Songs with Earlier Histories Than the Hit Version

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Tagged: Sergio Mendes

The Look of Love

First performed (in Casino Royale) by Dusty Springfield (1967).
First single release by Nina Simone (1967).
Hit versions by Dusty Springfield (US #22/CAN #26 1967), Sergio Mendes & Brazil ’66 (US #4 1968).
Also recorded by Isaac Hayes (1970).

From the wiki: “‘The Look of Love’ was written by Burt Bacharach, and was originally intended to be an instrumental for the James Bond spook, Casino Royale but, later, Hal David added the lyrics. The song was first recorded by Springfield originally for the Casino Royale soundtrack by Phil Ramone, the soundtrack’s engineer, who recorded the song separately from the rest of the film tracks with Springfield accompanied by only piano, saxophone and percussion.

“Springfield re-recorded the song in London the same year with a more full arrangement, releasing the track as the B-side of ‘Give Me Time’. That version charted in the US and Canada. But, prior to the release of Springfield’s single, Nina Simone recorded and released her own version of ‘The Look of Love’ in 1967 for her album Silk & Soul. Simone’s single had no chart impact.

Mas, Que Nada!

First recorded by Jorge Ben (1963).
Hit version by Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66 (US#47/MOR #4 1966).

From the wiki: “‘Mas, Que Nada!’ was written and originally performed by Jorge Ben (‘Do You Think I’m Sexy?‘) on his 1963 debut album. The song would later become a signature song – and a US hit – of Sérgio Mendes & Brasil ’66.

“‘Mas, Que Nada!’ has been voted by the Brazilian edition of Rolling Stone magazine as the 5th greatest Brazilian song of all time, and has been inducted into the Latin Grammy Hall of Fame.

After Midnight

Written and first recorded by J.J. Cale (1966).
Hit versions by Eric Clapton (US #18 1970), J.J. Cale (re-recording US #42 1972), Eric Clapton (re-recording Rock #4/UK #99 1988).
Also recorded by The Pioneers (as “Let It All Hang Out” 1971), Chet Atkins (1972), Sergio Mendes (1972), Maggie Bell (1974), The Jerry Garcia Band (1980), Pretty Lights (2009).

From the wiki: “J.J. Cale wrote ‘After Midnight’ in 1966 and first released it as single (on Liberty Records) the same year with no apparent chart success. But, the song would become the catalyst for his future success.

“When Eric Clapton was working with Delaney & Bonnie Bramlett, Leon Russell introduced Eric to Cale’s music. Among the songs that attracted Clapton’s attention, ‘After Midnight’ became the first to be released. It appeared on his 1970 self-titled debut album and was released as a single in late 1970, peaking at #18 on the Billboard Hot 100.

“Cale was unaware of Clapton’s 1970 recording until it became a radio hit. He recalled to Mojo magazine that when he heard Clapton’s version on his radio, ‘I was dirt poor, not making enough to eat and I wasn’t a young man. I was in my thirties, so I was very happy. It was nice to make some money.’ Cale’s friend and producer Audie Ashworth then encouraged J.J. to capitalize on the success of ‘After Midnight’ by recording a full album, Naturally, released in 1972. A re-recording by Cale of ‘After Midnight’ was taken from the album as a promotional single in 1972, peaking at #42 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Never Gonna Let You Go

First recorded by Dionne Warwick (1982).
Also recorded by Stevie Woods (1982).
Hit version by Sergio Mendes (US #4/R&B #28 1983).

From the wiki: “Songwriters Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann (‘Don’t Know Much‘, ‘(You’re My) Soul & Inspiration’) composed the song and had originally submitted ‘Never Gonna Let You Go’ to Earth, Wind & Fire, but the group decided not to record the song. Instead, Dionne Warwick first recorded the song and it first appeared on her 1982 album Friends in Love but was not released as a promotional single.