First recorded by Steve Gillette (1967).
Also recorded by The Stone Poneys (1967).
Hit version by The Sunshine Company (US #36 1967).
From the wiki: “‘Back on the Street Again’ was written by Steve Gillette and first recorded by him for his own debut eponymous album released in 1967. Later the same year, Gillette would record a cover of his own song as a member of The Stone Poneys, singing harmony to Linda Ronstadt’s lead on the group’s debut album which yielded the hit single, ‘Different Drum‘. The Sunshine Company (‘Up, Up and Away‘) would also record the song in 1967 and with it achieve the group’s biggest chart success with their only US Top 40 hit.”
First recorded by The Changin’ Times (US #87 1965).
Also recorded by The Jets (1966).
Other hit versions by Crispian St. Peters (US #4/UK #5/CAN #1/AUS #5 1966), Bob & Marcia (UK #11 1971).
From the wiki: “‘The Pied Piper’ was written by the duo of Steve Duboff and Artie Kornfeld, who first recorded the song in 1965 as a Dylan-esque group they called The Changin’ Times.
“However, it was British pop singer Crispian St. Peters who scored the major hit with the song during the summer of 1966, when his single went to #4 in the United States, #5 in the United Kingdom and #1 in Canada. (In the Netherlands, the beatgroup The Jets from Utrecht recorded their version a few months before St. Peters did. Rumors had it that this version inspired the Crispian St. Peters version.)
First recorded (as “Boy Watcher”) by Ginger Thompson (recorded January 1968, released August 1968).
Hit version by The O’Kaysions (first released April 1968 |US #5/R&B #6 June 1968).
From the wiki: “‘Girl Watcher’ was written by Buck Trail (a pseudonym used by songwriter Ron Killette) and was first recorded as ‘Boy Watcher’ in January, 1968 by Atlanta, GA, singer Ginger Thompson for 1-2-3 Records but was not released until August 1968.
“The song was also given to The O’Kaysions, a pop/blue-eyed soul group originally from Wilson, North Carolina, who had first formed in 1959 under the name The Kays, who recorded their production of ‘Girl Watcher’ in April 1968 for North Carolina-based North State Records. (This can be determined, somewhat, by the presence of only Trail’s name as songwriter on the Thompson release vs. the inclusion of O’Kaysions’ group member and manager Wayne Pittman on the latter’s releases.)
“However, by the time ABC Records chose to distribute the O’Kaysions’ April 1968 recording nationally, the original master tape had gone missing. So, a ‘needle-drop’ of the O’Kaysions’ regionally-issued North State label recording was used and that recording was then duplicated by ABC to create a nationally-distributed single in June 1968. ‘Girl Watcher’ was the O’Kaysions’ only chart hit.”
First recorded by Jerry Butler (1969).
Hit version by Dusty Springfield (US #24/MOR #3 1970).
From the wiki: “Written by Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff and Jerry Butler, ‘A Brand New Me’ was first recorded by Butler in 1969. Dusty Springfield would cover the song later that year, adding it as the title track to her album A Brand New Me. It is Springfield’s only album on which every song was produced by the same production team: Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. Gamble also co-wrote every track on the album, and the Gamble-Huff duo would go on to have success with many groups and singers in the 1970s, including Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, The O’Jays, MFSB and The Three Degrees. The single, ‘A Brand New Me’, would be Springfield’s last Top 40 chart success until her 1987 collaborations with Pet Shop Boys (‘What Have I Done to Deserve This?’) and Richard Carpenter (‘Something in Your Eyes’).”
First recorded by The We Three Trio (1964).
Hit version by Glen Yarbrough (US #12/MOR #2 1965).
Also recorded by Chris Connor (1965).
From the wiki: “‘Baby the Rain Must Fall’ was written by film score composer Elmer Bernstein (‘The Magnificent Seven’) and Ernie Sheldon, and was first performed and recorded by The We Three Trio for the motion-picture Baby the Rain Must Fall where it was heard during the opening credits.
“The song was later covered by Glenn Yarbrough for his 1965 album Baby the Rain Must Fall, with an arrangement by future Bread founder David ‘Dave’ Gates. ‘Baby the Rain Must Fall’ was also covered in 1965 by Chris Connor, who included it on her album of pop song covers performed pseudo-bossa nova, Chris Connor Sings Gentle Bossa Nova.”
First recorded by Manfred Mann (US #95/UK #5 1968).
Also recorded by The Country Gentlemen (1970).
Other hit version by Tom T. Hall (C&W #9 1976).
From the wiki: “Note: NOT the mid-’70s hit by Sweet. ‘Fox on the Run’ was first recorded by Manfred Mann as a single issued 29 November 1968. It was introduced to Bluegrass by Bill Emerson and quickly became a Bluegrass favorite, first recorded in that genre by The Country Gentlemen in 1970. In 1976, ‘Fox on the Run’ was covered by Country music singer-songwriter Tom T. Hall whose recording peaked in the US Country Top-10, its highest-charting US performance.”
Written and first released by Rod McKuen (1964).
Also recorded by The Kingston Trio (1964), Mark Lindsay (1969).
Hit version by Frank Sinatra (US #75/MOR #8/UK #8 1969).
From the wiki: “Rod McKuen wrote over 1,500 songs, including ‘Love’s Been Good to Me’, ‘Seasons in the Sun‘, and ‘Jean‘, which have accounted for the sale of over 100 million records worldwide according to the Associated Press.
“First recorded in 1964 by McKuen, the Kingston Trio covered ‘Love’s Been Good to Me’ the same year for their own album, The Kingston Trio (Nick Bob John). In 1969, Frank Sinatra commissioned an entire album of poems and songs by McKuen. Arranged by Don Costa, it was released under the title A Man Alone: The Words and Music of Rod McKuen. The album featured the song ‘Love’s Been Good to Me’, which then would become one of McKuen’s best-known songs.
“Former Paul Revere & the Raiders lead singer Mark Lindsay would also cover ‘Love’s Been to Me’ in 1969, for his debut solo album, Arizona ”
First recorded and performed (in Breakfast at Tiffany’s) by Audrey Hepburn (1961, released 1993).
Hit versions by co-writer Henry Mancini (US#11/MOR #3/UK #44 Oct 1961), Jerry Butler (US #11/MOR #3/R&B #14 Oct 1961), Danny Williams (UK #1 Nov 1961).
Also recorded by Andy Williams (1961).
From the wiki: “‘Moon River’ was written by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer, and was used as Audrey Hepburn’s theme song in the 1961 movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Hepburn sings the song in the movie, but the version used on the soundtrack was an instrumental by Henry Mancini and his orchestra. Mancini’s instrumental version was released as a single, the first to chart in the US and UK. Hepburn’s version, even though recorded first, was not released until after her death in 1993. It then appeared on the album Music From The Films of Audrey Hepburn.
“Although the instrumental version is played over the film’s opening titles, the lyrics are first heard in a scene where Paul ‘Fred’ Varjak (George Peppard) discovers Holly Golightly (Hepburn) singing them, accompanied by her guitar, on the fire escape outside their apartments. There was an eruption of much behind-the-scenes consternation when a Paramount Pictures executive, Martin Rackin, suggested deleting the song from the film immediately after a very successful San Francisco preview. Hepburn’s reaction was described by Mancini and others in degrees varying from her saying ‘over my dead body’ to her using somewhat more colorful language to make the same point.
First recorded by The Off-Broadway Cast of Hair (1967).
Hit version by The 5th Dimension (US #1/R&B #6/CAN #1/UK #11/AUS #3 1969).
https://youtu.be/x5kNrTtRqI4
From the wiki: “‘Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In’ is a medley of two songs written for the 1967 musical Hair by James Rado & Gerome Ragni (lyrics), and Galt MacDermot (music). Originally recorded as separate performances by the cast of Hair, the medley recorded by The 5th Dimension became one of the most popular songs of 1969 worldwide. ‘Aquarius’ was ranked #33 on the 2004 American Film Institute’s 100 Years … 100 Songs listing (in the motion-picture adaptation of Hair, produced in 1979).
“The lyrics of this song were based on the astrological belief that the world would soon be entering the ‘Age of Aquarius’, an age of love, light, and humanity, unlike the then-current ‘Age of Pisces’. The exact circumstances for the change are ‘When the moon is in the seventh house, and Jupiter aligns with Mars.’ This change was presumed to occur at the end of the 20th century; however, major astrologers differ extremely widely as to exactly when: Their proposed dates range from 2062 to 2680. ”
Based on “On Top of Old Smoky” by The Weavers (US #2 1951).
Hit version by Tom Glazer & the Do-Re-Mi Children’s Chorus (1963).
From the wiki: “‘On Top of Spaghetti’ is a ballad and children’s song with the most known performance by folk singer Tom Glazer with the Do-Re-Mi Children’s Chorus in 1963. The song is sung to the tune of ‘On Top of Old Smoky’, first recorded in 1925 by George Reneau and made popular in 1951 by The Weavers. It is the tale of a meatball falling off of a pile of spaghetti and rolling away ‘after somebody sneezed.'”
First recorded by Elvis Presley (US #95 1968).
Other hit version by Elvis Presley vs. JXL (US #50/UK #1/IRE #1/AUS #1/NZ #1/SWE #1 2002).
Also recorded by Mac Davis, co-writer (1973).
From the wiki: “‘A Little Less Conversation’ was written by Mac Davis and Billy Strange, and first performed by Elvis Presley in the 1968 film Live a Little, Love a Little. Davis has stated he’d written the song for Aretha Franklin to record, but that came to naught. ‘Conversation’ became a minor 1968 hit in the US for Presley when released as a single. Presley re-recorded the song in June 1968 for the soundtrack of his ’68 Comeback Special, with the intent of performing it during the program. Ultimately, it was decided not to use the recording and the song was dropped from the planned special. A 2002 remix by Junkie XL of the later re-recording of the song by Presley became a worldwide hit, topping the singles charts in nine countries and was awarded certifications in ten countries by 2003.”
First recorded by The Wailing Wailers (1965).
Also recorded (as “All in One”) by The Wailers (1970).
Hit version by Bob Marley & the Wailers (UK #5/NZ #1 1977).
From the wiki: “‘One Love’ was written by Bob Marley (with a later credit extended to Curtis Mayfield) and first recorded in a Ska style in 1965 by The Wailing Wailers. The song contains an interpretation of The Impressions’ song ‘People Get Ready’, written by Curtis Mayfield. This version was later included on their first singles compilation The Wailing Wailers in 1966.
“It was rerecorded as part of the 1970 medley ‘All In On’e, which contained reggae reworkings of the Wailers’ early ska songs. Yet another re-recording, in 1977, became a part of Marley’s Exodus album in 1977, and was released as one of that album’s promotional singles charting in the UK Top-10 and topping the music sales chart in New Zealand.
First recorded (as “Let’s Talk It Over”) by Lamont Anthony (Dozier) (1960).
Hit version by The Elgins (US #72/R&B #4 1966).
From the wiki: “Lamont Dozier (Lamont Anthony) is best known as a member of Holland–Dozier–Holland, the songwriting and production team responsible for much of the Motown sound and numerous hit records by artists such as Martha and the Vandellas, The Supremes, The Four Tops, and The Isley Brothers. But, Dozier recorded a few unsuccessful records for various Detroit labels (including early Motown subsidiary, Anna) before signing on with Motown in 1962. Anna Records was a short-lived record label, known as a forerunner of Motown, founded in Detroit by sisters Anna and Gwen Gordy (who co-wrote ‘Let’s Talk It Over’) and Roquel Billy Davis in 1959. The label signed such acts as David Ruffin, future lead singer of the Temptations; Joe Tex; Johnny Bristol and his partner Jackey Beavers (the original duo behind the Supremes’ ‘Someday We’ll Be Together‘), and future Motown hit-making songwriter-producer Lamont Dozier (who went by the name Lamont Anthony at the time). Anna Records also hired future Motown star Marvin Gaye as drummer for the label.
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.
First recorded by The Joseph Consortium (1968).
Hit versions by Max Bygraves (AUS #1 1970), Jason Donovan (UK #1 1991).
From the wiki: “In 1967, the Head of the music department of Colet Court School, London, asked a then-unknown Andrew Lloyd Webber (and Tim Rice) to compose a song for the boys choir to sing for their end-of-semester concert. First performed as a 15-minute Pop cantata at Colet, Decca Records recorded it in 1969 as part of a concept album after which ‘Any Dream Will Do’ would eventually become a fully-realized stage production, Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. Following in the wake of the next Lloyd Webber and Rice success, Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph received stage productions beginning in 1970; produced first for the stage in the West End in 1973, and opening on Broadway in 1982.”
First recorded (in English) by Cilla Black (US #26/MOR #4/UK #1 1964).
Other hit versions by Daryl Braithwaite (AUS #1 1974), Guys ‘n Dolls (NETH #1/BEL #1 1977), Helen Reddy (US #18/CAN #13/MEX #1 1977).
From the wiki: “The ballad ‘You’re My World’ was originally recorded in 1963 as ‘Il Mio Mondo’ (‘My World’) by Umberto Bindi, who co-wrote the Italian-language version with Gino Paoli. Although the original Italian version was not a hit, even in Italy, the song came to the attention of UK record producer George Martin who commissioned an English-language version to be recorded by his protégée Cilla Black (‘Anyone Who Had a Heart’, ‘Alfie‘, ‘Love of the Loved‘). Black’s second consecutive #1 hit in the UK, ‘You’re My World’ would be the first track by Black to be released in the US. Peaking at #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964 (and #4 on the MOR chart), ‘You’re My World’ would be Black’s only US Top 40 hit.
Written and first recorded (as “Quinn the Eskimo”) by Bob Dylan (1967, officially released 1985).
Hit version by Manfred Mann (US #10/UK #1/IRE #1/GER #1 1968).
From the wiki: “‘Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)’ is a folk-rock song written by Bob Dylan and first recorded during The Basement Tapes sessions in 1967 but was not officially released until 1985. (A 1969 live recording of ‘Quinn’ by Dylan, from the Isle of Wight, was released on Self Portrait in 1970). Meanwhile, the song was picked up and recorded by the British band Manfred Mann, who released it under the title “Mighty Quinn”. Manfred Mann first heard it on a bootleg of Dylan recordings, Dylan’s White Album (said to be the ‘mother of all bootlegs’), at Feldmans Music on Charing Cross Road, London. Dylan says the song was inspired by the Eskimo in the Nicholas Ray film The Savage Innocent (1960), symbol of pure freedom on American soil.”
Co-written and first recorded by Eddie Holland (US #76/R&B #27 1964).
Other hit version by Pearl Jam (ROCK #24/ALT #31 1996).
Also recorded by The Who (1965), The Birds (1965), Motörhead (1977).
From the wiki: “‘Leaving Here’ was written in 1963 by Motown songwriters Holland–Dozier–Holland (‘Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)‘, ‘Heat Wave’, ‘I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)’), and was originally released as a single in December 1963 by H-D-H lyricist Eddie Holland. Pearl Jam recorded the song for the 1996 Home Alive compilation album, released to fund women’s self-defense classes, and charted on the Rock and Alternative Rock music charts. The song would later be included on the band’s 2003 Lost Dogs double album of B-sides and rarities.
First recorded by The Family Dogg (B-side 1969).
Hit version by Mark Lindsay (US #10 1969).
From the wiki: “‘Arizona’ was written by Kenny Young (‘Under the Boardwalk’, Drifters, 1964; ‘Just a Little Bit Better’, Herman’s Hermits, 1964) and popularly recorded by former Paul Revere & the Raiders member Mark Lindsay (‘Indian Reservation‘) in 1969. The song was, however, first recorded April-May 1969 by the UK folk-rock group The Family Dogg and was first released as the B-side to the single ‘A Way of Life’.
“Albert Hammond (‘To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before‘) and Steve Rowland met for the first time at a concert in Madrid in 1964. In 1966, The Family Dogg was formed by the duo along with the participation of the singers Mike Hazlewood and Pam Zooey Quinn. The debut album, A Way of Life, was released in 1969; the title track became a #6 hit in the UK Singles Chart. Jimmy Page, John Bonham and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin were guest musicians on this album, along with Elton John. Hammond and Hazlewood would go on to co-write ‘Gimme Dat Ding’ (The Pipkins) and ‘The Air That I Breathe‘ (The Hollies).
“After leaving Paul Revere & the Raiders in 1969, Lindsay began to record solo records and to produce records before retiring from performing to serve as head of A&R for United Artists records. Lindsay contributed to the recordings of artists such as Gerry Rafferty (on ‘Baker Street’), Kenny Rogers, and others. His later accomplishments also included composing jingles for commercials (including Baskin-Robbins, Datsun, Kodak, Pontiac and Levi’s among others) and scores for motion pictures.”
Influenced by “(Ain’t That) A Lot of Love” by Homer Banks (1966).
Hit versions by The Spencer Davis Group (US #7/UK #2 1966), Traffic (US #68 1971), The Blues Brothers (US #18 1980).
From the wiki: “Homer Banks was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and, at the age of 16, formed The Soul Consolidators gospel group which toured around the southern states. After military service, Banks returned to Memphis in 1964 where he began a singing career with the small Genie label where he met Isaac Hayes and David Porter. Soon, Stax founder Estelle Axton hired Banks to work at the record shop attached to the company’s Satellite Studios. He stayed for three years, also recording for the Minit label subsidiary of Liberty Records. One of his Minit recordings, ‘(Ain’t That) A Lot of Love’, co-written by Banks and Deanie Parker, provided the basic riff later used by the Spencer Davis Group on their hit ‘Gimme Some Lovin”.
Inspired by “Lonely Travelin'” by Lonesome Lee (1956)
and “Icky Poo” by The Nomads (c. 1960).
Hit version by Stray Cats (US #3/UK #11 1981).
From the wiki: “Head cat of the Stray Cat pack, Brian Setzer, has always been quite open and honest in his self-confessed pillaging of old rock ‘n’ roll songs, something which he equates to the widespread practice of rearranging old-time country and blues tunes into popular music.
“Such is the case of ‘Stray Cat Strut’, which had not one but two antecedents: ‘Lonely Travelin’, by Chicago bluesman Lonesome Lee and, more especially, ‘Icky Poo’ by The Nomads, an obscure San Diego white doo-wop band.
First recorded by Billy Joe Royal (US #52/CAN #45 1967).
Also recorded by Kris Ife (1967).
Other hit versions by Deep Purple (US #4/UK #58/CAN #2 1968), Kula Shaker (US #19/UK #2 1997).
From the wiki: “‘Hush’ was written by Joe South (‘Games People Play’) for singer Billy Joe Royal (‘Down in the Boondocks’, also written by South; ‘Cherry Hill Park’) and was first recorded by Royal in 1967, charting modestly in the Billboard Hot 100.
“British singer Kris Ife covered ‘Hush’ in 1967 in the UK market. It was this version that inspired Deep Purple’s 1968 hit cover, recorded for their 1968 debut album Shades of Deep Purple. The track became the group’s first hit single, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at #2 on the Canadian singles chart. Group member Ritchie Blackmore recalls, ‘It was a great song [which] would be a good song [for] our act, if we could come up with a different arrangement…We [recorded] the whole song in two takes.’ ‘Hush’ is one of four songs originally recorded by Deep Purple with vocals sung by Rod Evans before Ian Gillan later performed the group’s vocal leads.
First recorded (as a demo) by The Beatles (January 1969).
Also recorded (as a solo demo) by George Harrison (February 1969).
Hit album version by The Beatles (April 1969).
From the wiki: “‘Old Brown Shoe’ was written by George Harrison and would be released by The Beatles as the B-side to ‘The Ballad of John and Yoko’. The song was recorded during the sessions for the Abbey Road album, first by the group over a three-day period while participating in a Let It Be film session at Apple Studios in January 1969. Harrison then made a multi-tracked solo demo (featuring only piano and electric guitar) at EMI Studios on 25 February 1969. There is some controversy over whether Harrison played bass on the completed album version, recorded in April 1969. In a two-part Creem interview (published in December 1987 and January 1988), Harrison appears to confirm he played bass on the recording:
‘Creem: You also told me you played bass on ‘Old Brown Shoe’.
George: It’s like a lunatic playing.
Creem: It sounds like McCartney was going nuts again.
George: That was me going nuts. I’m doing exactly what I do on the guitar.'”
