Songs with Earlier Histories Than the Hit Version

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With a Little Help from My Friends

First recorded by The Beatles (1967).
First single release by The Young Idea (UK #10 1967).
Other hit single versions by Joe Cocker (US #68/UK #1 1968), The Beatles (US #71/UK #63 1978), Wet Wet Wet (UK #1/IRE #1/FRA #3/GER #3 1988), Sam & Mark (UK #1 2004).

From the wiki: “‘With a Little Help from My Friends’ was written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, and first appeared on the Beatles’ 1967 Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Not one of that album’s promotional single releases, the song was first released as single by British singers The Young Idea in 1967.

“A subsequent recording of the track by Joe Cocker – a radical re-arrangement of the original, including an extended instrumental intro (featuring keyboardist Tommy Eyre and guitarist Jimmy Page) – became a hit single in 1968 and an anthem for the Woodstock era. In 1978, the Beatles’ recording, paired with ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’, was reissued as a single.

“‘With a Little Help from My Friends’ returned to the top of the UK Singles chart with Wet Wet Wet’s 1988 cover arrangement, and again in 2004 with Sam & Mark’s cover.”

“‘With a Little Help from My Friends’ was ranked #311 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.”

The Beatles, “With a Little Help from My Friends” (1967):

Joe Cocker, “With a Little Help from My Friends” (1968):

Wet Wet Wet, “With a Little Help from My Friends” (1988):

Sam & Mark, “With a Little Help from My Friends” (2004):

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