Songs with Earlier Histories Than the Hit Version

Help support this site! Consider clicking an ad from time to time. Thanks!

1291 total songs ... and counting!

1960s, Doo wop

Surfin’ Bird

Based on “Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow” (US #48 1962) and “The Bird is the Word” (US #52/R&B #27 1963) by The Rivingtons.
Hit version by The Trashmen (US #4 1963 |UK #50 2009).

From the wiki: “‘Surfin’ Bird’ has two musical foundations: ‘Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow’ and ‘The Bird Is The Word’, both written and recorded first by from The Rivingtons before The Trashmen mixed both songs together … without giving proper credits, leaving the opportunity wide open for The Rivingtons to sue (successfully). The Rivingtons had been known as the Sharps, and they had already had success in the charts with Thurston Harris’s ‘Little Bitty Pretty One‘, in 1957, after which they appeared on several Duane Eddy recordings when any extraneous sounds of rebel yells were required (e.g. Eddy’s 1958 hit ‘Rebel Rouser’). The group also recorded for Warner Brothers Records as The Crenshaws in 1961.

Read more →

1970s, Pop

After the Love Has Gone

Co-written and first recorded by Bill Champlin (1979 unreleased).
Hit version by Earth, Wind & Fire (1979).
Also recorded by Airplay (1980).

[Bill Champlin video is not currently available]

From the wiki: “‘After the Love Has Gone’ was written by David Foster, Jay Graydon and Bill Champlin. Champlin was the first to record the song (produced by Foster) but the recording went unreleased. Airplay, the recording group formed by Foster and Graydon, did produce and release a cover of ‘After the Love’ in 1980 with Graydon singing lead. Graydon tells the story (from Songfacts.com) of how the song came into being: ‘David Foster produced an album for Jaye P. Morgan in 1976 … Then he was at Motown playing some songs with Jaye to try to get a deal over there. He was in the middle of playing a song and he forgot the chorus, and he ad-libbed the chorus to ‘After The Love Has Gone.’

“‘He comes over to my house, and we went into my little dinky studio. He sits down at the piano, and he says, ‘Listen to this chorus.’ He plays it, and I said, ‘Hey, here’s an idea for a verse.’ And I went, ‘da da dom da da bom ba da da da.’ And he just immediately continued on with that, and we had the whole song written in about a 1/2-hour or 45-minutes.

Read more →

1970s, Pop

I Honestly Love You

Written and first recorded by Peter Allen (1974).
Hit version by Olivia Newton-John (US #1/MOR #1/C&W #6/UK #22/CAN #1/AUS #1 1974).

From the wiki: “‘I Honestly Love You’ was written by Jeff Barry (‘Chapel of Love‘) and Peter Allen (‘Don’t Cry Out Loud‘); the latter recorded it around the same time as its composition for his album Continental American. It would later appear in the juke-box musical about Allen’s life, The Boy from Oz.”

From Songfacts.com: “Olivia Newton-John recorded ‘I Honestly Love You’ in London. She remembers [being] ‘in a little tiny rickety studio, it was so small. The control room was upstairs and John Farrar was up there with the engineer and I was underneath and they had to sit still because it would creak, and you’d hear it in the microphone.’ Her recording 1974 Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance. It was Olivia Newton-John’s first ever #1 in the US and Canada, and it also topped the charts in Australia.

Read more →

1970s, Rock

We’ve Got Tonight

First recorded by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band (US #13 1978 |UK #49 1979).
Other hit versions by Kenny Rogers & Sheena Easton (US #6/MOR #2/C&W #1/UK #28 1983), Lulu & Ronan Keating (UK #4/AUS #6 2002).

From the wiki: “‘We’ve Got Tonight’ was written by Bob Seger, from his 1978 album Stranger in Town, and became a hit single for Seger and the Silver Bullet Band. In 1983, Country-Pop star Kenny Rogers recorded the song as a duet with Pop star Sheena Easton. Their recording reached #1 on the Billboard Country Singles chart, #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #2 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. The duet also reached the Top 30 in the UK.

Read more →

1960s, Pop

Sweet Blindness

Written and first recorded by Laura Nyro (1968).
Hit version by The 5th Dimension (US #13/R&B #45/CAN #15 1968).

From the wiki: “‘Sweet Blindness’ was written by Laura Nyro (‘Stoney End‘, ‘Eli’s Comin’‘, ‘And When I Die‘) and first recorded by her for the 1968 album Eli and the Thirteenth Confession. (At Nyro’s insistence, the album’s lyric sheet – which itself was a rarity for records in 1968 – was perfumed, and fans have reported that it still has a pleasant aroma.) When she’d sing ‘Sweet Blindness’ in concert, Nyro would introduce the song as ‘A little drinking song I wrote.’

“‘Sweet Blindness’ was another one of several Nyro songs that The 5th Dimension covered and took into the Top 40, also including ‘Wedding Bell Blues‘, ‘Stoned Soul Picnic‘, and ‘Save the Country‘.”

Read more →

1960s, Blues

Ball and Chain

First recorded (as “Ball ‘n Chain”) by Big Mama Thorton (c. 1961, released 1968).
Hit album version by Big Brother & The Holding Company (1968).

From the wiki: “‘Ball and Chain’ (also known as ‘Ball ‘n Chain’) was written and first recorded by Blues artist Willie Mae ‘Big Mama’ Thornton (‘Hound Dog‘). Although her recording did not appear on the record charts, ‘Ball ‘n’ Chain’ has become one of Thornton’s best-known songs largely due to performances and recordings by Janis Joplin with Big Brother & The Holding Company. According to music writer Gillian Gaar, Thornton originally had recorded the song for Bay-Tone Records in the early 1960s, but it was not released until 1968 (by Arhoolie Records). Gaar adds that ‘[Bay-Tone held] on to the copyright – which meant that Thornton missed out on the publishing royalties when Janis Joplin recorded the song later in the decade.’

“However, Thornton’s (and Big Brother/Joplin’s) releases do list ‘W.M. Thornton’ as the songwriter. In 1967, after hearing a set by Big Mama Thornton at the Both/And Club, Joplin and Big Brother guitarist James Gurley asked Thorton if they could record ‘Ball and Chain’. ‘OK, take it – and sing it,’ was all Thorton said and then she meticulously wrote down the lyrics of the song for Gurley to use. With permission granted, and a signed release by Thorton’s manager, Jim Moore, Big Brother & The Holding Company began performing ‘Ball and Chain’ as part of their set.

Read more →

1980s, Rock

Better Be Good to Me

First recorded by Spider (1981).
Hit version by Tina Turner (US #5/R&B #6/UK #45/CAN #6/AUS #28/NZ #22/IRE #22 1984).

From the wiki: “‘Better Be Good to Me’ was written by Mike Chapman (‘Mickey‘, ‘Kiss You All Over’), Nicky Chinn and Holly Knight, and enjoyed its greatest commercial success on Tina Turner’s solo album, Private Dancer.

“The song had originally been released in 1981 by Spider, a New York City band that included co-writer Knight as a member. Chapman is an Australian record producer and songwriter who was a major force in the British pop music industry in the 1970s and early 1980s. He created a string of hit singles for artists including Sweet, Suzi Quatro, Smokie, Mud, and Racey, and later produced breakthrough albums for Blondie and The Knack.

Read more →

1960s, Rock

Love Buzz

First recorded by Shocking Blue (1969):
Single release by Nirvana (1988).

From the wiki: “‘Love Buzz’ was written by Robbie van Leeuwen of the Dutch band Shocking Blue and first released on the group’s 1969 album, At Home. The song was later covered by Nirvana, who released it as their debut single in 1988. A slightly different mix of the song would also appear on the debut album, Bleach. This version is missing a 10-second sound collage introduction put together by Kurt Cobain. ‘Love Buzz’ was later released in the UK on Nirvana’s Blew in the UK in December 1989.”

Read more →

1950s, R&B

Lawdy Miss Clawdy

First recorded by Lloyd Price (R&B #1 1952).
Other hit versions by Elvis Presley (UK #15 1957), Gary Stites (US #47 1960), The Buckinghams (US #41 1967), Mickey Gilley (C&W #3 1976).

From the wiki: “‘Lawdy Miss Clawdy’ was an R&B song written by New Orleans singer/songwriter Lloyd Price (‘Personality’) that ‘grandly introduced The New Orleans Sound’ to the world according to music writer Rick Coleman. It was first recorded by Price in 1952, along with Dave Bartholomew and Fats Domino backing Price for his first session with Specialty Records.

“In 1952, Art Rupe, founder of Specialty Records in Los Angeles, had come to New Orleans in search of new talent. Local recording studio owner Cosimo Matassa introduced him to Bartholomew, who had co-written and produced many of Fats Domino’s early hit records. Bartholomew invited nineteen year-old Lloyd Price to audition for Rupe at Matassa’s J&M Studio. The accounts differ on what happened next.

“According to Rupe, Price spent too much time rehearsing and Rupe threatened to leave if he did not get it together; Rupe then relented and Price turned out an emotional performance of ‘Lawdy Miss Clawdy’, prompting Rupe to cancel his return flight and to arrange for a full recording session.

Read more →

1970s, Soul

Sharing the Night Together

First recorded by Arthur Alexander (R&B #92 1976).
Also recorded by Lenny LeBlanc (1976).
Hit version by Dr. Hook (US #6/C&W #50 1978 |UK #43 1980).

From the wiki: “‘Sharing the Night Together’ was written by Ava Aldridge and Eddie Struzick, and was first recorded by Arthur Alexander (‘You Better Move On‘, ‘Anna‘, ‘Burning Love‘) in 1976. In almost simultaneous release in 1976 was a version recorded by Lenny Leblanc (LeBlanc & Carr, ‘Falling’), with co-writer Struzick on background vocals, but which had no chart impact.

“‘Sharing the Night Together’ was later a Top 10 single for Dr. Hook off the 1978 album Pleasure & Pain.”

Read more →

1920s, Country

Lovesick Blues

First recorded (as “I’ve Got The Love-sick Blues”) by Elsie Clark (1922).
Also recorded by Jack Shea (1922), Emmett Miller & His Georgia Crackers (1928), Rex Griffin (1939).
Hit versions by Hank Williams (US #24/C&W #1 1949), Frank Ifield (US #44/UK #1 1962).

From the wiki: “First published as ‘I’ve Got The Love-sick Blues’ and introduced by Vaudeville singer Anna Chandler in the musical Oh, Ernest, ‘Lovesick Blues’ was first recorded by Elsie Clark in a March 1922 for OKeh Records, then was covered by Jack Shea for Vocalion Records later the same year. In 1928, ‘Lovesick Blues’ was covered by Emmet Miller (accompanied by his ‘Georgia Crackers’, including Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, Eddie Lang, and Leo McConville) and, in 1939, by country singer Rex Griffin.

“The recordings by Miller and Griffin would inspire Hank Williams to perform the song during his first appearances on The Louisiana Hayride in 1948. Receiving an enthusiastic reception by the audience, Williams decided to record his own version despite an initial push-back from his band and his producer, Fred Rose.

Read more →

1920s, Folk

Big Rock Candy Mountain

First recorded (as “Big Rock Candy Mountains”) by Harry McClintock (1928).
Popular versions by Burl Ives (1949), Pete Seeger (1957), Dorsey Burnette (B-side US #102 1960).

From the wiki: “‘Big Rock Candy Mountain’, first recorded by Harry McClintock in 1928, is a folk music song about a hobo’s idea of paradise – a place where ‘hens lay soft boiled eggs’ and there are ‘cigarette trees’. McClintock claimed to have written the song in 1895, based on tales from his youth hobo-ing through the United States, but some believe that at least aspects of the song have existed for far longer. McClintock was a member of the Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W.), and the author of other labor songs as ‘Haywire Mac’, ‘Sam Bass’ and ‘Hallelujah Bum Again’. His original 1928 recording was used on the O Brother, Where Art Thou soundtrack (minus the plural form). The song achieved widespread popularity in 1949 when a sanitized version intended for children was recorded by Burl Ives. A version recorded in 1960 by Dorsey Burnette reached #102 on Billboard’s chart.

Read more →

1980s, Rock

Our Lips Are Sealed

Co-written and first recorded by The Go-Go’s (US #20/UK #47/CAN #3 1981).
Other hit version by Fun Boy Three (UK #7 1983).

From the wiki: “‘Our Lips Are Sealed’ was written by The Go-Go’s guitarist Jane Wiedlin and Fun Boy Three singer Terry Hall (formerly of The Specials). The Go-Go’s supported The Specials on the latter’s 1980 US tour. According to Wiedlin, she and Hall had had an affair despite him having a girlfriend and this led to correspondence between Wiedlin and Hall about his ‘complicated situation’ from which the two pulled lyrics for the song. ‘Lips’ was first recorded by The Go-Go’s (and produced by Richard Gottehrer, who had co-written and helmed the recording of The Angels’ ‘My Boyfriend’s Back’ 18 years earlier) as the opening track on their 1981 album Beauty and the Beat and served as the group’s debut American single in June 1981. In 1983, Hall’s band, Fun Boy Three, released a more ominous-sounding cover of ‘Our Lips Are Sealed’. Issued as a UK single, the track became Top 10 there, and remains the best-known version of ‘Lips’ in that country and on the Continent. In 2000, Rolling Stone named ‘Our Lips Are Sealed’ one of the 100 Greatest Pop Songs of All Time.

Read more →

1930s, Pop

(Somewhere) Over the Rainbow

First released by The Larry Clinton Orchestra feat. Bea Wain (US #10 1939).
Other hit versions by The Glenn Miller Orchestra (US #1 1939), Judy Garland (US #5 1939), Bob Crosby & His Orchestra (US #2 1939), The Demensions (US #16 1960), Patti LaBelle & The Bluebells (R&B #20 1966), Eva Cassidy (UK #42 2001), Cliff Richard (UK #11 2001), Israel Kamakawiwo’ole (1993; released US #22 2002 |UK #68 2007 |GER #1 2010).

From the wiki: “‘Over the Rainbow’ (often referred to as ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’) is a classic Academy Award-winning ballad, with music by Harold Arlen (‘Stormy Weather‘, ‘Blues in the Night‘) and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg. Arlen came up with the melody while sitting in his car in front of the original Schwab’s Drug Store in Hollywood. Harburg hated it at first because he thought the tempo was too slow. After Arlen consulted with his friend, Ira Gershwin, he sped up the tempo and Harburg came up with the lyrics. A lot of effort went into the first line. Ideas that didn’t make the cut included ‘I’ll go over the rainbow’ and ‘Someday over the rainbow’.

Read more →

1960s, Gospel

Chain of Fools

Inspired by “Pains of Life” by Rev. Elijah Fair & the Sensational Gladys Davis Trio (1967).
Hit version by Aretha Franklin (US #2/R&B #1 1967).

From the wiki: “‘Chain of Fools’ was inspired by the gospel song ‘Pains of Life’, released earlier in 1967 by the obscure Houston, TX, Gospel group Elijah Fair & The Sensational Gladys Davis Trio. ‘Pains of Life’ has the same melody as the later song; the chorus, ‘Pain, Pain, Pain’, is echoed as ‘Chain, Chain, Chain’ in the Franklin recording.

“‘Pains of Life’ first appeared on the Feron record label almost a full year before Franklin belted out her big 1967 hit. ‘Chain Of Fools’ is credited to Don Covay and was produced by Jerry Wexler for Atlantic Records. (Covay’s father was a Baptist minister, so, he might have been familiar with the Gospel music scene in Houston.)”

Read more →

1980s, Soul

Living in America

Co-written and first recorded (as a demo) by Dan Hartman (1984).
Hit version by James Brown (US #4/R&B #10/UK #5 1985).

From the wiki: ‘Living in America’ was written and first recorded as a demo by Dan Hartman (‘I Can Dream About You‘) in 1984, and posthumously released in 1994 on the album Keep the Fire Burnin’. Hartman produced both his original demo and the James Brown cover that would be used in the movie and on the soundtrack album for Rocky IV. ‘Living in America’ would be the last of Brown’s forty-four hit recordings to appear in the Billboard Top 40. (Also, Stevie Ray Vaughn played guitar on both the cover and original recordings!)”

Read more →

1980s, Country

Should I Do It

First recorded by Tanya Tucker (C&W #50 1981).
Other hit version by The Pointer Sisters (US #13 1982).

From the wiki: “‘Should I Do It’ was written by Nashville songwriter Layng Martine and was first recorded by Tanya Tucker in 1981. The Pointer Sisters covered the song with greater chart success in 1982, releasing it, after ”Slow Hand’, as their second single from Black and White (1981).”

Read more →

1950s, Rock 'n Roll

It’s So Easy!

First recorded by The Crickets (1958).
Also recorded by Bobby Vee (1963), The Trashmen (1963), Waylon Jennings (1969).
Hit version by Linda Ronstadt (US #5/UK #11/CAN #9 1977).

From the wiki: “‘It’s So Easy!'” was written by Buddy Holly and Norman Petty, and first released as a single by Holly under the moniker of his band, The Crickets. The single did not chart.

“Bobby Vee, The Trashmen (‘Surfin’ Bird’), and Waylon Jennings were among the several performers who recorded cover versions of ‘It’s So Easy!’ in the decade after its original release, before Linda Ronstadt’s Peter Asher-produced Top-5 single was released in 1977 to promote Ronstadt’s Simple Dreams album.”

Read more →

1940s, Country

Rag Mop

Written and first recorded (as “Get the Mop”) by Henry “Red” Allen (1944).
Hit versions by Johnnie Lee Wills & His Boys (US #9/C&W #2 1949), Doc Sausage & His Mad Lads (R&B #4 1950), The Ames Brothers (US #1 1950).

From the wiki: “‘Rag Mop’ is a 12-bar blues, adapted by Tulsa Western Swing bandleader Johnnie Lee Wills (Bob Wills’ younger brother) and steel guitarist Deacon Anderson from an earlier song, ‘Get the Mop’, composed by Jazz trumpeter and band leader Henry ‘Red’ Allen. (Wills and Anderson would later be successfully sued for plagiarism by Allen’s publisher.)

“Considered a novelty song, the lyrics to ‘Rag Mop’ consisted almost entirely of spelling out the song title; because of that, it is sometimes referred to as ‘Ragg Mopp’. Wills and his band first covered ‘Rag Mop’ for Bullet Records in 1949, but the most popular version of the song was recorded by The Ames Brothers and released by Coral Records in 1950. Doc Sausage & His Mad Lads also covered the song in 1950, peaking on the R&B chart at #4.

Read more →

1950s, Rock 'n Roll

Come Together

Inspired by “You Can’t Catch Me” by Chuck Berry (1956).
Hit version by The Beatles (US #1/UK #4 1969).

From the wiki: “In 1969, Lennon composed the song ‘Come Together’ for The Beatles’ album Abbey Road but its history began when Lennon was inspired by Timothy Leary’s campaign for governor of California against Ronald Reagan, which promptly ended when Leary was sent to prison for possession of marijuana. Lennon recalled, ‘The thing was created in the studio. It’s gobbledygook; ‘Come Together’ was an expression that Leary had come up with for his attempt at being president or whatever he wanted to be, and he asked me to write a campaign song. I tried and tried, but I couldn’t come up with one. But I came up with this, Come Together, which would’ve been no good to him – you couldn’t have a campaign song like that, right?’

Read more →

1950s, R&B

Just Because

Written and first recorded (as “A Little Word”) by Shirley & Lee (1956).
Hit version by Lloyd Price (US #29/R&B #3 1956).
Also recorded by John Lennon (1973/1974).

From the wiki: “‘A Little Word’ was written by Leonard Lee, and released as the B-side to Shirley & Lee’s ‘That’s What I’ll Do’ non-charting single released in February 1956 (ahead of their chart-topping ‘Let the Good Times Roll’).

“Lloyd Price would adapt ‘A Little Word’ into “Just Because’. Price had already recorded one of the biggest-selling songs of the early Rock ‘n roll era, ‘Lawdy Miss Clawdy’, in 1952, but his career momentum was cut short when he was drafted into the Army in 1954. Upon his discharge, Price found he had been replaced at Specialty Records by Little Richard. Price then decided to start his own label – The Kent Recording Company (KRC). Kent Records began in late 1956 with Price as its only artist. The label’s first release was ‘Just Because’, on which Price played piano and produced the session.

Read more →

1960s, Folk

The Circle Game

First recorded by Ian & Sylvia (1967).
Also recorded by Buffy Sainte Marie (1967).
Hit album versions by Tom Rush (US #68 1968), Joni Mitchell, writer (US #27 1970).

From the wiki: “‘The Circle Game’ was written by Joni Mitchell but was first recorded by Ian & Sylvia in 1967. Tom Rush recorded the song in 1968 and used as the title track for his song-cycle album, The Circle Game. The songs on the album follow the cycle of a relationship from its beginning to an end, according to the lyric content and sequencing of songs.

“‘The Circle Game’ can be read as the turning point of the relationship while Rush’s song ‘Rockport Sunday’ ends the romance instrumentally. Mitchell would record a cover of her own composition for inclusion on her 1970 album Ladies of the Canyon that also included such notable original songs as ‘Big Yellow Taxi’ and ‘Woodstock’.”

Read more →

1950s, R&B

A Lover’s Question

Co-written and first recorded by Brook Benton (1958).
Hit versions by Clyde McPhatter (US #6/R&B #1 1958), Del Reeves (C&W #14 1970), Jacky Ward (C&W #3 1978).
Also recorded by Loggins & Messina (1975).

From the wiki: “‘A Lover’s Question’ was written by Brook Benton (‘Rainy Night in Georgia‘) and Jimmy T. Williams, and first recorded by Benton in 1958. That same year, it was covered by Clyde McPhatter (formerly of The Dominoes and founder of The Drifters) and became his most successful solo pop or R&B release. Only 39 at the time of his death in 1972, McPhatter struggled for years with alcoholism and depression and was, according to Jay Warner’s On This Day in Music History, ‘broke and despondent over a mismanaged career that made him a legend but hardly a success.’

“McPhatter was the first artist in music history to become a double inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame … first as a member of The Drifters and, later, as a solo artist and, as a result, all subsequent double and/or triple inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are said to be members of ‘The Clyde McPhatter Club’.

Read more →

1960s, Rock

Midnight Confessions

First recorded by The Ever-Green Blues (1967).
Hit version by The Grass Roots (US #5 1968).

From the wiki: “‘Midnight Confessions’ was written by Lou T. Josie and originally recorded by the Ever-Green Blues in 1967 for their album 7 Do Eleven (because The Ever-Green Blues were a 7-piece band doing eleven songs). Their recording caught the attention of producer Steve Barri who was looking for a song for The Grass Roots to record that was a ‘West Coast’ approximation of a Motown-style production.

“Because of the way The Grass Roots was handled by its producers, it is unlikely that any of the members of the band actually played on their recording of ‘Midnight Confessions’ (members of The Wrecking Crew did) except to provide the vocals and to perform it in concert. Regardless, it was the Grass Roots’ first single to feature a horn section and was a departure from the group’s previous singles and thus caused worry for the band members that it might not have become a hit. The Grass Roots, however, did not need to worry as the single became their biggest hit in the United States, peaking at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100.”

Read more →