Songs with Earlier Histories Than the Hit Version

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That’s What Friends Are For

First recorded by Rod Stewart (1982).
Hit version by Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Stevie Wonder & Gladys Knight (US #1/R&B #1/UK #16/CAN #1/AUS #1 1985).

From the wiki: “‘That’s What Friends Are For’ was written by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager (‘Everchanging Times‘) and was first recorded in 1982 by Rod Stewart for the soundtrack of the film Night Shift.

“The Dionne Warwick & Friends cover recording in 1984 was a one-off collaboration featuring Warwick, Gladys Knight, Elton John and Stevie Wonder. It was released as a charity fund-raising single in the U.S. and U.K. to benefit the American Foundation for AIDS Research. Sales from the song raised over US$3 million for that cause.”

Dionne Warwick & Friends, “That’s What Friends Are For” (1985):