First performed by Louis Armstrong (1938).
First recorded by Ethel Waters (1938).
Hit versions by Al Donahue & His Orchestra (US #1 1938), Larry Clinton & His Orchestra (US #12 1938), Louis Armstrong (US #12 1939).
From the wiki: “‘Jeepers Creepers’ was written by Harry Warren, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer (Mercer claims to have first heard the expression from Henry Fonda), for the 1938 Warner Brothers movie Going Places. Louis Armstrong appears in the part of Gabriel, the trainer of a race horse named Jeepers Creepers. Jeepers Creepers is a very wild horse and can only be soothed enough to let someone ride him when Gabriel plays the song ‘Jeepers Creepers’ on his trumpet or sings it to him. Warren and Mercer would share an Academy Award nomination for Best Song in 1939.
First recorded by The Benny Carter Orchestra (1941).
Hit versions by Vaughn Monroe (US #1 1945), Jimmy Dorsey & His Orchestra (US #8 1945), The Modernaires (US #11 1945), Sam Cooke (US #81/R&B #25 1959), Bobby Vinton (US#1/UK #34 1963).
From the wiki: “‘There! I’ve Said It Again’ was written by Redd Evans and David Mann – popularized originally by Vaughn Monroe (with the Norton Sisters) in 1945, along with other charting versions by Jimmy Dorsey, and the Modernaires.
“Sam Cooke charted in lower reaches of the Hot 100 in 1959 with his arrangement. But, it was the late 1963 single release by Bobby Vinton that returned ‘There! I’ve Said It Again’ back to the top of the national charts. Vinton would remain #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for four weeks in January 1964 before being displaced by an import from England. ‘There! I’ve Said It Again’ gained the auspicious claim of being the last #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 before the Beatles’ scored their first #1 with ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’, changing the course of music history – and dominating the Hot 100 the remainder of 1964.”
Co-written and first recorded by Barry Goldberg (1973).
Hit version by Gladys Knight & The Pips (US #4/R&B #1 1973).
Also recorded by Bob Dylan (bootleg 1984), Joe Cocker (1989), Gerry Goffin, co-writer (1995), Joan Osborne (2007).
From the wiki: “‘I’ve Got to Use My Imagination’ was written by Gerry Goffin (‘Up on the Roof‘, ‘Oh No Not My Baby‘, ‘Saving All My Love for You‘, ‘One Fine Day’) and by Barry Goldberg, and was first recorded by Goldberg in 1973 at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio with co-producers Jerry Wexler and Bob Dylan (also on backing vocals and percussion).
“Goldberg was the pianist behind Dylan at the infamous ‘Dylan goes electric’ Newport Folk Festival performance in 1965 (he was a member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band that had backed Dylan), and it was Dylan who helped Goldberg secure the deal with Atlantic Records that resulted in the 1974 release of Barry Goldberg.
First recorded by Smoke (1972).
Hit version by Love Unlimited (R&B #70 1973).
“‘Oh Love (Well We Finally Made It)’ was written by Barry White, was first recorded by Bob Relf’s group, Smoke, in 1972 (not to be confused with the UK group The Smoke). (Relf was one-half of ‘Bob & Earl’, after the departure of Bobby Day, who famously recorded ‘Harlem Shuffle‘ in 1963 with an arrangement by White.)
“White’s female trio, Love Unlimited, also recorded ‘Oh Love …’ at the same session, using the same backing track performed by Smoke that was later augmented with the addition of a string arrangement by White’s newly formed Love Unlimited Orchestra. But, Love Unlimited’s recording was held back from release, not becoming a promotional single until July 1973 when it would nick the R&B chart, peaking at #70.”
Inspired by “Cadillac Boogie” by Jimmy Liggins & His Drops of Joy (1947).
Hit version by Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats (R&B #1 1951).
Also recorded by Bill Haley & His Saddlemen (1951).
From the wiki: “If ‘Rocket 88’ is to be considered the first ‘Rock ‘n Roll’ song (as musicologists do), then ‘Cadillac Boogie’ must be the seed from which sprang the tree. Jackie Brenston admits he modeled his song on the Jimmy Liggins’ ‘Cadillac Boogie’, trading in the Caddy for a 1951 Oldsmobile Rocket Hydramatic 88. And it was about time they did. On their way from Clarksdale, MS, to Sun Studios in Memphis, TN, to record with Sam Phillips, the Delta Cats’ 1940 Ford Town Car was soaked in a downpour, damaging some band equipment including the band’s guitar amplifier.
“As luck would have it, Phillips liked the distortion coming now from the damaged amplifier and kept it in the recording. (Note: Even though ‘The Delta Cats’ were listed on the label, the group did not legally exist per se. Instead, the band was a derivative of then-19-year-old Ike Turner & His Kings of Rhythm band. Brenston was Turner’s saxophone player.)
First recorded by The Crickets (B-side 1957).
Hit versions by The Rolling Stones (US #43/UK #3 1964), Rush (CAN #88 1973), Tanya Tucker (US #70 1979).
From the wiki: “‘Not Fade Away’ is credited to Buddy Holly (originally under his first and middle names, Charles Hardin) and Norman Petty, and was first recorded by Holly under the moniker of his band, The Crickets. The group recorded the song in Clovis, New Mexico, on May 27, 1957, the same day the song ‘Everyday’ was recorded. The song’s rhythm pattern is a variant of the Bo Diddley beat; Crickets drummer Jerry Allison pounded out the beat on a cardboard box.
“‘Not Fade Away’ was originally released as the B-side of the hit single ‘Oh, Boy!’ and was included on the album The “Chirping” Crickets (1957). Even though the Crickets’ recording never charted as a single, Rolling Stone ranked ‘Not Fade Away’ at #107 on its list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
“Contrary to the depiction in the 1978 film The Buddy Holly Story, ‘Not Fade Away’ was NOT the last song Holly ever performed before his fatal plane crash. In a 50th anniversary symposium held in Clear Lake, Iowa, where Holly last performed, discussion panel members Tommy Allsup, Carl Bunch, and Bob Hale – the emcee at that final show of February 2, 1959 – all agreed that the final song of the night was Chuck Berry’s ‘Brown Eyed Handsome Man’, performed on-stage together by all of the acts.
First recorded by Janet Brace (US #23 1953).
Other hit versions by Dinah Washington (R&B #4 1954), The DeCastro Sisters (US#2/UK #20 1954), Jo Stafford (US #15 1955), George Maharis (US #25 1962), Al Jarreau (US #70/R&B #51 1982).
Also recorded by Amy Winehouse (2003).
From the wiki: “‘Teach Me Tonight’ was written by Gene De Paul, the lyrics by Sammy Cahn, and first recorded in 1953 by Janet Brace. Dinah Washington recorded the first cover in 1954, charting into the R&B Top 5.
“The DeCastro Sisters, a Cuban trio, recorded it with Skip Martin’s orchestra and had the biggest hit with the song, peaking at #2 on the Hit Parade.
First recorded by The Shirelles (1964, released 1994).
Hit versions by Maxine Brown (US #24 1964), Manfred Mann (UK# 11 1964), Merry Clayton (US #71/R&B #30 1972), Rod Stewart (UK #6 1973).
Also recorded by Carole King (1980).
From the wiki: “‘Oh No Not My Baby’ was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. The first recorded version of the song was by The Shirelles, with the group’s members alternating leads – an approach that ultimately rendered the song unreleasable because it was a great departure from the Shirelle’s ‘standard’ sound. It would not be released until appearing on the compilation Shirelles: Lost and Found in 1994.
“Maxine Brown recalls, then, that Stan Greenberg, Scepter Records executive, gave her the song with the advisement that she had to ‘find the original melody’ from the recording by The Shirelles: ‘They [had gone] so far off by each [group member] taking their own lead, no one knew any more where the real melody stood.’
First recorded by Dick Jurgens & His Orchestra (1941).
Hit version by The Glenn Miller Orchestra (US #1 1941).
From the wiki: “The story goes that ‘Elmer’s Tune’ was named for it’s creator, Elmer Albrecht, an undertaker’s assistant, who used to practice the song on the piano at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, Illinois. His mortuary job was nearby and so he made a deal with The Aragon Ballroom owner who let Elmer practice there every day or so.
“Local bandleader, Dick Jurgens, would often hear Elmer practicing this melody and one day decided to help him finish his song. Dick Jurgens & His Orchestra completed the first recording of ‘Elmer’s Tune’ as an instrumental. Lyrics were later written by Sammy Gallop, at which time The Glenn Miller Orchestra recorded the number featuring Ray Eberle & The Modernaires. Miller’s recording stayed on the Hit Parade for seventeen consecutive weeks.”
Written and first recorded by Solomon Burke (US #58/R&B #4 1964).
Also recorded by The Rolling Stones (1965).
Other hit versions by Wilson Pickett (US #29/R&B #19 1967), The Blues Brothers (1980 |UK #12 1990).
From the wiki: “‘Everybody Needs Somebody to Love’ was written by Solomon Burke but also credited to Bert Berns and Atlantic Records co-owner and producer Jerry Wexler. Many years later, Burke recalled, ‘When I did it for Jerry Wexler and Bert Burns (sic), they told me that song would never make it. I said, ‘Well, I tell ya what—I’ll give you a piece of it.’ They said, ‘That’s the way we’ll get the record played, so we’ll take a piece of it.’ In those days, they took a piece of your songs—a piece of the publishing—but in the end, you didn’t have any pieces left. Even now, I’m still struggling to get the publishing, the royalties, and that’ll never happen.’
“On May 28, 1964, Burke recorded ‘Everybody Needs Somebody to Love’. Released by Atlantic, it peaked at #4 on the R&B chart but missing the US Top 40 – peaking at #58 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“The Rolling Stones almost immediately in January 1965 covered ‘Everybody Needs Somebody to Love’, for their 1965 album The Rolling Stones No. 2. The version on the US The Rolling Stones, Now! album was an earlier version of the song and apparently issued by mistake.
“Wilson Pickett covered the song in 1966, and his recording did make it to #29 on the Top 40 and #19 R&B in early 1967. A re-release of The Blues Brothers’ 1978 recording nudged the UK Top 10 in 1990.
“‘Everybody Needs Somebody to Love’ is ranked #429 on the Rolling Stone magazine’s 2004 list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and ranked #447 in Dave Marsh’s book, In The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made.”
First recorded (as a demo) by John Lennon (1964).
Hit version by The Beatles (US #53 1964).
From the wiki: “John Lennon got a head start on writing new material for the yet untitled first Beatles movie, in early January 1964, when he wrote and recorded the initial home demos for ‘If I Fell’ in his London flat. He later recalled ‘That’s my first attempt to write a ballad proper. That was the precursor to ‘In My Life’. It has the same chord sequence as ‘In My Life’: D and B minor and E minor, those kinds of things. And it’s semi-autobiographical, but not consciously. It shows that I wrote sentimental love ballads, silly love songs, way back when.’
“Brought into the studio for the group to record, ‘If I Fell’ was recorded in 15 takes on 27 February 1964. The song’s acoustic introduction – which is not repeated elsewhere in the song, musically or lyrically – made its first appearance on take 11. However, the home demo recorded by Lennon also contained the passage.
First recorded (as “Mama Socked It to the Harper Valley PTA”) by Margie Singleton (1968).
Also recorded by Billie Jo Spears (1968).
Hit version by Jeannie C. Riley (US #1/C&W #1/CAN #1 1968).
From the wiki: “‘Harper Valley P.T.A.’ was written by Tom T. Hall who reportedly first offered the song to Skeeter Davis (‘End of the World’, 1962), who declined. The story goes that Hall, after driving past a school called Harpeth Valley Elementary School in Bellevue, Tennessee, noted the name and commenced writing ‘Harper Valley P.T.A.’ about a fictional confrontation between a young widow, Stella Johnson, and the local PTA who objected to her manner of dress, social drinking, and general friendliness with town’s men folk.
“On Songfacts.com, however, Hall recalls the song being based on a true event: ‘I was just hanging around downtown when I was about nine years old and heard the story and got to know this lady. I was fascinated by her grit. To see this very insignificant, socially disenfranchised lady – a single mother – who was willing to march down to the local aristocracy and read them the riot act so to speak, was fascinating.’
First recorded (as a demo) by Barry Mann (1961).
First commercial release by Bruce Bruno (1962).
Hit versions by Jimmy Clanton (US #7 1962), Mark Wynter (UK #4 1962).
From the wiki: “‘Venus In Blue Jeans’ was written by Howard Greenfield and Jack Keller (about actress Eileen Berner, whom Keller was dating at the time). Demo’ed by Barry Mann (co-writer ‘Don’t Know Much‘, ‘Never Gonna Let You Go‘) in 1961, the song had its first commercial release in 1962 by New Rochelle, NY, singer Bruce Bruno with no apparent chart impact.
First recorded (as a demo titled “As Time Goes By”) by Mick Jagger & Keith Richards (1964).
Hit versions by Marianne Faithful (US #22/UK #9 1965), The Rolling Stones (US #6/MOR #10 1965).
https://youtu.be/VumR41QADNk
From the wiki: “‘As Tears Go By’ was one of the first original compositions by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Up until that point The Rolling Stones had chiefly been performing Blues standards. A story surrounding the song’s genesis has it that Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham locked Jagger and Richards in a kitchen in order to force them to write a song together, even suggesting what type of song he wanted: ‘I want a song with brick walls all around it, high windows and no sex.’
“The result was initially named ‘As Time Goes By’, the title of the song Dooley Wilson sings in the film Casablanca. It was Oldham who replaced ‘Time’ with ‘Tears’. According to Jagger biographer Philip Norman, the song was mainly created by Jagger, in co-operation with session guitarist Big Jim Sullivan (who plays the 12-string guitar on the demo).
“Oldham subsequently gave the ballad (a format that the Stones were not yet known for) to Marianne Faithfull, then 17, for her to record as a B-side. Without even asking if she could sing, Andrew asked her if she wanted to cut the record. The success of the recording caused the record company, Decca, to switch the song to an A-side, where it became a very popular single on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.”
First recorded by The Go-Go’s (DANCE #35 1980).
Hit version by The Go-Go’s (US #2 1982).
From the wiki: “Written by the group’s lead guitarist and keyboardist Charlotte Caffey, and considered to be their signature song, ‘We Got the Beat’ was first recorded in 1980 and released in July as a single in the UK on Stiff Records (available in the US, then, only as an UK import). The song’s single release brought the Go-Go’s underground credibility in the UK. The song climbed to #35 on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart due to its popularity in clubs as an import.
“From Songfacts.com, Jane Wiedlin remembers, ‘[B]efore we got our record deal with IRS, we actually put out one single in England so that when we toured we had something to sell, and we had like a one single deal with Stiff Records, who were the record company that had signed The Specials and Madness – we also toured with Madness in England. And then that single was a previous version of ‘We Got The Beat’. So, I guess technically that was our first single.’
Written and first recorded by Ian & Sylvia (1964).
Also recorded by The Chad Mitchell Trio (1965), The Vogues (1965).
Hit versions by We Five (US #3 1965), Crispian St. Peters (US #36/UK #2 1966), Barry McGuire (ITA #19 1966).
http://youtu.be/iFp9c_tvZZ8?t=4s
From the wiki: “‘You Were On My Mind’ was written by Sylvia Tyson in 1964, and originally performed and recorded by her and Ian Tyson as the duo Ian & Sylvia. It first appeared on their 1964 album, Northern Journey. The following year, We Five recorded a cover that charted in the Billboard Top 5. Crispian St. Peters (‘The Pied Piper’) scored a sizable UK hit in 1966 with his cover version. A 1966 cover by Barry McGuire (‘Eve of Destruction’, ‘California Dreamin’‘) peaked in the Italian Top 20.”
Written and first recorded by Tracy Chapman (US #48/MOR #19/CAN #27 1988).
Also recorded by Neil Diamond (1989), Sanchez (1989).
Other hit versions by Boyzone (UK #2/IRE #2/NZ #11/DAN #2 1997), Tracy Chapman & Luciano Pavarotti (UK #3 2001), Ronan Keating (GER #42 2005).
From the wiki: “‘Baby Can I Hold You?’ was written by Tracy Chapman, and first recorded for release in 1988. The song reached the Top 50 in the US but peaked at only #48, failing to become Chapman’s second Top 40 hit. Chapman subsequently re-recorded the song as a duet with Luciano Pavarotti for the CD Pavarotti and Friends for Cambodia and Tibet. ‘Baby Can I Hold You?’ was also re-released as a single in promotion of Chapman’s hits package Collection in 2001 and, this time, reached #3 in the UK. Neil Diamond recorded the song for his 1989 album, The Best Years of Our Lives and became the first of many artists to cover the song.
Written and first recorded (as “Baby, I’ve Been Thinking (Society’s Child)”) by Janis Ian (1966).
Hit version by Janis Ian (US #14 1967).
From the wiki: “‘Society’s Child (Baby I’ve Been Thinking)’ was a song written in 1965 by Janis Ian centering around the then-taboo subject of interracial romance. Ian was 13 years old when she was motivated to write the song and she completed it when she was 14. Ian published it (credited to ‘Blind Girl Grunt’) in Broadside (Issue #67), the underground magazine that had brought attention to folk songs by artists like Bob Dylan (who had made some early recordings, in 1962 and 1963, as ‘Blind Boy Grunt’) and Pete Seeger before they hit the mainstream.
“The song was originally recorded for Atlantic, who declined to release it and returned the master to Ian. It was after meeting producer Shadow Morton that Ian re-entered the studio to record the retitled ‘Society’s Child’ with additional studio musicians. Still, there was resistance to it. Morton took the new recording to 22 record companies before Verve/Folkways, a spin-off of MGM Records, agreed to distribute the single.
Written and first recorded (as “There is a Mountain”) by Donovan (US #11/UK #8 1967).
Also recorded by Dandy Livingstone (1967).
Adapted by The Allman Brothers (1972).
From the wiki: “‘There Is a Mountain’ is a song and single by British singer/songwriter Donovan, released in 1967 and charting in the US and UK. ‘There is a Mountain’ was first covered, in 1967, by Reggae artist Dandy Livingstone (‘A Message to You, Rudy‘).
“‘Mountain Jam’ is the improvised instrumental jam based on the Donovan song. The Allman Brothers were inspired to improvise on it after hearing the Grateful Dead’s jam ‘Alligator’, from the Dead’s Anthem of the Sun album (1968). ‘Mountain Jam’ was recorded at Fillmore East in March 1971 to be included on the mixed live/studio album Eat A Peach, the last Allman Brothers albums to include founding member and lead guitarist Duane Allman before his accidental death in September 1971.
First recorded by The Jazztet (1960).
Hit version by Quincy Jones (US #74/MOR #29/R&B #47 1969).
From the wiki: “‘Killer Joe’ was composed by tenor saxophonist Benny Golson, co-founder (with trumpeter Art Farmer) of the Jazz sextet ‘The Jazztet’. The Jazztet was ‘famous for nicely structured, precise yet soulful pieces and a swinging style,’ and benefited from having a set of strong compositions by Golson including ‘Killer Joe’ (reviewed as being ‘lean and mean, with Farmer’s muted horn in the lead and horns blowing softly over a bridge where the rhythm is suspended’). The Jazztet played at the Newport Jazz Festival in June 1960 and the first Atlantic City jazz festival two days later, and won Down Beat magazine’s ‘International Critics Poll New Star’ award in 1960 for Jazz groups.
“In 1969, Quincy Jones recorded ‘Killer Joe’ for the Walking in Space album. His production featured Ray Brown on bass and Grady Tate on drums. Released as a single, it charted in the lower reaches of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970; also charting #47 on the R&B chart and #29 on the MOR chart.”
Written (by Carl Storie) and first recorded by Faith Band (1978).
Hit version by Nigel Olsson (US #18 1979).
From the wiki: “Faith Band was a Rock band from Indianapolis, Indiana, who, between 1973 to 1979, released five albums: Faith in 1973, Excuse Me, I Just Cut an Album in 1977, Rock’n Romance in 1978, and Face to Face and Vital Signs in 1979. The group gained notable popularity regionally in the Indianapolis area in 1978 with Rock’n Romance, which contained the original recording of ‘Dancin’ Shoes’.
“Nigel Olsson, on a solo break from being Elton John’s drummer, recorded a cover the next year of ‘Dancin’ Shoes’ that would become his first (and only) US Top-20 hit.”
First recorded by Bert Weedon (UK #24 1960).
Other hit versions by The Shadows (UK #1 1960), Jørgen Ingmann (US #2/R&B #9 1961), Sonny James (US #86 1961), The Sugarhill Gang (R&B #13 1982).
Also recorded by Incredible Bongo Band (1973), Fat Boy Slim (1998).
From the wiki: “‘Apache’ was written by Jerry Lordan. Bill Weedon was the first to record ‘Apache’ (in May 1960) but it went unreleased for several months. According to Weedon:
‘Francis, Day & Hunter sent me the music early in 1960. I immediately liked the tune and so arranged and recorded it for release later on in the year. In February I was contacted by Jerry Lordan who asked me when I was going to release it, and I explained that I would put it out in September because this was when most people bought records. I told him not to worry, that it was done, and it would be out. A few months later I heard that The Shadows had covered it. Nothing wrong with that of course, they were fully entitled to.’
“As happened, The Shadows were on tour in mid-1960 with Lordan as a supporting act. The band discovered ‘Apache’ when Lordan played it for them on a ukulele. Lordan figured the tune would be a better fit for The Shadows; the band agreed, and so did the buying public. By the time the Weedon recording was hurriedly but belatedly released, The Shadows’ version was quickly vaulting to #1 on the UK Singles chart. However, neither the Shadows nor Weedon had any impact on North America.
“In North America, the tune is identified most with Jørgen Ingmann, a Jazz guitarist from Denmark. His 1961 cover version, credited to ‘Jørgen Ingmann and His Guitar’, made it to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #9 on the US R&B chart. A vocal version was later recorded that year by Sonny James. It peaked at #86 on the Hot 100.
Written and first recorded (as a demo titled “It’s Great to Be Young and in Love”) by Mort Shuman and Doc Pomus (1958).
Hit versions by Dion & The Belmonts (US #5 1958 |UK #28 1959), Marty Wilde & The Wildcats (UK #2 1959), Craig Douglas (UK #13 1959).
Also recorded by The Wailers (1965).
From the wiki: “‘Teenager In Love’ was the first big hit co-written by Mort Shuman and Doc Pomus (‘Save The Last Dance For Me’, ‘This Magic Moment‘, ‘(Marie’s the Name) His Latest Flame‘), and had as its genesis an earlier Pomus-Shuman collaboration titled ‘It’s Great to Be Young and in Love’ heard, in the above recording, as it was being written.
“Dion & the Belmonts’ recording of ‘Teenager in Love’ is considered one of the greatest songs in rock and roll history. It is on the list of Rolling Stone magazine’s Top 500 Most Influential Rock Songs. Pomus was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992; Shuman was inducted in 2010.
First recorded by The Equals (1966 |IRE #2/BEL #1/NETH #6/NOR #4/AUS #10 1967 |US #32/UK #1 1968).
Also recorded by Eddy Grant (1984).
Other hit version by Pato Banton & UB40 (UK #1/AUS #11/IRE #2/SCOT #1/NZ #1 1994).
From the wiki: “‘Baby, Come Back’ was written by Eddy Grant (‘Police On My Back‘, ‘Electric Avenue’), and originally performed and recorded by him and the rest of his band – The Equals – in 1966. The song was first released in 1966, a year after the band formed, but did not chart. However, after impressive sales in the rest of Europe (where it reached the Top 10 in Belgium and The Netherlands), the single was re-issued in the UK and reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart in July 1968.
