Songs with Earlier Histories Than the Hit Version

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Category: Country

1940s, Country

Tennessee Waltz

First released by Cowboy Copas (C&W #6 1948).
Other hit versions by The Golden West Cowboys (C&W #3 1948), Erskine Hawkins (R&B #6 1950), Patti Page (US #1/C&W #2/AUS #1 1950).

From the wiki:”Pee Wee King, and most of his group,the Golden West Cowboys, were riding in a limousine in 1946 when he and vocalist Redd Stewart co-wrote the song. They were on their way to a Grand Ole Opry appearance in Nashville when they heard Bill Monroe’s new ‘Kentucky Waltz’ on the radio. Stewart immediately began writing the lyrics on a matchbox while King and the other musicians hummed King’s theme song, ‘No Name Waltz’. King and Stewart presented ‘Tennessee Waltz’ to music publisher Fred Rose the next day. The Golden West Cowboys were not able to record ‘Tennessee Waltz’ until December 1947. Meanwhile, Cowboy Copas, who still occasionally performed with The Golden West Cowboys, recorded the song for King Records just after the Cowboys, with Copas’ version released just prior to that of the Cowboys.

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1970s, Country

Third Rate Romance

First recorded by Jesse Winchester (1974).
Hit versions by The Amazing Rhythm Aces (US #14/C&W #1/CAN #1 1975), Sammy Kershaw (US #105/C&W #2 1994).

From the wiki: “American expatriate Jesse Winchester was known principally as a songwriter (‘Yankee Lady’, ‘New Tennessee Waltz’). His draft resister status meant he was unable to tour in the US from 1967-1977, and it was while working in Montreal, Canada, in 1972, Winchester formed his band Jesse Winchester and The Rhythm Aces.

“In 1974, Russell Smith was recruited to join the Rhythm Aces, traveling to Montreal to assist in the recording of Winchester’s Learn to Love It album at Studio Six. Two of the songs on that album were Smith’s, including ‘Third Rate Romance’. Later, Smith and two of Winchester’s sidemen, Jeff Davis and David McDade, would branch out to form The Amazing Rhythm Aces.

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1980s, Country

When You Say Nothing At All

First recorded by Keith Whitley (C&W #1 1988).
Other hit versions by Alison Krauss & Union Station (US #53/C&W #3/CAN #7 1995), Ronan Keating (UK #1/IRE #1/AUS #3/NZ #1/ 1999), Deborah Blando & Roan Keating (as “O Amor Fala por Nós”) (2002).

From the wiki: “‘When You Say Nothing at All’ was written by Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz (‘The Gambler‘), and is among the best-known hit songs for three different performers: Keith Whitley, who took it to the top of the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in 1988; Alison Krauss, whose version became her first solo Top 10 Country hit in 1995; and Irish pop singer Ronan Keating, whose version was his first solo single and a chart-topper in the United Kingdom in 1999.

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1980s, Country

Ashes by Now

Written and first recorded by Rodney Crowell (US #37 1981).
Hit version by Lee Ann Womack (US #45/C&W #4 2000).

From the wiki: “”Ashes by Now” is a song written and recorded in 1981 by American country artist Rodney Crowell. Before its release as a single, it served as the B-side to his 1978 single ‘Elvira‘. A cover version was recorded by fellow country artist Lee Ann Womack. Womack’s rendition of the song was released in October 2000 as the second single from her third studio album, I Hope You Dance.

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1960s, Country

Galveston

First recorded by Don Ho (1968).
Hit version by Glen Campbell (US #4/C&W #1/UK #14/CAN #2/AUS #5/NZ #3 1969).

https://youtu.be/VxYFBlmTsqQ

From the wiki: “Composer Jimmy Webb (‘Up, Up and Away‘, ‘The Worst That Could Happen‘, ‘By the Time I Get to Phoenix‘) was on a beach in Galveston, Texas, when he wrote the song ‘Galveston’, making up the story about a Spanish-American war soldier and the girl he left behind. ‘Galveston’ was originally recorded by Don Ho, releasing it in 1968 as the B-side of his single ‘Has Anybody Lost A Love?’ with no chart impact.

“Ho recalled he gave Campbell a copy of the single and told him, ‘I didn’t have any luck with this, maybe you will.’ Ho would later appear on Campbell’s TV variety show The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour in Oct. 1969 to perform the song.

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1910s, Country

Man of Constant Sorrow

First recorded by Dick Burnett (as “Farewell Song” c. 1913), Emry Arthur (1928).
Hit versions by The Stanley Brothers (1951 | 1959), Ginger Baker’s Air Force (C&W #36/UK #86 1970), Soggy Bottom Boys (C&W #35 2000).
Also recorded by Judy Collins (as “Maid of Constant Sorrow”) (1961), Bob Dylan (1963), Jerry Garcia (1993).

From the wiki: “‘Man of Constant Sorrow’ (also known as ‘I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow’) is a traditional American folk song first recorded in 1913 by Dick Burnett, a partially blind fiddler from Kentucky, who published the song as ‘Farewell Song’. (Some uncertainty exists as to whether Burnett himself wrote the song. One claim is that it was sung by the Mackin clan in 1888 in Ireland and that Cameron O’Mackin emigrated to Tennessee, bringing the song with him.) Another early version was commercially released by Emry Arthur in 1928.

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1970s, Country

A Love Song

Written and first recorded by Loggins & Messina (1973).
Hit version by Anne Murray (US #12/C&W #5/CAN #1 1974).

From the wiki: “‘A Love Song’ was first recorded and released by Loggins & Messina on their 1973 album Full Sail but had been written by Kenny Loggins and Donna Lyn George specifically for Anne Murray who, a year earlier, had had great chart success with another Loggins composition, ‘Danny’s Song‘. ‘A Love Song’ was later recorded and released in late 1973 by Murray as the second single from her album Love Song. Her version would go on to win a Grammy award in 1974 for Best Country Vocal Performance.”

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1990s, Country

I Swear

First released by John Michael Montgomery (US #42/C&W #1 1993).
Hit version by All-4-One (US #1/R&B #13/UK #2/CAN #1/AUS #1/NETH #1 1994).

http://youtu.be/16yarf4ZCwA

From the wiki: “‘I Swear’ was written by Gary Baker and Frank J. Myers, who also recorded a demo of it in 1989 at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. They couldn’t convince anyone to record the song at the time but, in 1992, they recorded a new demo of ‘I Swear’ which attracted the attention of John Michael Montgomery. Montgomery would record the song in 1993 and release it as the first single from his 1994 album Kickin It Up.

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1960s, Country

Misty Blue

First recorded by Wilma Burgess (C&W #4 1966).
Other hit versions by Eddy Arnold (US #57/C&W #3 1967), Joe Simon (US #91/R&B #47 1972), Dorothy Moore (US #3/R&B #2/UK #5/CAN #4/AUS #6 1976).

From the wiki: “Bob Montgomery wrote the song with Brenda Lee in mind. He recalls, ‘I wrote ‘Misty Blue’ in about twenty minutes. It was a gift and it was perfect for Brenda Lee, but she turned it down. Her producer Owen Bradley loved the song [but] as he couldn’t push her to do it, he cut it country-style with Wilma Burgess.’

“Eddy Arnold covered ‘Misty Blue’ in a Chet Atkins-produced session at the RCA Victor Studio, Nashville, in April 1966. Included on his 1966 album The Last Word in Lonesome, Arnold’s ‘Misty Blue’ had a belated single release in May 1967 to introduce The Best of Eddy Arnold compilation album. Besides bettering Burgess’ success on the Country chart with the song, Arnold’s ‘Misty Blue’ became the first version of the song to crossover to the Pop field, reaching #57 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1967.

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1970s, Country

Return to Pooh Corner

First recorded (as “House at Pooh Corner”) by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (US #53 1970).
Also recorded (as “House at Pooh Corner”) by Loggins & Messina (1971).
Hit version by Kenny Loggins & Amy Grant (US #25 1994).

From the wiki: “‘House at Pooh Corner’ was written by Kenny Loggins, while still in high school, based on the popular children’s book of the same name. “Pooh Corner” would be first recorded in 1970 by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band for the album Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy.

“Loggins would then, in 1971, cover his own song with his producer and duo partner, Jim Messina, for their debut album Sittin’ In (on which also appeared the his ‘Danny’s Song’). In 1994, after the birth of his third child, Loggins (with Amy Grant) re-recorded the song, adding an additional verse, as ‘Return to Pooh Corner’.”

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1970s, Country

She Believes in Me

Written and first recorded by Steve Gibb (1978).
Hit version by Kenny Rogers (US #5/C&W #1/UK #42/CAN #8 1979).

From the wiki: “‘She Believes in Me’ was written by Steve Gibb (not the Steve Gibb, son of Barry Gibb) and is the tale of a songwriter who has a beloved, that while she supports him, he sometimes wonders why. The song first appeared on Gibb’s 1978 album Let Me Sing. Recorded by Kenny Rogers in 1979, it became one of his biggest crossover hits in the late spring of 1979, reaching #1 on the Billboard Country Singles chart and crossing over to the Top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100.”

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1970s, Country

Danny’s Song

First recorded by Gator Creek (1970).
Also recorded by Loggins & Messina (1971).
Hit version Anne Murray (US #7/C&W #10/MOR #1/CAN #1 1973).

From the wiki: “‘Danny’s Song’ was written by singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins as a gift for his brother Danny and the birth of his son, Colin. ‘Danny’s Song’ was first recorded for an album by Loggins’ first group, Gator Creek, in 1970 and, a year later, on the album Sittin’ In, the debut album by Loggins and Messina.

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1930s, Country

The Clapping Song

Based on “Little Rubber Dolly” by The Light Crust Doughboys (c. 1935).
Also recorded (as “Rubber Dolly”) by Bill Parsons & His Orchestra (1958).
Hit versions by Shirley Ellis (US #8/UK #6 1965), The Belle Stars (UK #11 1982), Pia Zadora (US #36 1983).

From the wiki: “‘The Clapping Song’ was written by Lincoln Chase and Shirley Ellis, with lyrics borrowed from the song ‘Little Rubber Dolly’, a 1930s song first recorded by Texas Swing band The Light Crust Doughboys.

“Ellis was an American singer and songwriter of West Indian origin best known for her 1963 novelty hit ‘The Name Game’. Ellis was originally in the group The Metronomes and her solo hits were written by her and her manager, record producer, and songwriting partner, Lincoln Chase.

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1950s, Country

Crying in the Chapel

First recorded by Darrell Glenn & The Rhythm Riders (US #6/C&W #4 1953).
Other hit versions by The Orioles (US #11/R&B #1 1953), Rex Allen (US #8/C&W #4 1953), Ella Fitzgerald (US #15 1953), Art Lund (US #23 1953), June Valli (US #4 1953), Elvis Presley (recorded 1960 |US #3/MOR #1/UK #1 1965).
Also recorded (as “Selassie Is the Chapel”) by Bob Marley & The Wailers (1968).

From the wiki: “‘Crying in the Chapel’ was written by Artie Glenn for his son, Darrell, to sing. Darrell recorded it while still in high school in 1953, along with Artie’s band the Rhythm Riders, and the record went Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song went on to become one of the most-covered songs of 1953, with additional charted versions recorded by The Orioles (‘C.C. Rider‘), Rex Allen, Ella Fitzgerald, Art Lund, and June Valli. (The Orioles’ recording would be used two decades later in the soundtrack of American Graffiti.)

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1970s, Country

Love is a Rose

Written and first recorded by Neil Young (1974, released 1977).
Inspired by “Dance Dance Dance” Neil Young (1971, released 2007).
“Dance Dance Dance” also recorded by Crazy Horse (1971), The New Seekers (US #84 1972).
Hit version by Linda Ronstadt (US #63/C&W #5 1975).

From the wiki: “‘Love Is a Rose’ was written by Neil Young in 1974 for the unreleased album Homegrown. It was later released in 1977 on his compilation Decade album. The melody for ‘Love Is a Rose’ was taken from yet another previously unreleased Neil Young song ‘Dance Dance Dance’, written in 1971, which finally saw release in 2007 on the Live at Massey Hall album. Young’s longtime backing band Crazy Horse also recorded ‘Dance Dance Dance’ in 1971 on their album Crazy Horse, and The New Seekers released ‘Dance Dance Dance’ as a single in 1972, a version that peaked at #84 on the Billboard Hot 100.

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1960s, Country

Elvira

Written and first recorded by Dallas Frazier (US #72/CAN #27 1966).
Also recorded by Kenny Roger & The First Edition (1970), Rodney Crowell (C&W #95 1978).
Other hit version by The Oak Ridge Boys (US #5/MOR #8/C&W #1/CAN #26/AUS #87/NZ #13 1981).

From the wiki: “Songwriter Dallas Frazier penned ‘Elvira’ in 1966 and included it as the title track of the album he released that year. A number of recording artists, most notably Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, also recorded the song through the years, to varying degrees of success. Frazier’s own version peaked at #72 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966.

“In 1978, alternative country recording artist Rodney Crowell recorded a cover of ‘Elvira’ (with ‘Ashes by Now’ on the B-side) that became a minor C&W hit. However, Crowell’s version did have its fans — most notably The Oak Ridge Boys. In 1980, when the group began planning for their upcoming album, Fancy Free, the Oaks decided to cover the song.

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Country, Rock

Shambala

First single release by B.W. Stevenson (US #66/SA #8 1973).
Other hit version by Three Dog Night (US #3/CAN #4/SA #13 1973).

From the wiki: “‘Shambala’ was written by Daniel Moore and made famous by two almost-simultaneous releases in 1973: the lesser-known but first-released version by Moore’s sometime-collaborator, Texas singer-songwriter B.W. Stevenson (‘My Maria’), and the better-known but slightly later-released version by Three Dog Night. While the Three Dog Night arrangement was the first to be recorded, in December 1972, it was released on May 19, 1973, one-week after Stevenson’s February 1973 recording.

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1970s, Country, Folk

City of New Orleans

Written and first recorded by Steve Goodman (1971).
Hit versions by Arlo Guthrie (US #18 1972), Willie Nelson (US #30/C&W #1/CAN #1 1984).

From the wiki: “‘City of New Orleans’ is a folk song written by Steve Goodman (and first recorded for Goodman’s self-titled 1971 album), describing a train ride from Chicago to New Orleans on the Illinois Central Railroad’s City of New Orleans in bittersweet and nostalgic terms. Goodman got the idea while traveling on the Illinois Central line for a visit to his wife’s family.

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1940s, Country

Release Me (And Let Me Love Again)

Co-written and first recorded by Eddie Miller & His Oklahomans (1950).
Also recorded by Jimmy Heap & the Melody Masters (1953).
Hit versions by Ray Price (C&W #6 1954), Kitty Wells (C&W #8 1954), Little Esther Phillips (US #8/R&B #1 1962), Engelbert Humperdinck (US #4/UK #1/IRE #1 1967).

From the wiki: “‘Release Me’ (sometimes rendered as ‘Release Me (And Let Me Love Again)’), is a popular song written by Eddie Miller, Robert Yount, and James Pebworth (under the pseudonym ‘Dub Williams’). Miller worked as a locomotive engineer before becoming a songwriter. Although he never went beyond high school, he taught songwriting at the University of Tennessee.

“Although Miller later claimed to have written the song in 1946 — only being able to record it himself in December 1949 and releasing it in January 1950 — he actually co-wrote it with Robert Yount in 1949. As they were working at that time with Dub Williams, a pseudonym of James Pebworth, they gave him one-third of the song.

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1940s, Country

Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain

First recorded by Roy Acuff & His Smoky Mountain Boys (1947).
Also recorded by Hank Williams (1951), Elvis Presley (1976), Eva Cassidy (2008).
Hit versions by Willie Nelson (US #21/C&W #1 1975), UB40 (ARU #1 2013).

From the wiki: “‘Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain’ is a song written by songwriter Fred Rose, and first recorded by Roy Acuff in 1947. The song was also recorded in 1951 by Hank Williams for the Mother’s Best Flour Hour radio program.

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1970s, Country

Here You Come Again

First recorded (as a demo) by Barry Mann (1977).
First released by B.J. Thomas (1977).
Hit version by Dolly Parton (US #3/C&W #1/CAN #7 1977).
Re-recorded by Barry Mann (2000).

From the wiki: “‘Here You Come Again’ is a rare example of a Dolly Parton success that she did not write herself; it was composed by the songwriting duo of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil (‘Don’t Know Much‘, ‘(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration’, ‘Never Gonna Let You Go‘). The pair had originally composed ‘Here You Come Again’ in 1975 as a potential comeback hit for Brenda Lee, but Lee declined the offer to record it.

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1960s, Country, Pop

By the Time I Get to Phoenix

First recorded by Johnny Rivers (1965).
Hit version by Glen Campbell (US #26/C&W #2/CAN #1 1967).

From the wiki: “‘By the Time I Get to Phoenix’ was written by Jimmy Webb (‘Up, Up and Away‘). Originally recorded by Johnny Rivers in 1965 on his album Changes it would be made famous by Glen Campbell, appearing as the opening and title track on Campbell’s 1967 album By the Time I Get to Phoenix. Campbell’s recording reached #2 on the US Country Singles chart in 1968, and #26 on the Billboard Hot 100, and would go on to win two Grammy Awards in 1968: Best Vocal Performance (Male), and Best Contemporary Male Solo Vocal Performance. Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) has named ‘By the Time I Get to Phoenix’ the third most-performed song from 1940 to 1990. Frank Sinatra called it ‘the greatest torch song ever written.’

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1960s, Country, R&B

Soul Deep

Originally recorded by Wayne Carson Thompson (1969).
Hit version by The Box Tops (US #18/UK #22/CAN #9/AUS #7 1969), Eddy Arnold (MOR #22/CAN #44 1970).
Also recorded by Gin Blossoms (1994).

From the wiki: “Wayne Carson Thompson performed professionally as ‘Wayne Carson’, and was a Nashville-based musician, producer and songwriter when he wrote and first recorded ‘Soul Deep’ in 1969. Among his other songwriting credits are ‘The Letter’ (also recorded by The Box Tops), ‘Always On My Mind‘, and ‘She’s Actin’ Single (I’m Drinkin’ Double)’.

“Covered by the Box Tops in 1969, ‘Soul Deep’ was the third of three singles released from the album Dimensions.”

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1970s, Country, Soul

Midnight Train to Georgia

Written and first recorded (as “Midnight Plane to Houston”) by Jim Weatherly (1972).
Hit versions by Cissy Houston (R&B #45 1973), Gladys Knight & The Pips (US #1/R&B #1/UK #10 1973).

From the wiki: “The song was originally written and performed by Jim Weatherly (‘(You’re the) Best Thing That Ever Happened‘) under the title ‘Midnight Plane to Houston’, recorded for Amos Records.

“‘It was based on a conversation I had with somebody… about taking a midnight plane to Houston,’ Weatherly recalls. ‘I wrote it as a kind of a country song. Then we sent the song to a guy named Sonny Limbo in Atlanta and he wanted to cut it with Cissy Houston (mother of Whitney Houston) … He asked if I minded if he changed the title to ‘Midnight Train to Georgia.’ And I said, I don’t mind. Just don’t change the rest of the song.’ Houston took Weatherly’s song into the R&B chart under the title ‘Midnight Train to Georgia’.

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