Songs with Earlier Histories Than the Hit Version

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1291 total songs ... and counting!

1970s, Rock

Ships

Written and first recorded by Ian Hunter (1979).
Hit version by Barry Manilow (US #9/MOR #4/CAN #29 1979).

From the wiki: “Ian Hunter (‘Once Bitten Twice Shy‘) began writing ‘Ships’ when he was with Mott The Hoople (1969-1974) but didn’t record it until 1979, for his solo album You’re Never Alone With A Schizophrenic. The song has been described as a hymn-like ballad about Hunter’s relationship with his father.

“‘Ships’ was soon after recorded by singer Barry Manilow for his sixth studio album, One Voice. Hunter recalled to Mojo magazine: ‘That whole Manilow thing was quite amusing. That guy’s no slouch when it comes to arranging. His dad had died and the song struck him that way, too.'”

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1930s, Swing

The Lady is a Tramp

First popular recording by Tommy Dorsey & His Clambake 7 with Edythe Wright (1937).
Hit/popular versions by Sophie Tucker (US #19 1937), Frank Sinatra (1957), Ella Fitzgerald (1957), Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga (US #121/UK #188/BEL #21/JPN #33 2011).
Also recorded by Midge Williams & Her Jazz Jesters (1937), Carl Perkins (1960), Alice Cooper (1974).
Also recorded (as “Maureen is a Champ”) by Frank Sinatra (1968).

From the wiki: “‘The Lady is a Tramp’ was a show tune from the 1937 Richard Rodgers and Lorenzo Hart musical Babes in Arms in which it was introduced by former child star Mitzi Green. The song is a spoof of New York high society and its strict etiquette (the first line of the verse is ‘I get too hungry for dinner at eight…’). Early recordings from 1937 include one by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra (featuring Edythe Wright on vocals), Midge Williams and Her Jazz Jesters, and Sophie Tucker.

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1970s, Rock

Since You Been Gone

Written and first recorded by Russ Ballard (1976).
Hit versions by Clout (1978), Head East (US #46 1978), Rainbow (US #57/UK #6 1979), Cherie & Marie Currie (US #95 1980).

From the wiki: “‘Since You Been Gone’ is the title of a rock song written and recorded by the former Argent guitarist, Russ Ballard (‘Winning‘), and first released on his 1976 album, Winning. Rainbow’s 1979 cover version with the lead singer, Graham Bonnet, was a Top 10 single in the United Kingdom, and was named the 82nd best hard rock song of all time by VH1.

“Other, earlier cover versions include those by Head East (1978) and by Clout (1978), originally a five-piece, South African million-selling all-girl rock group formed in 1977 and best known for their song, ‘Substitute’. Cherie Currie (The Runaways) also recorded ‘Since You Been Gone’ as a duet with her twin, Marie Currie, on their Messin’ with the Boys album in 1980.

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1960s, Rock 'n Roll

Love of the Loved

Written and first recorded by The Beatles (1962).
Hit version by Cilla Black (UK #35 1963).

From The Beatles Bible: “One of Paul McCartney’s earliest musical compositions, ‘Love Of The Loved’ was recorded by Cilla Black and released as a single in 1963. The song was part of The Quarrymen’s repertoire for a time, and the Beatles often played it at the Cavern Club in Liverpool.

“‘Loved of the Loved’ was one of 15 songs performed by the Beatles at their audition for Decca Records on 1 January 1962, but The Beatles’ recording is the only original composition from the audition not to have been made commercially available.

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1970s, Country

Return to Pooh Corner

First recorded (as “House at Pooh Corner”) by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (US #53 1970).
Also recorded (as “House at Pooh Corner”) by Loggins & Messina (1971).
Hit version by Kenny Loggins & Amy Grant (US #25 1994).

From the wiki: “‘House at Pooh Corner’ was written by Kenny Loggins, while still in high school, based on the popular children’s book of the same name. “Pooh Corner” would be first recorded in 1970 by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band for the album Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy.

“Loggins would then, in 1971, cover his own song with his producer and duo partner, Jim Messina, for their debut album Sittin’ In (on which also appeared the his ‘Danny’s Song’). In 1994, after the birth of his third child, Loggins (with Amy Grant) re-recorded the song, adding an additional verse, as ‘Return to Pooh Corner’.”

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1950s, R&B

Every Beat of My Heart

First recorded by The Royals (1952).
Hit version by The Pips (US #6/R&B #1 1961).

From the wiki: “‘Every Beat of My Heart’ is a rhythm and blues song by legendary band leader and disc-jockey Johnny Otis (‘Willie and the Hand Jive‘). It was first recorded in 1952 by a group Otis had discovered and groomed, the Royals (later to be known as Hank Ballard & the Midnighters).

“The Royals were first formed as the Four Falcons by guitarist and songwriter Alonzo Tucker in Detroit in 1952. In the group’s early years, various Four Falcons’ members included Jackie Wilson, Little Willie John, Freddie Pride, and Levi Stubbs, who all went on to become stars in their rights solo or with other groups after leaving the Royals.

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1950s, Blues

Heartbreak Hotel

Inspired by “Dreaming Blues” Roy Brown & His Mighty-Mighty Men (1950).
Recorded (as a demo) by Glenn Reeves (1955).
Hit version by Elvis Presley (US #1/C&W #1/UK #2 1956).

From the wiki: “‘Heartbreak Hotel’ was written in 1955 by Mae Boren Axton, a high school teacher with a background in musical promotion, and Jacksonville-based singer–songwriter Tommy Durden. The lyrics were based on a report in The Miami Herald about a man who had destroyed all his identity papers and jumped to his death from a hotel window, leaving a suicide note with the single line, ‘I walk a lonely street.’

“It has been alleged that the songwriting of ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ was not wholly original; that the rolling piano, and song’s basic chord structure, was copied note-for-note from Roy Brown’s 1950 R&B hit ‘Dreaming Blues’. Brown would also become known as the writer and original performer of B.B. King’s sole Top-40 hit, ‘The Thrill is Gone‘.

“Axton and Durden give different accounts of how their song was written: Durden’s account is that he had already written the song and performed it with his band the Swing Billys before he presented it to Axton; Axton’s account is that Durden had only penned a few lines of the song, and asked her to help him finish it.

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1970s, Country

She Believes in Me

Written and first recorded by Steve Gibb (1978).
Hit version by Kenny Rogers (US #5/C&W #1/UK #42/CAN #8 1979).

From the wiki: “‘She Believes in Me’ was written by Steve Gibb (not the Steve Gibb, son of Barry Gibb) and is the tale of a songwriter who has a beloved, that while she supports him, he sometimes wonders why. The song first appeared on Gibb’s 1978 album Let Me Sing. Recorded by Kenny Rogers in 1979, it became one of his biggest crossover hits in the late spring of 1979, reaching #1 on the Billboard Country Singles chart and crossing over to the Top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100.”

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1950s, Doo wop

I’m Leaving It (All) Up to You

Written and first recorded (as “Leavin’ It All Up to You”) by Don & Dewey (1957).
Hit versions by Dale & Grace (US #1/R&B #6 1963), Donny & Marie (US #4/C&W #17/UK #2 1974).
Also recorded by Linda Ronstadt (1970).

From the wiki: “‘I’m Leaving It All Up to You’ was written and first recorded by the Rock ‘n’ roll and Doo-wop duo Don & Dewey in 1957. Don & Dewey were Don ‘Sugarcane’ Harris and Dewey Terry, both of Pasadena, California. Both Don and Dewey played guitar, with Dewey often doubling on keyboards. When not playing guitar or bass, Don occasionally played the electric violin, a skill for which he subsequently became well known under the name of ”Sugarcane’ Harris’. ‘Wrecking Crew’ drummer Earl Palmer played frequently on their sessions.

“In 1970, Harris re-emerged from semi-retirement to a wider rock audience, playing violin on the Hot Rats solo album by Frank Zappa, with Captain Beefheart (vocals) on ‘Willie The Pimp’ and on the lengthy instrumental jam, ‘The Gumbo Variations’. Harris went on to play on many more solo Zappa, and Mothers of Invention, albums.

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1970s, Rock

Lotta Love

Written and first recorded by Neil Young (1978).
Hit version by Nicolette Larson (US #8/MOR #1/AUS #11/NZ #22 1978).

http://youtu.be/GhQr0kndwBE

From the wiki: “‘Lotta Love’ is a Neil Young composition written c. 1976 and performed in-concert before being recorded by Young for his 1978 album Comes a Time. ‘Lotta Love’ served as the lead single for Larson’s Ted Templeman-produced Nicolette album. Due to a delay in release, Comes a Time was released on the same day in September 1978 as was Nicolette. The release of any single off the Nicolette album was held off until November when it was clear Young’s version would not have be released as an A-side (although Young’s ‘Lotta Love’ would be released as the B-side of a non-charting ‘Comes a Time’ single).

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1940s, Broadway/Movies/Television

Taking a Chance on Love

First performed by Ethel Waters (1940).
First commercial recording by Ella Fitzgerald (1940).
Popular versions by Helen Forrest (US #1 1943), Ethel Waters (1946), Frank Sinatra (1954), Anita O’Day (1957).
Also recorded by Dinah Shore (1958), Liza Minnelli (1977).

From the wiki: “‘Taking a Chance on Love’ was written by Vernon Duke with lyrics by John La Touche and Ted Fetter, and has gone on to become a standard recorded by many artists. It was first performed in the Broadway musical Cabin in the Sky which opened at the Martin Beck Theater on October 25, 1940. (‘Taking a Chance on Love’ was added only three days before the New York opening, but it turned into the hit of the show.)

“The show was choreographed by George Balanchine and was a ground-breaking musical with an all-black cast. The leads were played by Ethel Waters as Petunia, Dooley Wilson (‘As Time Goes By‘) as her husband Little Joe, and Katherine Dunham as the temptress Georgia Brown.

“Waters introduced ‘Taking a Chance of Love’ as a show-stopping solo, reprising it at the end of Act I with Little Joe, and would reprise her performance in the 1943 motion picture release of Cabin in the Sky.

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1970s, Country

Danny’s Song

First recorded by Gator Creek (1970).
Also recorded by Loggins & Messina (1971).
Hit version Anne Murray (US #7/C&W #10/MOR #1/CAN #1 1973).

From the wiki: “‘Danny’s Song’ was written by singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins as a gift for his brother Danny and the birth of his son, Colin. ‘Danny’s Song’ was first recorded for an album by Loggins’ first group, Gator Creek, in 1970 and, a year later, on the album Sittin’ In, the debut album by Loggins and Messina.

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1970s, Pop

I Won’t Last a Day Without You

Written and first single release by Paul Williams (1973).
Hit versions by Maureen McGovern (US #84/MOR #19 1973), Diana Ross (B-side US #1 1973), The Carpenters (1972 |US #11/MOR #1/UK #9/CAN #7/JPN #40 1974).
Also recorded by Mel Tormé & Buddy Rich (1978).

From the wiki: “‘I Won’t Last a Day Without You’ was co-written by Paul Williams (‘We’ve Only Just Begun’) and Roger Nichols. He released his version as a single in 1973, but generated no chart success.

“Maureen McGovern covered the song and also released it as a single in 1973 (and included on her album The Morning After), with her arrangement peaking at #84 on the Billboard Hot 100. Diana Ross also covered the song for her 1973 album Touch Me in the Morning, and it was released as the B-side of the title track single release, ‘Touch Me in the Morning’, which became a #1 hit.

“It was in 1972 when Richard Carpenter first learned of the new song from Williams and Nichols, who had already contributed ‘We’ve Only Just Begun’ and ‘Rainy Days and Mondays’ to the Carpenters. Carpenter produced the recording that was included it on the Carpenters’ 1972 album A Song for You, but it would not be released as a single until 1974 when it would go US Top-20 and Top-10 in the UK and Canada.

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1940s, Pop

Stormy Weather

First recorded by Ethel Waters (US #1 1933).
Also recorded by Duke Ellington & His Famous Orchestra (1933), Frances Langford (1933).
Other popular versions by Leo Reisman & His Orchestra (US #1 1933), Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians (US #2 1933), Lena Horne (1941|US #21 1943), Kay Starr (1945), Billie Holiday (1952), Fats Comet (UK #17 1985).

From the wiki: “‘Stormy Weather’ was a 1933 song written by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler. Ethel Waters first sang it at The Cotton Club night club in Harlem in 1933 as part of The Cotton Club Parade of 1933 where, according to her autobiography, she ‘sang ‘Stormy Weather’ from the depths of the private hell in which I was being crushed and suffocated.’

“When I got out there in the middle of the Cotton Club floor, I was telling things I couldn’t frame in words. I was singing the story of my misery and confusion, of the misunderstandings in my life I couldn’t straighten out, the story of wrongs and outrages done to me by people I had loved and trusted.”

“Leo Reisman’s orchestra arrangement was one of the biggest hit on records in 1933 (with co-author Arlen himself as vocalist); Waters’ recorded version was also a top-seller. And it was Waters’ recording that would be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2003, with the Library of Congress additionally honoring the song by adding it in 2004 to the National Recording Registry.

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1960s, Pop

I’m a Believer

First recorded by Neil Diamond (1966, first released 1967).
Hit versions by The Monkees (US #1/UK #1/CAN #1/AUS #1 1966), Neil Diamond (US #51/MOR #31 1971), Robert Wyatt (UK #29 1974).
Also recorded by The Fifth Estate (1967), Neil Diamond (re-recording 1979).

From the wiki: “‘I’m a Believer’ was composed by Neil Diamond who’d already recorded his own version before it was covered by The Monkees. Diamond’s original recording, produced by the songwriting team of Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, was eventually released on his 1967 album Just for You.

“Diamond’s original recording was also released as a single in 1971, charting in the US and Australia. A revised recording, featuring additional lyrics, appeared on Diamond’s 1979 album September Morn. Diamond had also suggested the song to The Fifth Estate who did record ‘I’m a Believer’ as the 1967 follow-up to their hit single ‘Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead’, but it did not chart.

“‘I’m a Believer’ was the second single release for The Monkees. It hit the #1 spot on Billboard Hot 100 (and elsewhere worldwide) for the week ending December 31, 1966 and remained there for seven weeks, becoming not only the last #1 hit of 1966 but also the biggest-selling record for the whole of the next year, 1967. It is one of the fewer than forty all-time singles to have sold 10 million (or more) physical copies worldwide.

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1970s, Rock

I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock ‘n Roll)

Inspired by “You Never Can Tell”, Chuck Berry (1964).
Hit versions by Dave Edmunds (UK #26/AUS #32 1977), Nick Lowe & His Cowboy Outfit (US #77 1985).
Also recorded by Nick Lowe’s Last Chicken in the Shop (1978).

From the wiki: “Nick Lowe has indicated Chuck Berry’s ‘You Never Can Tell’ was the source of inspiration for his own song ‘I Knew The Bride (When She Used To Rock’n’Roll)’, first recorded and made popular in 1977 by Dave Edmunds. Lowe, the song’s writer, also recorded it as part of the 1978 Live Stiffs Live concert compilation (as ‘Nick Lowe’s Last Chicken in the Shop’) and, again, in the studio in 1985 with Huey Lewis & the News. This version was released as a single, peaking at #77 on the Billboard Hot 100.

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1970s, Pop

Don’t Cry Out Loud

First recorded (as “We Don’t Cry Out Loud”) by The Moments (R&B #79 1976).
Also recorded by Peter Allen (1977).
Hit versions by Elkie Brooks (UK #12 1978), Melissa Manchester (US #10 1978), Rita Coolidge (JPN 1979).

From the wiki: “‘Don’t Cry Out Loud’ is a song written in 1976 by Peter Allen (‘I’d Rather Leave While I’m in Love‘) with lyricist Carole Bayer Sager (‘Arthur’s Theme’, ‘That’s What Friends Are For‘). Bernadette Peters, who toured with Allen in 1989, has stated that Allen told her that ‘his mother taught him to always put your best face on’ in response to Allen’s father committing suicide when Allen was 14 years old. The references to ‘baby’ in the song refer to Allen’s younger sister.

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1950s, Blues

The Thrill is Gone

First recorded by Roy Hawkins (R&B #6 1951).
Other hit version by B.B. King (US #15/R&B #3 1969).

From the wiki: “‘The Thrill Is Gone’ was written by West Coast Blues musician Roy Hawkins and Rick Darnell in 1951. Hawkins’ recording of the song reached #6 in the Billboard R&B chart in 1951. In 1970, “The Thrill Is Gone” became a major hit for B.B. King.

“In the late 40s and early 50s, King was a disc jockey at radio station WDIA, Memphis, and it was there he first heard (and played) the Hawkins original. King decided to produce his own recording of ‘The Thrill is Gone’ in 1969, but was unhappy with the results until producer Bill Szymczyk called King late one night to suggest adding orchestral strings to the song’s arrangement. The song’s polished production and innovative use of strings marked a departure from both the original song (and previous Blues recordings, in general) and King’s earlier recordings.

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1960s, Rock

Octopus’s Garden

First recorded (as a rehearsal demo) by Ringo Starr with George Harrison (1969).
Hit album version by The Beatles (1969).

https://youtu.be/yqZp327u39c

From the wiki: “The idea for ‘Octopus’s Garden’ came about when Ringo Starr was on a boat in Sardenia belonging to comedian Peter Sellers in 1968. Starr ordered fish and chips for lunch, but instead of fish he got squid (it was the first time he’d eaten squid, and he said, ‘It was OK. A bit rubbery. Tasted like chicken.’) Then, the boat’s captain told Starr about how octopuses travel along the sea bed picking up stones and shiny objects with which to build gardens. The Let It Be film included a scene in which Harrison is shown helping Starr work the song out on piano.

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1960s, Rock

Let It Be

First recorded (as a demo) by Paul McCartney (1969).
First released by Aretha Franklin (1970).
Hit versions by The Beatles (US #1/UK #2/CAN #4/AUS #1/NZ #1/IRE #1/MOR #1/GER #2 1970), Ferry Aid (UK #1 1987).

From the wiki: “‘Let It Be’ was written by Paul McCartney (but credited to Lennon-McCartney), recorded by The Beatles, and released in March 1970 as a single and (in an alternate mix) as the title track of the group’s album Let It Be. But, The Beatles weren’t the first to release this song: Aretha Franklin was. The Queen of Soul recorded it in December, 1969, and it was released on her album This Girl’s In Love With You (but not as a single) in January, 1970, two months before The Beatles released their US and UK single in March 1970.

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1980s, Rock

Rhythm of My Heart

First recorded by René Shuman (1986).
Based on “Loch Lomond” (traditional).
Hit version by Rod Stewart (US #5/UK #3/CAN #1/IRE #1/AUS #2 1991).

From the wiki: “‘Rhythm of My Heart’ is a rock song written by Marc Jordan and John Capek for Dutch rock ‘n roll artist René Shuman’s 1986 debut album René Shuman, with a melody adapted from ‘Loch Lomond’.

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1960s, Rock

The Fool on the Hill

First recorded (as a demo) by Paul McCartney (1967).
Hit album/EP version by The Beatles (1967).
Also recorded by Sharon Tandy (1968).
Hit single versions by Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66 (US #6/MOR #1/AUS #14 1968), Eddie Fisher (1968), Shirley Bassey (UK #48 1969).

From the wiki: “‘The Fool on the Hill’ was written by Paul McCartney (but credited to Lennon-McCartney) and was his major contribution to the Magical Mystery Tour EP and album, released in late 1967, and to the Magical Mystery Tour TV film broadcast on Boxing Day (December 26), 1967. McCartney recorded a solo demo version of the song in the on 6 September 1967. The recording of the song by the group began in earnest on 25 September and was completed in two days, with flutes added a month later.

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1970s, Rock

Cruel to be Kind

Co-written by Nick Lowe and first recorded by Brinsley Schwarz (1974).
Hit version by Nick Lowe (US #12/UK #12 1979).
Also recorded by Enjoh Santyuutei (as “Koi No Howan Howan”) (1982), co-writer Ian Gomm (1997), Stavros Michalakakos (as “Vres to Nisi”) (2010).

From the wiki: “Nick Lowe co-wrote the song with his Brinsley Schwarz band mate, Ian Gomm, for the Brinsley Schwarz album, It’s All Over Now, though said album was never officially released. In 1979, Lowe re-recorded the song for his second solo album, Labour of Lust. Released as a single, ‘Cruel to be Kind’ peaked at #12 in both the US and the UK.”

“In 1982, Enjoh Santyuutei released a Japanese-language cover of the song. Lowe’s former Brinsley Schwarz band-mate. and ‘Cruel to be Kind’ co-writer, Ian Gomm recorded his version of ‘Cruel to be Kind’ in 1997 for the album Crazy for You (which would also be included on the 2005 Nick Lowe tribute album Lowe Profile). In 2010, Greek pop singer Stavros Michalakakos, second-season winner of the Greek version of the The X Factor, recorded ‘Cruel to be Kind’ as his debut single release.”

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1960s, Rock

We Gotta Get Out of This Place

Co-written and first recorded (as a demo) by Barry Mann (1965).
Hit versions by The Animals (US #13/UK #2/CAN #13/GER #31 1965), Angels (AUS #7/NZ #13 1987).
Also performed by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band (1976).

From the wiki: “‘We Gotta Get Out of This Place’ was written by the husband-wife songwriting team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, and recorded as a 1965 hit single by The Animals. It has become an iconic song and was immensely popular among United States Armed Forces during the Vietnam War. The song had been intended for The Righteous Brothers, for whom Mann-Weil had already written the #1 hit ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin”, but then Mann gained a recording contract for himself, and his label Redbird Records wanted him to release it instead.

“Meanwhile, record executive Allen Klein had also heard the demo and – without the knowledge of Mann or his producer, Don Kirshner – gave it to Mickie Most, The Animals’ producer. (Most already had a call out to Brill Building songwriters for material for The Animal’s next recording session Two of the group’s hits ‘It’s My Life’ and ‘Don’t Bring Me Down’ resulted from the same call.)

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