Songs with Earlier Histories Than the Hit Version

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Tagged: Maxine Brown

1960s, R&B

If You Gotta Make A Fool of Somebody

Written and first recorded by James Ray (US #22/R&B #10 1962).
Other hit versions by Freddie & the Dreamers (UK #3 1963), Maxine Brown (US #63 1965).
Also recorded by Aretha Franklin (1969).

From the wiki: “‘If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody’ was written by Rudy Clark and first recorded by James Ray in 1961. Ray’s recording on the Caprice label reached #10 on the Billboard R&B chart and #22 on the Hot 100 in early 1962.

“In 1962, the Beatles began to perform the song at their gigs, with John Lennon singing lead and playing harmonica. Paul McCartney recalls ‘we did a version of it because we thought it was such a wacky waltz. No one had a 3/4 number. And an R’n’B waltz, that was new!’

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1960s, R&B

Oh No Not My Baby

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.’

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