price, Billie Holiday and classical composers such as Ravel and Debussy. She composed her first songs at age eight. With her family, she spent summers in the Catskill Mountains, where her father played the trumpet at resorts.
“‘Stoney End’ was first recorded by Nyro in 1966 and released in 1967 on the Verve/Folkway album More Than a New Discovery (later reissued as Laura Nyro, 1969, and as The First Songs, 1973). For the single version of ‘Stoney End,’ Nyro was forced to rework some of the lyrics that referred to the Bible, because Verve felt it would cause too much controversy.
Written and first recorded by Jack Lee (1981).
Hit version by Paul Young (US #22/UK #4/GERM #1/IRE #3/BEL #1 1983).
From the wiki: “‘Come Back and Stay’ was written and first recorded in 1981 by Jack Lee (‘Hanging on the Telephone‘), who had earlier formed the seminal, yet short-lived Los Angeles power pop trio The Nerves.
“In 1983, singer Paul Young released his cover as a single from his album, No Parlez, and it became an international hit, including Young’s first US Top 40, peaking at #22 on the Billboard Hot 100.”
First recorded (as “Rising Sun Blues”) by Clarence “Tom” Ashley and Gwen Foster (1933).
Also recorded by Woody Guthrie (1941), Lead Belly (1944 |1948), Josh White (1947), Glenn Yarbrough (1957), Pete Seeger (1958), Andy Griffith (1959), Miriam Makeba (1960).
Hit versions by The Animals (US #1/UK #1/CAN #1/AUS #2/GER #10/SWE #4 1964), Frijid Pink (US #7/UK #4 1970).
From the wiki: “Like many classic folk ballads, the authorship of ‘The House of the Rising Sun’ is uncertain. Musicologists say that it is based on the tradition of broadside ballads such as The Unfortunate Rake of the 18th century and that English emigrants took the song to America where it was adapted to its later New Orleans setting. Alan Price of The Animals has even claimed that the song was originally a sixteenth-century English folk song about a Soho brothel.
Written and first recorded (as a demo) by Paul McCartney (1969).
Hit version by Badfinger (US #7/UK #4 1969).
From the wiki: “Paul McCartney recorded a solo demo of his song on 24 July 1969, when he arrived early for an Abbey Road album session. He sang the double-tracked lead vocal and played all the instruments: he sang and played piano on the first take, sang again and played maracas on the first overdub, drums came third and bass guitar was added last. It took less than an hour to finish.
First recorded by The Wrens (1955).
Also recorded by Cardinals (1955).
Hit version by Darts (UK #2 1978).
From the wiki: “The Wrens were an American doo-wop vocal group from The Bronx, New York City, and were best-known for their song ‘Come Back My Love’ which achieved some local popularity in New York City early in 1955 and put the Wrens on the map for R&B vocal fans. ‘Come Back My Love’ became their signature song despite competition from a cover version done by the Cardinals on Atlantic that same year. Neither recording charted nationally. In 1998, The Wrens were inducted into the United In Group Harmony Association’s Hall of Fame.
“Darts (‘The Girl Can’t Help It‘) were a nine-piece British Doo-wop revival band that achieved chart success in the late 1970s and early 1980s, including three successive #2 hits with revivals of early US Rock ‘n roll and R&B songs – among them ‘Come Back My Love’.”
First recorded by The Band of HM Royal Marines, Plymouth Division (1914).
Most popular versions by Malcolm Arnold (as “The River Kwai March Theme” 1957), Mitch Miller (as “The River Kwai March/Colonel Bogey March” US #20 1957).
From the wiki: “The ‘Colonel Bogey March’ is a popular march written and first published in 1914 by Lieutenant F. J. Ricketts (under the pseudonym ‘Kenneth Alford’), a British Army bandmaster who later became the director of music for the Royal Marines at Plymouth. The first recording of the march was made in 1914 by the Second Batallion Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders. The tune was inspired by a military man and golfer who whistled a characteristic two-note phrase instead of shouting ‘Fore!’.
“‘Going round in bogey’, starting at the Great Yarmouth Golf Club in 1890, was based on the phrase ‘bogey man’. Nationally, in the UK, golfers competed against ‘Colonel Bogey’, and this gave the title to the 1914 marching tune, ‘Colonel Bogey March’. By Edwardian times, the ‘Colonel’ had been adopted by the golfing world internationally as the presiding spirit of the golf course. ‘Bogey’ is now the golfing term meaning ‘one over par’.
First recorded as “Come and Take a Ride in My Boat” by The Rare Breed (1966).
Hit version by Every Mother’s Son (US #6 1967).
From the wiki: “‘Come on Down to My Boat’ was written by Jerry Goldstein and Wes Farrell, and was first recorded in 1966 as ‘Come and Take a Ride in My Boat’ by The Rare Breed (not to be confused with the UK band Rare Breed featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler), who would later perform as The Ohio Express (‘Yummy Yummy Yummy’, 1968). The song was covered by Every Mother’s Son in 1967, peaking in the Billboard Top-10.”
First recorded by Edgar Hayes & His Orchestra (1938).
Based on “Tar Paper Stomp” by Wingy Manone (1930).
Hit versions by The Glenn Miller Orchestra (US #1 1939), Ernie Fields & His Orchestra (US #4/R&B #7/UK #14 1959), Ray Stevens (US #40/C&W #39/UK #31 1977).
From the wiki: “‘In The Mood’ was arranged by Joe Garland and Andy Razaf based on a pre-existing melody: The main theme previously appeared under the title of ‘Tar Paper Stomp’ credited to jazz trumpeter/bandleader Wingy Manone. Manone recorded ‘Tar Paper Stomp’ in 1930 but because the song was not formally registered for copyright, it meant that the melody could be appropriated by any musician with a good ear. A story says that after ‘In the Mood’ became a hit, Manone was paid by Miller and his record company not to contest the copyright.
The original recording of ‘In The Mood’ was made by Edgar Hayes & His Orchestra in 1938, with songwriter Garland participating. Popular thought is that the melody had already become popular with Harlem bands (e.g. at the Savoy Ballroom) before being written down by Garland. Before offering it to Glenn Miller, Garland sold the tune to Artie Shaw, who could not record it because the original arrangement was too long.
Written and originally recorded by Otis Redding (US #35/R&B #4 1965).
Other hit version by Aretha Franklin (US #1/R&B #1/UK #10/CAN #3/AUS #14 1967).
From the wiki: “Essentially a ballad, ‘Respect’ was written by Otis Redding for Speedo Sims, who intended to record it with his band, the Singing Demons, but was unable to produce a good version. Redding then decided to sing the song himself, which Speedo agreed to. (Redding also promised to credit Speedo on the liner notes, but this never happened.)
First recorded (as “The Last Time”) by The Rolling Stones (US #9/UK #1/IRE #2 1965).
Based on “This May Be the Last Time” by The Staple Singers (ca. 1954).
Also recorded (instrumentally, as “The Last Time”) by The Andrew Oldham Orchestra (1965).
Hit version by The Verve (US #12/UK #2 1997).
From the wiki: “‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ is a song by English alternative rock band The Verve, and is the lead track on their third studio album, Urban Hymns (1997). It is based on former Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham’s orchestral version of The Rolling Stones’ song ‘The Last Time’ from which the Verve samples the main theme.
“The sampling, and the extent to which it was used, would later involve The Verve in legal controversy. Oldham had produced his hobby-project album, The Rolling Stones Songbook, in 1965 by recording orchestrated instrumental versions of several popular Stones melodies. Oldham’s production of ‘The Last Time’ was the only take on Oldham’s album not immediately recognizable by comparison to the original Rolling Stones recordings.
Written and first recorded by Buck Owens (B-side 1964).
Hit version by Ray Charles (US #6/R&B #5/UK #50 1966).
From the wiki: “‘Crying Time’ is a song from 1964 written by Buck Owens. Owens recorded the original version of his song and released it as the B-side to ‘I’ve Got a Tiger By the Tail’ in 1964. A cover version of ‘Crying Time’ was then recorded in 1965 by Ray Charles, featuring backing vocals by the Jack Halloran Singers and The Raelettes, and released on his 1966 album Crying Time. His version proved to be a hit strong Top 40 and R&B hit. Charles’ version of ‘Crying Time’ won two Grammy Awards in 1967, in the categories Best R&B Recording and Best R&B Solo Performance.
“Charles and Barbra Streisand together performed the song as a duet on her 1973 album Barbra Streisand … And Other Musical Instruments and on the TV special titled the same.”
First recorded by Jimmy Cliff (1970, released 1976).
Hit versions by The Pioneers (UK #5 1971), Brownville Station (US #57 1973).
From the wiki: “‘Let Your Yeah Be Yeah’ was written by Jamaican singer Jimmy Cliff who first recorded the song in 1970 but which went unreleased until 1976.
“Vocal trio The Pioneers recorded their version, co-produced by Cliff, in 1971. It peaked at #5 on the UK singles chart. In 1973, ‘Let Your Yeah Be Yeah’ was recorded by the US rock band Brownsville Station (‘Smokin’ in the Boy’s Room’) for their album Yeah!. Released as a single, it was the band’s second song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching #57.”