Songs with Earlier Histories Than the Hit Version

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Tagged: Dolly Parton

1970s, Country

Here You Come Again

First recorded (as a demo) by Barry Mann (1977).
First released by B.J. Thomas (1977).
Hit version by Dolly Parton (US #3/C&W #1/CAN #7 1977).
Re-recorded by Barry Mann (2000).

From the wiki: “‘Here You Come Again’ is a rare example of a Dolly Parton success that she did not write herself; it was composed by the songwriting duo of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil (‘Don’t Know Much‘, ‘(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration’, ‘Never Gonna Let You Go‘). The pair had originally composed ‘Here You Come Again’ in 1975 as a potential comeback hit for Brenda Lee, but Lee decided not to record it.

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1970s, Country

I Will Always Love You

Written and originally recorded by Dolly Parton (C&W #1 1973 |C&W #1 1982).
Also recorded by Linda Ronstadt (1975).
Other hit version by Whitney Houston (US #1/MOR #1/R&B #1/UK #1/AUS #1 1992).

From the wiki: “During an interview, Parton’s manager Danny Nozel said that ‘one thing we found out from American Idol is that most people don’t know that Dolly Parton wrote [the track]’.

“Parton wrote the song, which was recorded on June 13, 1973, for her one-time partner and mentor Porter Wagoner, from whom she was professionally splitting at the time. ‘I Will Always Love You’ received positive comments from critics and attained commercial success, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart two times. Parton later re-recorded the song in 1982, when it was included on the soundtrack of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

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1980s, Country, Pop

Islands in the Stream

First recorded (as a demo) by The Bee Gees (1983).
Hit version by Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers (US #1/C&W #1/UK #7/CAN #1/AUS #1/NZ #2 1983).
Sampled (as “Ghetto Supastar”) by Pras (1998).

https://youtu.be/MGx4sBseM-Q

From the wiki: “‘Islands in the Stream’ is a song written by the Bee Gees whose title is named after the Ernest Hemingway novel. The Gibbs originally wrote the song for Marvin Gaye in an R&B style, changing it later for the Kenny Rogers album, Eyes That See in the Dark.

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