First recorded by Dick Holler & The Holidays (1963).
Hit version by The Swingin’ Medallions (US #17 1966).
From the wiki: “‘Double Shot (Of My Baby’s Love)’ is a popular song written by Don Smith and Cyril Vetter and first recorded by Dick Holler & the Holidays. It was later recorded by The Swingin’ Medallions.
“Holler, while attending LSU, began playing piano, organizing bands and writing songs with his college friends. In 1956, he formed the band Dick Holler and the Carousel Rockets which, at times, included Mac ‘Dr. John’ Rebennack, Grady Caldwell, Jimmy Clanton , and another Baton Rouge guitarist/vocalist/songwriter, Johnny Ramistella, later known as ‘Johnny Rivers’ (‘Swayin’ to the Music (Slow Dancing)‘).
Written and first recorded by J.D. Loudermilk (1960).
Hit version by The Nashiville Teens (US #14/UK #6 1964).
Also recorded by Edgar Winter (1970).
From the wiki: “‘Tobacco Road’ is a song written and first recorded by John D. Loudermilk (‘Indian Reservation‘, ‘Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye‘) in 1960 that was a hit for The Nashville Teens in 1964 and has since become a standard across several musical genres.
“Originally framed as a folk song, ‘Tobacco Road’ was a semi-autobiographical tale of growing up in Durham, North Carolina. It was not a hit for Loudermilk, achieving only minor chart success in Australia. Other artists, however, immediately began recording and performing the song.
Written and first recorded (as a demo) by Willie Nelson (1961).
Hit version by Patsy Cline (US #9/C&W #2/UK #14 1961).
From the wiki: “Willie Nelson wrote ‘Crazy’ in early 1961. At the time he was a journeyman singer-songwriter working at the time under the name of Hugh Nelson. Nelson originally wrote the song for country singer Billy Walker who turned it down for the same reason Roy Drusky turned down ‘I Fall to Pieces’ the previous year – that it was ‘a girl’s song’. The song’s eventual success helped launch Nelson’s career as a performer as well as a songwriter. (On an episode of VH1’s Storytellers, Nelson revealed that ‘Crazy’ was originally titled ‘Stupid’.)
First released (as a B-side) by Andy & The Marglows (1963).
Hit versions by co-writer Doris Troy (US #10/R&B #3/CAN #1/NZ #8 1963), The Hollies (US #98/UK #2 1964 |US #44 1967), Faith Hope & Charity (UK #38 1976), Linda Ronstadt (US #44/MOR #5 1979).
From the wiki: “‘Just One Look’ was written by Doris Troy and Gregory Carroll. Troy, then going by her pen name Doris Payne, recorded a studio demo of the song and began to shop the song around to studios, first to Sue Records. But their lack of response led Troy to instead offer the song to Jerry Wexler at Atlantic Records. Unbeknownst to Troy, Atlantic would later release her demo, unchanged, as a single.
First recorded by The Spencer Davis Group (US #10/UK #9/CAN #1 1967).
Other hit version by Chicago (US #49/UK #8/CAN #8/IRE #13 1971).
From the wiki: “‘I’m A Man’ was written by The Spencer Davis Group singer-songwriter Steve Winwood and record producer Jimmy Miller (not to be confused with the Bo Diddley song), and released as a single by The Spencer Davis Group in early 1967. It would be the last hit single by the band before the brothers Steve and Muff Winwood left the group to pursue solo careers.
Co-written and first recorded by Stevie Wonder (1967, released 1977).
Hit versions by Aretha Franklin (US #3/R&B #1 1973 |UK #24 1974), Luther Vandross (US #87/R&B #5 1984), Basia (US #33 1989), Miki Howard (R&B #3/UK #67 1990).
From the wiki: “‘Until You Come Back to Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do)’ was written by Morris Broadnax, Clarence Paul, and Stevie Wonder. The song was originally recorded by Stevie Wonder in 1967, but it was not released until appearing on the 1977 anthology album Looking Back.
“Wonder played Aretha Franklin the song in 1973, and she knew how to ‘take’ someone else’s song (as she had already done with Otis Redding’s ‘Respect‘). Produced by Franklin, Arif Mardin and Jerry Wexler, ‘Until You Come Back’ became Franklin’s second-highest charting Pop song of the ’70s. When her recording reached its highest position at #3, Franklin became the first artist to record singles that peaked at each of #s 1-10 on the Billboard Hot 100. (Marvin Gaye became the first male artist to achieve the ‘occupy-all-10’ when ‘Sexual Healing’ reached #3 in 1982.)
“Other popular recordings of ‘Until You Come Back to Me’ include the Luther Vandross charting medley of ‘Superstar/Until You Come Back to Me’ (1984), Basia’s 1989 recording for her second album, London Warsaw New York, that charted in the lower reaches of the Billboard Top 40, and Miki Howard’s cover in 1990 that charted in the U.K. and R&B in the U.S.”
Written and first recorded by Ruthann Friedman (1967).
Hit versions by The Association (US #1/CAN #1/UK #34/AUS #53/NZ #6 1967), Wes Montgomery (US #44/MOR #10 1967).
From the wiki: “‘Windy’ was written by Ruthann Friedman, a transplanted New Yorker who moved to Venice, California, where she hung out with the cream of L.A. Pop royalty – a 16-year-old sneaking into the Troubadour in the early ’60s and, then, an 18-year old starting to write and play her songs on the guitar, making friends with David Crosby, Van Dyke Parks, and Tandyn Almer, author of ‘Along Comes Mary’, another big hit for The Association.
First recorded by The Coasters (US #96 1961).
Hit versions by Elvis Presley (1962), The Fourmost (UK #33 1968).
From the wiki: “Changing popular tastes and a couple of line-up changes contributed to a lack of hits in the 1960s for The Coasters (‘Yakety Yak’, ‘Poison Ivy’). In 1961, the group barely made it into the Billboard Hot 100 with the Lieber-Stoller-composed ‘Girls! Girls! Girls!’ (not be confused with the Motley Crue hit).
“The song found wider popular when repurposed as the lead song and title for the 1962 Elvis Presley movie Girls! Girls! Girls!, but was not issued as a single. In 1968, the group The Fourmost released the song and their version did chart on the UK Singles Chart.”
First recorded by Georgia Lee (1960).
Also recorded by Laurie Loman (1960), Rocky Volcano (1962).
Hit versions by Shelley Fabares (US #1/UK #41/CAN #1/NZ #1 1962), Patti Lynn (UK #37 1962).
From the wiki: “Songwriters Lyn Duddy and Lee Pockriss wrote ‘Johnny Angel’ while trapped in Duddy’s apartment during a blackout. They each had other songwriting partners (Pockriss, with Paul Vance, wrote ‘Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini’) but with nothing else to do, the two decided to brainstorm some ideas and, so, wrote a song from the point of view of someone who waited on the corner every night for someone to pass by.
“‘Johnny Angel’ was first recorded in January 1960 by Georgia Lee, followed in April by the release of a version by Laurie Loman. Neither of the recordings charted.
First recorded by Glen Campbell (US #62/MOR #15 1961).
Hit versions by The Letterman (US #105 1962), The Vogues (US #7/MOR #3 1968).
Also recorded by The Bee Gees (1964).
From the wiki: “‘Turn Around, Look at Me’ was written by Jerry Capehart. In 1961, Glen Campbell was the first to release the song, and it would become his first song to chart in the United States. The Letterman recorded a version in 1962 that ‘bubbled’ under the Billboard Hot 100. In 1964, while Bee Gees were still in Australia, they released a version of the song which did not chart. In 1968,
“The Vogues released their cover version in 1968, by far the most successful recording of the song, reaching #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #3 on the Adult Contemporary chart.”
First recorded by Don Cherry (1962).
Also recorded by J.D. Loudermilk, writer (1967).
Hit versions by The Casinos (US #6/UK #28/CAN #57 1967), Eddy Arnold (C&W #1 1968), Glen Campbell (recorded as “Don’t Pull Your Love/Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye” US #27/MOR #1/C&W #4 1976), Neal McCoy (C&W #4 1996).
From the wiki: “‘Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye’ was written by John D. Loudermilk (‘Indian Reservation‘, ‘Tobacco Road‘). It was first released in 1962 by Don Cherry, as a country song, without any chart impact.
“In 1967, ‘Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye’ was recorded in a doo-wop style by the pop vocal group The Casinos. Their arrangement became a US Top-10 and a UK Top-30 hit. Country crooner Eddy Arnold, in 1968, returned the song to the Country Singles chart with his #1 arrangement.
First recorded by Dobie Gray (US #13/R&B #11/UK #25 1965).
Also recorded by First Gear (1965).
Other hit versions by The Ramsey Lewis Trio (US #5/R&B #2 1965), Bryan Ferry (UK #13 1974).
From the wiki: “‘The ‘In’ Crowd’ is a 1964 song written by Billy Page and arranged by his brother Gene that was originally performed by Dobie Gray on his album Dobie Gray Sings for ‘In’ Crowders That ‘Go Go. Gray’s powerful Motown-like version, complete with brass section, reached #13 in the US and #25 in the UK in 1965. The Ramsey Lewis Trio recorded an instrumental version of the tune later that same year at the suggestion of a coffee shop waitress.
Written and first recorded (as a demo) by Graham Gouldman (1965).
Hit version by The Yardbirds (US #6/UK #3/CAN #1 1965).
From the wiki: “‘For Your Love’ was written by future 10cc member Graham Gouldman and first recorded by him as a demo. Gouldman wrote the song at the age of 19 while employed by day in a gentlemen’s outfitters near Salford Docks and playing by night with the semi-professional Manchester band The Mockingbirds. Gouldman’s manager, Harvey Lisberg, was so impressed by the song he told Gouldman he should offer it to the Beatles.
“Gouldman had originally intended the song for The Mockingbirds, but their demo was turned down by Columbia Records. It is also believed that producer Mickie Most turned it down on behalf of Herman’s Hermits and that the Animals also turned down an opportunity to record ‘For Your Love’.
Written and first recorded by The Beatles (1962).
Hit version by The Fourmost (UK #9 1963).
Also recorded by Gerry & The Pacemakers (1963).
From the wiki: “‘Hello Little Girl’ was the first song ever written by John Lennon (but credited to Lennon-McCartney). According to Lennon, he drew ‘on an old ’30s or ’40s song’ that his mother sang to him. Written in 1957, ‘Hello Little Girl’ was used as one of the songs at the Beatles unsuccessful Decca audition in 1962.
“In 1963, the English Merseybeat band The Fourmost made a recording of the song (produced by George Martin) and released it as their debut single. Two weeks later, Gerry & The Pacemakers also recorded a version of the song. But the Fourmost recording was selected as the promotional single issue and reached #9 in the United Kingdom.”
First recorded by the Original Off-Broadway Cast of Hair (1967).
Also recorded by the Original Broadway Cast of Hair (1968), Jennifer Warnes (US #128 1969).
Hit version by Three Dog Night (US #4/CAN #2 1969).
From the wiki: “‘Easy to Be Hard’ was written by Galt MacDermot, James Rado, and Gerome Ragni, and was first performed in the original Off-Broadway stage production of Hair in 1967.
“Beginning in 1968, Jennifer Warnes (performing as ‘Jennifer Warren’) portrayed the female lead in the Los Angeles production of Hair. Coincidental to that, she recorded a version of ‘Easy to be Hard’ in 1969 for release (as ‘Jennifer’) in the UK in June 1969 (along with another song property from Hair, ‘Let the Sunshine In’). The American label Parrot licensed the recording for distribution in the US on the album, See Me, Feel Me, Touch Me, Heal Me, released in the spring of 1969. The single failed to chart in the UK but did ‘bubble under’ the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #128.
“Three Dog Night also released ‘Easy to be Hard’ in 1969, in August, with their recording peaking at #4 – their fourth single, and highest-charting song until ‘Mama Told Me (Not to Come)‘ hit #1 in 1970.”
Written and first recorded (as a demo) by Pete Townshend (c. 1970).
Hit version by The Who (US #15/UK #9/AUS #14 1971).
From the wiki: “‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ was written by Pete Townshend for inclusion into Lifehouse, the science fiction rock opera intended as a follow-up to Tommy by The Who . The project, however, was abandoned – as a rock opera – in favor of creating a traditional rock album, Who’s Next. Although the Lifehouse concept was abandoned, scraps of the project remained present in the final album including the song ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’.
“Other of the project’s songs would appear on various albums and singles by The Who (e.g., ‘Baba O’Riley’, ‘Behind Blue Eyes‘, ‘Join Together’), as well as Pete Townshend solo albums. Years later, in the liner notes to the remastered Who’s Next CD, Townshend wrote that the failure of the project led him to the verge of a suicidal nervous breakdown.
First recorded by Dusty Springfield (US #12/UK #4 1964).
Other hit versions by Bay City Rollers (US #12/UK #4 1976), The Tourists (US #83/UK #4 1979), Samantha Fox (US #31/UK #16 1989).
From the wiki: “‘I Only Want to Be with You’ was written by Mike Hawker and Ivor Raymonde, and was the first solo single released by British singer Dusty Springfield. Although she recorded the song while still a member of The Springfields, it was released in November 1963 – three weeks after The Springfields’ final concert. Bay City Rollers released a version in December 1976 that reached #12 in the US. The song was also a #4 hit in the UK for The Tourists, who were the group Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart were in before they formed Eurythmics. A 1989 cover version of this was the last hit for British singer Samantha Fox.”
Written and first recorded by Gabor Szabo (1966).
Hit album version by Santana (1970).
From the wiki: “Hungarian jazz guitarist Gabor Szabo (‘Breezin’‘) wrote and recorded ‘Gypsy Queen’ for his 1966 album Spellbinder. Szabo had escaped Communist Hungary in 1956 for the US, where he entered the Berklee School of Music, Boston. By 1958, Szabo had been invited to perform at the prestigious Newport Jazz Festival.
“Szabo incorporated elements of folk music from his native Hungary, from Gypsy and Roma influences, into his guitar playing, and his guitar style would strongly influence Carlos Santana’s work. (Santana’s 2012 instrumental album Shape Shifter includes a song titled “Mr. Szabo”, played in tribute in the style of Szabo).
Written and first recorded by Bob Dylan (1964).
Also recorded by Joan Baez (1964).
Hit versions by Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash (US #58/C&W #4 1965), The Turtles (US #8 1965).
From the wiki: “‘It Ain’t Me Babe’ was written by Bob Dylan and originally appeared on his fourth album Another Side of Bob Dylan. Dylan’s biographers generally agree that the song owes its inspiration to his former girlfriend Suze Rotolo. Dylan reportedly began writing the song during his visit to Italy in 1963 while searching for Rotolo, who was studying there.”
First recorded (as a demo) by Dino Valenti (1964, released 1996).
First commercial release by The Kingston Trio (1964).
Also recorded by Jet Set (1964), Jefferson Airplane (1966), H.P. Lovecraft (1967).
Hit versions by We Five (US #31 1965), The Youngbloods (US #62 1967| US #5 1969), Dave Clark Five (UK #8 1970).
From the wiki: “‘Get Together’, also known as ‘Let’s Get Together’, was written in the early 1960s by American singer-songwriter and future Quicksilver Messenger Service lead singer Chet Powers (aka Dino Valenti), and first recorded by him as a demo in 1964. Valenti’s demo would see its commercial release in 1996.
“The first commercial release of ‘Let’s Get Together’ was in 1964, recorded by the Kingston Trio in 1964 for their album Back in Town. In 1965, the first cover to break into the Top 40, peaking at #31, was recorded by We Five as the follow-up to their Top 10 hit ‘You Were on My Mind’.
First recorded by The Drifters (US #16 1960).
Other hit version by Jay & The Americans (US #6 1968).
From the wiki: “‘This Magic Moment’ was composed by lyricist Doc Pomus and pianist Mort Shuman, one of their best-known songs, and was first recorded in 1960 by Ben E. King and The Drifters. In 1969, ‘This Magic Moment’ was covered by Jay and the Americans and reached the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.”
First recorded by Dionne Warwick (US #32/UK #20/CAN #15 1964).
Other hit version by The Stylistics (US #23/R&B #8 1973 |UK #24 1976).
From the wiki: “‘You’ll Never Get to Heaven’ was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and was first recorded in 1964 by Dionne Warwick for the album Make Way for Dionne Warwick (also notable for including an early production of ‘(They Long to Be) Close to You‘). In 1973, The Stylistics covered the song, reaching the Billboard Top 30 and R&B Top 10 charts in the US and the UK Top 30.”
First recorded by Tony Orlando (1961).
Hit versions by Bill Fury (UK #3 1961), Bobby Vinton (US #23 1968).
Also recorded by Nick Lowe (1977).
From the wiki: “‘Halfway to Paradise’ was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King and was first recorded in 1961 by Tony Orlando in the United States, released as a single without any chart impact.
“The song had more success in the United Kingdom, recorded by Billy Fury where it reached a peak at #3 on the UK Singles Chart in 1961, and it remained on the UK charts for 23 weeks. ‘Halfway to Paradise’ also marked the beginning of Fury’s burst at the top of the charts that would only begin to slow down with the arrival of fellow Liverpudlian act, The Beatles.
“Bobby Vinton revived ‘Halfway to Paradise’ in 1968 in a mellow, more romantic version that charted in the Top 40. Nick Lowe released an arrangement of ‘Halfway to Paradise’ as a promotional single (from the album Jesus of Cool) in 1977, without any chart impact.”
First performed by Paul Williams (TV commercial 1969).
First commercial release by Freddie Allen (1970).
Hit versions by The Carpenters (US #2/MOR #1/CAN #1/UK #28 1970), Curtis Mayfield (US ALBUM #21/R&B #3/JAZZ #9 1971).
From the wiki: “‘We’ve Only Just Begun’ was written by Roger Nichols (music) and Paul Williams (lyrics). The song debuted in a wedding-themed TV commercial for Crocker National Bank in California with Williams on vocals. The first commercial single release was originally recorded by Smokey Roberds under the name ‘Freddie Allen’. Roberds had had previous hit song experience, with the group The Parade who charted ‘Sunshine Girl’ into the US Top-20 in 1967.
“When Roberds had heard the ‘We’ve Only Just Begun’ TV commercial, he phoned Nichols, his friend, ascertained that Nichols had indeed co-written it, and then asked Nichols to create a full-length version. Nichols and Williams did so, with Roberds intending to produce it for a band he had just signed to White Whale Records. The band deal fell through; Roberds decided to record the song himself, but couldn’t do so under his stage name for contractual reasons. According to Roberds, his Country-Pop recording of ‘We’ve Only Just Begun’ did well in California but not nationally – which he attributed to promotion and distribution problems.
