Songs with Earlier Histories Than the Hit Version

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Tagged: Neil Sedaka

Lonely Night (Angel Face)

Written and first recorded by Neil Sedaka (1975).
Hit version by The Captain & Tennille (US #3/MOR #1 1976).

From the wiki: “‘Lonely Night (Angel Face)’ was written and first recorded in 1975 by Neil Sedaka, appearing as a track on his 1975 studio album, The Hungry Years. The following year the song was made popular when covered by The Captain & Tennille for their album Song of Joy who took their version to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.”

Workin’ on a Groovy Thing

First recorded by Patti Drew (US #62/R&B #34 1968).
Also recorded by Barbara Lewis (1968), Neil Sedaka (1969).
Other hit version by The 5th Dimension (US #20/R&B #15 1969).

From the wiki: “Neil Sedaka co-wrote ‘Workin’ on a Groovy Thing’ in 1968 but did not record his own version of the song until 1969 when touring Australia. Sedaka recorded an album titled Workin’ on a Groovy Thing on a one-off basis for a Sydney, Australia-based label at a time his career had slumped and his contract had not been renewed by his former label in the USA. (In the United Kingdom, the album was released on the MCA label under the title Sounds of Sedaka.) Patti Drew was the first to record and release the song, in 1968.

Love Will Keep Us Together

Written and first recorded by Neil Sedaka (UK 1973).
Hit versions by Mac & Katie Kissoon (NETH #12 1973), Captain & Tennille (US #1/UK #32 1975).

From the wiki: “The song first appeared on Neil Sedaka’s 1973 album The Tra-La Days Are Over which did not have a US release, with Sedaka’s version of the song making its US album debut on the 1974 compilation album Sedaka’s Back.

Solitaire (The Carpenters)

Written and first recorded by Neil Sedaka (1972).
Also recorded by Petula Clark (1972), The Searchers (1973).
Hit versions by Andy Williams (MOR #23/UK #4 1974), The Carpenters (US #17/MOR #1/UK #32 1975), Elvis Presley (1976 |B-side C&W #10 1979).

From the wiki: “Neil Sedaka recorded ‘Solitaire’ as the title cut for a UK-only 1972 album recorded at Strawberry Studios, Manchester. Members of the band 10cc – Lol Creme, Kevin Godley and Graham Gouldman – accompanied Sedaka while Eric Stewart, also of 10cc, engineered the session.

“Appearing on 1972 album releases by both Tony Christie and Petula Clark, ‘Solitaire’ had its first evident single release in February 1973 with a recording by The Searchers. However, it was the autumn 1973 single by Andy Williams which would reach #4 UK. In 1974, Sedaka’s original 1972 recording of ‘Solitaire’ was included on his comeback album Sedaka’s Back. Later in 1975, a live-in-concert version recorded by him at the Royal Festival Hall was issued as the B-side of ‘The Queen of 1964’.