written and first recorded (as “Blue Yodel #8”) by Jimmie Rodgers (1930).
Hit versions by Bill Monroe (1940), The Fendermen (US #5/UK #32/CND #2 1960).
Also recorded by Woody Guthrie (1944), Odetta (1956).
From the wiki: “‘Mule Skinner Blues’ is a classic country song written by Jimmie Rodgers. The song was first recorded by Rodgers in 1930 and has been recorded by many artists since then, acquiring the de facto title ‘Mule Skinner Blues’ although Rodgers had originally titled it ‘Blue Yodel #8’.
First performed by Todd Duncan (1955).
First commercial release by The Lex Baxter Orchestra (US #1 1955).
Other hit versions by Al Hibbler (US #3 1955), Jimmy Young (UK #1 1955), Roy Hamilton (US #6/R&B #1 1955), Liberace (UK #20 1955), The Righteous Brothers (US #4/R&B #6/UK #14 1965 |US #13/CAN #4/UK #1/IRE #1/AUS #1/NZ #1 1990), LeAnn Rimes (C&W #3 1996).
From the wiki: “‘Unchained Melody’ is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret, used as a theme for the little-known prison film Unchained (hence the name). Todd Duncan sang the vocals for the film soundtrack. ‘Unchained Melody’ has since become one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, by some estimates having spawned over 500 versions in hundreds of different languages.
First recorded by The Great Society (1966, released 1968).
Hit version by Jefferson Airplane (US #8 1967).
From the wiki: “The Great Society made its debut at the Coffee Gallery in San Francisco’s North Beach section on October 15, 1965 and continued to perform throughout 1966.
First recorded (as “Chariot”) by Franck Pourcel (1961).
First recorded (in French) as “Chariot” by Petula Clark (UK #39/FRA #1/BEL #8 1962).
Also recorded (in English) as “I Will Follow Him” by Petula Clark (DEN #4 1963).
Other hit version by Little Peggy March (US #1/R&B #1/AUS #1/NZ #1/JPN #1 1963).
From the wiki: “‘I Will Follow Him’ was first recorded as an instrumental titled ‘Chariot’ in 1961 by Franck Pourcel, who co-wrote the song with Paul Mauriat (‘Love is Blue‘). It was released on Pourcel’s European LP Amour, Danse, Et Violons. No.17.
“In 1962, Petula Clark recorded a French-language version (with lyrics by Jacques Plante), an arrangement that hit #1 in France and #8 in Belgium and earned Clark a gold record. Her English-language version, with lyrics by Norman Gimbel and Franck Pourcel, was released in early 1963 by Pye in the UK and by Laurie in the USA with no chart impact – but Clark’s English-language version did peak at #4 on the Danish music chart. Clark also recorded Italian and German versions of the song, with her Italian version, ‘Sul mio carro’, reaching #4 in Italy, and her German version, ‘Cheerio’, reaching #6 in Germany.
Written and originally recorded by Arthur Alexander (US #68/R&B #10 1962).
Hit album version by The Beatles (1963).
From the wiki: “‘Anna (Go to Him)’ (or simply ‘Anna’) was written and originally recorded by Arthur Alexander, and is considered to be one of the great early Soul ballads even if its loping groove was closer to a mid-tempo song than a slow ballad.
“‘Anna’ was actually a minor pop hit (but Top-10 R&B) when it first came out in 1962, peaking #68 on the Pop charts. However, it was a personal favorite of John Lennon, and ‘Anna’ had been a part of the Beatles live set since its release in 1962. ‘Anna’ would become more famous for its cover version by the Beatles than when originally released by Alexander.
Originally recorded by The Vipers Skiffle Group (1957).
Also recorded by Judy Garland (1964), and The Beatles (1969).
From the wiki: “Banned by BBC Radio on its release because of the sexual content of the lyrics, ‘Maggie May’ (also known as ‘Maggie Mae’) is a traditional Liverpool folk song about a prostitute who robbed a ‘homeward bounder’: a sailor coming home from a round-trip. The song specifies several real streets in Liverpool, notably Lime Street in the center of the town.
“The Vipers Skiffle Group formed in the spring of 1956 in central London, originally as a trio of singer-guitarists, including future radio and TV personality Wally Whyton. The group became the resident band at the 2i’s Coffee Bar in Soho. After a number of hit records produced by future Beatles producer George Martin, including Whyton’s song ‘Don’t You Rock Me Daddy-O’, the group split up in 1960, and Whyton moved into television work. (Martin would later comment that working with the Vipers gave him important experience in working with an ‘informally trained but enthusiastic group of musicians.’)
First recorded (as “My Girl Sloopy”) by The Vibrations (US #26/R&B #10 1964).
Other hit versions by Little Caesar & The Consuls (CAN #1/US #50 1965), The McCoys (US #1/UK #5 1965), The Ramsey Lewis Trio (US #11/R&B #6 1965).
Also re-recorded by Ramsey Lewis (1973).
From the wiki: “‘Hang On, Sloopy’ is a 1964 song owned by Wes Farrell and Bert Russell, originally titled ‘My Girl Sloopy’. A tale told around Columbus, Ohio, is that Sloopy was a waitress/singer, who used the name ‘Sloopy’ on stage. The truth is the song was never about her. It was written by a St. Louis teen who created a fictitious ‘Sloopy’ and then sold his publishing rights to Farrell and Russell.
First recorded by The Jayhawks (US #18 released May 1956).
Other hit versions by The Cadets (US #15/R&B #4 released June 1956), The Gadabouts (US #39 released July 1956), The Vibrations (US #117 1961), The New York Dolls (1974).
Also recorded by The Nylons (1996).
From the wiki: “‘Stranded in the Jungle’ is a song first recorded by doo-wop group the Jayhawks. It peaked at #18 on the U.S. pop chart. A cover version of the song recorded by another doo-wop group, the Cadets, in 1956 peaked at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at #3 on the R&B chart the same week, with yet another cover version, by the Gadabouts, peaking at #34 on the Hot 100 one week later. All three groups would prove to be one-hit wonders, with ‘Stranded in the Jungle’ being the only Top 40 hit for any of them.
Originally recorded by The “5” Royales (US #81 1957).
Inspired by “I Don’t Want You to Go” by The Casanovas (1955).
Other hit versions by The Shirelles (US #89 1959 |US #3 1961 reissue) and The Mamas and The Papas (US #2/UK #2/AUS #5/NZ #10/IRE #7/SA #2 1967).
From the wiki: “‘Dedicated to the One I Love’ is a song written by Lowman Pauling and Ralph Bass which was a hit for The ‘5’ Royales, The Shirelles, and The Mamas & The Papas. Pauling was the guitarist of The ‘5’ Royales; Bass produced the 1957 recording session. The 1957 release peaked at #81 on the Billboard Hot 100. Songwriters Pauling and Bass owed a lot of their inspiration to Chester Mayfield’s song ‘I Don’t Want You To Go’ recorded by the Casanovas in 1955 on Apollo, the former label of The ‘5’ Royales.
First recorded by Danny Thomas (1973).
First single release by Ray Price (C&W #1 1973).
Also recorded by Dean Martin (1973).
Hit versions by Gladys Knight & The Pips (US #3/R&B #1/UK #7 February 1974), The Persuaders (US #85/R&B #29 March 1974).
From the wiki: “‘You’re the Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me’ — also known simply as ‘Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me’ — is a song written by Jim Weatherly, and enjoyed two runs of popularity, each by an artist in a different genre. The song’s first run of popularity, as ‘You’re the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me,’ came in 1973. That’s when Country singer Ray Price took the song to #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart on October 6, 1973.
Co-written and first recorded by Dan Penn (1965).
Hit version by James & Bobby Purify (US #6/R&B #5 1966 |UK #12 1976).
From the wiki: “Dan Penn’s writing credits read like a soul jukebox. Often working with his friend Spooner Oldham, Penn (who kept busy performing, producing and songwriting at Muscle Shoal’s famed FAME studio) was behind many of the defining songs from the most celebrated black singers of the Sixties: James Carr’s ‘The Dark End of the Street’; Aretha Franklin’s ‘Do Right Man, Do Right Woman’; Percy Sledge’s ‘It Tears Me Up’; Otis Redding’s ‘You Left The Water Running’; and James and Bobby Purify’s ‘I’m Your Puppet’.
Written and first recorded by John Hartford (1967).
Also recorded Tompall & the Glaser Brothers (1967).
Hit version by Glen Campbell (US #62/C&W #30 1967 |US #39/C&W #44/MOR #8 1968).
From the wiki: “‘Gentle On My Mind’ won two 1968 Grammy Awards. Hartford himself won the award for Best Folk Performance. The other award, Best Country & Western Solo Vocal Performance (Male), went to Country music singer Glen Campbell for his hit version of Hartford’s song.
“Hartford reported that he was inspired to write the song after seeing the film Doctor Zhivago when his own memories took over, and that it took about fifteen minutes for him to write down the music and lyrics, and he would record it in-studio on February 2, 1967 and release it on the album Earthwords & Music. Hartford would later re-record ‘Gentle On My Mind’ in 1977 for inclusion on the album All in the Name of Love.
First recorded (as “Shake It Up, Babe”) by The Top Notes (1961).
Hit versions by The Isley Brothers (US #17/R&B #2 1962), The Beatles (US #2/UK #1 1963).
From the wiki: “In 1961, a year after Phil Spector became a staff producer at Atlantic Records, he was asked to produce a single by an up-and-coming Philadelphia vocal group, the Top Notes (sometimes named ‘Topnotes’): ‘Shake It Up, Babe.’ This was before Spector had perfected his ‘Wall of Sound’ technique, and the recording lacked all of the energy the Top Notes exhibited in its live performances. Also, rather ironically, even though ‘twist’ was in the title, Spector chose to arrange the song in a pseudo-Bossa nova style, it being the dance fashion of the day.
“Songwriter Bert Russell felt Spector had ruined the song, and went out to show Spector how the song should be done. When the Isley Brothers decided to record the song in 1962, Russell opted to produce, and thus demonstrate to Spector, what he had intended to be the ‘sound’ of the record.
“The resulting recording captured the verve of an Isley Brothers live performance, and became the trio’s first record to reach a Top 20 position in the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart (peaking at #2 on the R&B chart).
Originally recorded by Eric Burdon (1966).
Also recorded by Randy Newman (1970).
Hit versions (titled “Mama Told Me (Not to Come)”) by Three Dog Night (US #1 1970), Tom Jones & Stereophonics (UK #4 2000).
From the wiki: “‘Mama Told Me (Not to Come)’ is a song by Randy Newman written for Eric Burdon’s first solo album in 1966. A scheduled single-release of September 1966 was withdrawn, but the song was eventually included on the US-only 1967 album Eric Is Here (billed as ‘Eric Burdon & The Animals’ although the actual band with Burdon is the Horace Ott Orchestra).
First released by The Four Preps (1967).
Also recorded by The Everly Brothers (1967), Waylon Jennings (1967), John Denver (1969), John Hurley, co-writer (1970), Stiff Little Fingers (1982).
Hit versions by The Winstons (US #54 1969), Nicky Thomas (UK #9 1970), Paul Young (US #45/UK #2/IRE #1/NETH #1 1983).
From the wiki: “‘Love of the Common People’ is a Folk ballad composed by John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins (‘Son of a Preacher Man’, 1968), eventually released by the songwriter himself in 1970 on Hurley’s album John Hurley Sings about People. But, the first recorded and distributed arrangement was released in January 1967 as a promotional single by The Four Preps, in a session arranged and conducted by Leon Russell, with no apparent chart impact.
“The song was quickly covered by both the Everly Brothers and country singer Waylon Jennings in 1967, followed by covers by the soul group The Winstons (1969), John Denver (on his 1969 Rhymes & Reason album), reggae artist Nicky Thomas (1970), punk rockers Stiff Little Fingers in 1982, and English pop singer Paul Young in 1982 (re-released in 1983).
First recorded by The Carpenters (1975) but not released until 1994.
Also recorded by David Pomeranz, composer (1975), Gene Pitney (1975).
Hit versions by Barry Manilow (US #10/MOR #1 1976), The Carpenters (UK #44 1994).
From the wiki: “‘Tryin’ to Get the Feeling Again’ was written for The Carpenters by David Pomeranz, who also recorded his own version of it in 1975, for his 1976 album It’s In Everyone Of Us. The Carpenters’ version of ‘Tryin’ To Get The Feeling Again’ was taped during the Horizon recording sessions in 1975, but was shelved for being ‘one too many ballads.’ Seven years after production wrapped on the song, Richard was looking for songs to include on Voice of the Heart – the first album released after Karen’s untimely death in 1983.
“According to Richard, the basic but uncompleted rhythm tracks were located but it was thought any recording of Karen’s vocal had been permanently lost. Even though the final production vocal intended for the release of the record had been recorded over and was gone, Richard did find a ‘work lead’ in its place – hidden away on a master tape that also contained the song ‘Only Yesterday’.
First recorded (as a demo) by Paul McCartney (1963).
Hit version by Peter & Gordon (US #1/UK #1 1964).
Also recorded by Bobby Rydell (US #80 1964), The Supremes (1964).
From the wiki: “Paul McCartney did not think the song was good enough for The Beatles. Prior to giving the song to Peter & Gordon, he offered it to Billy J. Kramer, who rejected it. McCartney wrote the song when he was 16. In 1963, when he moved into the London home of his then-girlfriend Jane Asher, sharing a room with her brother Peter Asher, he offered the song to Asher and Gordon Waller after the pair obtained a recording contract as Peter & Gordon.
Originally recorded (as “Pout Toi”) by Dario Moreno (1957).
Hit versions by Morris Albert (US #6/MOR #2/UK #4/CAN #18/AUS #5/NZ #4/IRE #5 1975), Walter Jackson (US #93/R&B #9 1976).
From the wiki: “‘Feelings’ is credited to Louis Gasté (also known as Loulou Gasté) and Brazilian singer Morris Albert, and was made famous by Albert who recorded it as a single first released in late 1974. In 1981, Gasté sued Albert for copyright infringement, claiming that ‘Feelings’ plagiarized the melody of his 1957 song ‘Pour Toi’, recorded for the soundtrack to the 1957 movie Le feu aux poudres. They now share the credits of the song.
“Soul ballad singer Walter Jackson charted in the R&B Top-10 in 1976 with his arrangement of ‘Feelings’.
Written and first recorded by Laura Nyro (1967).
Hit version by Three Dog Night (US #10/CAN #4 1969).
From the wiki: “‘Eli’s Comin” was written and recorded in 1967 by singer-songwriter and pianist Laura Nyro, and was first released in 1968 on Nyro’s album, Eli and the Thirteenth Confession.
“The song was later recorded – twice – by Three Dog Night in 1969, for their album Suitable for Framing (for which see note on piano outro) and, later the same year, Captured Live at the Forum. The studio version of ‘Eli’s Comin” reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100.”
Originally recorded by Santana featuring Tina Turner (2002) but unreleased until 2007.
Hit version by Santana featuring Michelle Branch (US #5/UK #16/CAN #4 2002).
From the wiki: “Tina Turner originally recorded ‘Game of Love’ for Santana. However, this version remained unreleased until 2007 when it was featured on the album Ultimate Santana. The Michelle Branch recording was released as single in 2002, It won a Grammy Award for ‘Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals’, as well as peaking at #5 in on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.”
Written and first recorded by Bob & Earl (US #44/R&B #44 1963 |UK #7 1969).
Other hit version by The Rolling Stones (US #5/UK #13/NZ #1/AUS #6 1986).
From the wiki: “Bobby Byrd and Earl Nelson had both been members of The Hollywood Flames, a prolific doo-wop group in Los Angeles, California whose major hit was ‘Buzz Buzz Buzz’ in 1958. By 1957, Byrd had started a parallel solo career, writing and recording for contractual reasons as Bobby Day. He wrote and recorded the original version of ‘Little Bitty Pretty One‘ (a hit for Thurston Harris), but had a hit of his own with ‘”Rockin’ Robin’ (1958). In 1960, Byrd and Nelson began recording together as Bob & Earl, on the Class record label.
Written and first recorded (as “Jock-a-mo”) by Sugar Boy & His Cane Cutters (1953).
Hit versions by The Dixie Cups (US #20 1965), Dr. John (US #71 1972), The Neville Brothers (1981), Natasha (UK #10 1982), Belle Stars (UK #35 1982 |US #14 1989), BeauSoleil (1989).
From the wiki: “The song, under the original title ‘Jock-A-Mo’, was written and released as a single in 1953 by James Crawford as ‘Sugar Boy & His Cane Cutters’ that failed to make the charts. The song that tells of a parade collision between two ‘tribes’ of Mardi Gras Indians and the traditional confrontation of a ‘spy boy’ (i.e. a lookout for one band of Indians) encountering the ‘flag boy’ or guidon carrier for another ‘tribe.’ He threatens to ‘set the flag on fire.’ Crawford set phrases chanted by Mardi Gras Indians* to music for the song but himself states that he had no idea what the words meant, and that he originally sang the phrase ‘Chock-a-mo’. But, the title was misheard by Chess Records president Leonard Chess, who misspelled it on the label as ‘Jock-a-mo’ for the record’s release.
First recorded by The Blossoms (1963).
Also recorded by The Ronettes (1964).
Hit versions by The Dixie Cups (US #1/CAN #1/UK #22 1964), Bette Midler (US #40 1973).
From the wiki: “‘Chapel of Love’ is a song written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector. It was first recorded by the Blossoms (Darlene Love, Fanita James, and Jean King) in April 1963 but would not be released as a single. ‘Chapel of Love’ would also be recorded by The Ronettes (for whom the song was originally intended) and included on the 1964 album Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes featuring Veronica but was also not released as a single. Both sessions were produced by Phil Spector.
First recorded by Bo Diddley (May 1956, released 2007).
Hit versions by Mickey & Sylvia (US #11/R&B #1 October 1956), Maddox Brothers & Rose (C&W #82 1957), Betty Everett & Jerry Butler (R&B #42 1964), The Everly Brothers (UK #11, 1965), Peaches & Herb (US #13/R&B #16 1967).
Also recorded by Wings (1971).
From the wiki: “The song was based on a guitar riff by Jody Williams. The song was written by Bo Diddley under the name of his wife at the time, Ethel Smith. The first recorded version of ‘Love Is Strange’ was performed by Diddley, who completed it in a session on May 24, 1956 with Williams on lead guitar.
“However, Diddley’s version was not released until its appearance in 2007 on I’m a Man: The Chess Masters, 1955-1958. (Diddley would maintain that he just never got around to releasing the record.)
