First recorded by The Hombres (US #12 1967).
Other hit version by Jonathan King (UK #26 1969).
Also recorded by John Mellencamp (1989).
From the wiki: “Formed in 1966, The Hombres comprised Jerry Lee Masters, Gary Wayne McEwen, B. B. Cunningham, Jr., and John Will Hunter, and ‘Let It All Hang Out’ was written by the four of them. The song’s spoken intro – ‘A preachment, dear friends, you are about to receive on John Barleycorn, nicotine and the temptations of Eve’ – dates to the 1947 novelty recording ‘Cigareetes, Whuskey and Wild, Wild Women’ by Red Ingle and His Natural Seven.
“The song was first covered – with much the same production arrangement – in the UK by Jonathan King (‘Hooked On a Feeling‘, ‘Everyone’s Gone to the Moon’) in 1969, and also appeared on his 1989 compilation album, The Butterfly That Stamped. Yet another cover version was recorded by The Nails in the mid 1980s. The song also appears as a hidden track on John Mellencamp’s 1989 album Big Daddy.
First released (as “Garota de Ipanema”) by Pery Ribeiro (1962).
Hit versions by Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto (US #5/MOR #1/UK #29 1964), Stan Getz & Astrud Gilberto (MOR #1 1964).
Also recorded by Ella Fitzgerald (as “Boy from Ipanema”, 1965), Amy Winehouse (2002).
From the wiki: “‘Garota de Ipanema’ (‘The Girl from Ipanema’) was the worldwide Bossa nova hit song that won a Grammy for Record of the Year in 1965. It was written in 1962, with music by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Portuguese lyrics by Vinicius de Moraes. English lyrics were written later by Norman Gimbel (‘So Nice‘, ‘Killing Me Softly with His Song‘).
“The first commercial recording was in 1962, by Pery Ribeiro. The 1964 single, performed by Astrud Gilberto and Stan Getz and shortened from the album version recorded in 1963 by Getz and Joao Gilberto, became the international hit. The original choice as vocalist was Sarah Vaughan, but when Gilberto heard the English translation, he decided that Astrud – Joao’s wife – should sing it. Her subtle vocal added a nuance to the song.
“Numerous recordings have been used in films, sometimes as an elevator music cliché, and the song has been covered by other singers innumerable times (including a gender-turning version. titled ‘Boy from Ipanema’, sung by the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Peggy Lee). ‘Girl from Ipanema’ is believed to be the second most recorded pop song in history, after ‘Yesterday’ by The Beatles.
First recorded by Procol Harum (1967).
Hit version by Procol Harum & the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (US #16/UK #22/CAN #7/AUS #4 1972).
From the wiki: “‘Conquistador’ was written by Gary Brooker and Keith Reid, of the British psychedelic Rock band Procol Harum, and originally appeared on the band’s 1967 self-titled debut album. Brooker had written a piece of Spanish-flavored music before the band had officially formed, and Reid decided to write lyrics about a conquistador. This studio arrangement was not released as a single. (The US release of the album contained the hit single ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’.)
“Fast-forward to August 1971: Procol Harum is invited to perform with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. ‘Conquistador’ was added to the set with little time to spare, giving the orchestra no time to rehearse. Nonetheless, they began the concert with the song, and the concert was captured on the album Procol Harum Live In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (1972), from which ‘Conquistador’ was the lead promotional single.
First recorded by Steam (US #1/R&B #20 1969).
Also recorded by The Supremes (1970).
Other hit versions by Bananarama (US #101/UK #5 1983), The Nylons (US #12 1987).
From the wiki: “‘Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye’ was written and recorded by Paul Leka, Gary DeCarlo and Dale Frashuer, attributed to a then-fictitious band they named ‘Steam’ as a throw-away B-side. When the song began to get airplay on the radio and became a hit, the writers hired stand-in musicians to tour as Steam. (So, ‘Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye’ may be the biggest selling (over 6.5 million copies) B-side recorded by a non existent band in music history.) Leka, et al. wrote a primitive version of the song in the early 1960s when they were members of a band from Bridgeport, Connecticut, The Chateaus, who disbanded after several failed recordings.
“Uncle John’s Fifth Bathroom Reader states that DeCarlo was recording a throwaway ‘flip side – something so bad, no disc jockey would accidentally play it as the ‘A’ side.’ ‘Na Na Hey Hey’ was described by DeCarlo as ‘an embarrassing record … an insult.’ But, Mercury Records decided it was great and released it as an A-side single. Nobody wanted to be identified with the record, however, so it was credited to ‘Steam’.
First performed (as “Gli occhi miei”) by Wilma Goich (1968), Dino (1968).
First recorded (as “Gli occhi miei”) by Riccardo del Turco (1968).
Hit version by Tom Jones (US #35/UK #5/AUS #1/IRE #1/GER #1 1968).
[Wilma Goich, “Gli occhi miei” San Remo Festival performance (1968)]
[Dino, “Gli occhi miei” San Remo Festival performance (1968)]
From the wiki: “‘Help Yourself’ is a reworked English-language version of the Italian song ‘Gli Occhi Miei’, written by Carlo Donida with lyrics by Mogol and originally performed by both Dino (Eugenio Zambelli) and Wilma Goich in separate performances at the 1968 San Remo song festival, and was first commercially recorded by Riccardo del Turdo in 1968.
“Jack Fishman wrote the English lyrics, which bear no relation to the original Italian, and the song was retitled ‘Help Yourself’. Recorded by Tom Jones, it became one of his best-known hits and reached the Top 5 in the UK in its original run. ‘Help Yourself’ topped the charts in Ireland, Germany and Australia. The American single peaked at #35 on the Billboard Hot 100.”
Written and originally recorded by Arthur Alexander (US #24/R&B #27 1962).
Other hit versions by The Rolling Stones (UK EP #1 1964), Billy “Crash” Craddock (C&W #37 1972), George Jones & Johnny Paycheck (C&W #18 1980).
From the wiki: “‘You Better Move On’ was written and first recorded by Arthur Alexander (and produced by FAME’s Rick Hall) in 1962. It peaked at #24 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April, 1962.
“Although labeled as a ‘country-soul’ singer-songwriter, Alexander is the only songwriter whose songs have been covered by the Beatles (‘Anna (Go to Him)‘), the Rolling Stones (‘You Better Move On’), and Bob Dylan (who recorded ‘Sally Sue Brown’ on his 1988 LP Down in the Groove). Elvis Presley also covered Alexander’s original 1972 recording of ‘Burning Love‘, Presley’s last Top-10 hit (kept from #1 by Chuck Berry’s ‘My Ding-a-Ling‘).
First recorded by The Rubber Band (1966).
Hit version by James & Bobby Purify (US #23/R&B #18 1967).
From Songfacts.com: “‘Let Love Come Between Us” was written by Joe Sobotka and John Wyker, of the Alabama group The Rubber Band, and first recorded by the group in 1966. The song would later be covered by James and Bobby Purify (‘I’m Your Puppet‘) and achieve chart success a year later. The Rubber Band was fronted by Johnny Townsend, who later had a hit with ‘Smoke From A Distant Fire’ as half of the Sanford-Townsend Band.
“In an odd, unfortunate twist of fate, Townsend recalls, ‘Our version [of ‘Let Love Come Between Us’] on Columbia Records was considered a turntable hit in that it went to #1 on the radio in 20 major cities in the US. But, Columbia didn’t get any records in the stores because they didn’t even know it was their record. We were such novices in the business that it got by us and was gone before we knew it. It did however give us a taste of success and we wanted more.'”
Written and first recorded (as a demo) by Paul McCartney (1968).
Hit version by Mary Hopkin (US #13/UK #2/CAN #14/NETH #1 1969).
From the wiki: “‘Goodbye’ is a song written by Paul McCartney (but credited to Lennon–McCartney) and performed by Mary Hopkin. The song was conceived as a follow-up to the success of Hopkin’s first single, produced by McCartney, titled ‘Those Were the Days‘, highlighted on her debut album Postcard, one of the first records issued by the newly founded Apple Records.
First recorded by The Four Seasons (B-side 1964).
Hit version by The Tremeloes (US #11/UK #1/CAN #8/AUS #5/NZ #1/IRE #1/SWE #2 1967).
From the wiki: “‘Silence is Golden’ is a song co-written by Bob Gaudio (‘The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine (Anymore)‘) of the quartet, The Four Seasons, with Bob Crewe (‘Silhouettes‘, ‘Lady Marmalade‘). It was released as a B-side to the hit song ‘Rag Doll’ (US #1), in 1964.
Written and first recorded by Wayne Cochran (1961).
Hit versions by J. Frank Wilson & The Cavaliers (US #2 1964), Wednesday (US #34/CAN #2 1975), Pearl Jam (US Rock #2/UK #42 1999).
From the wiki: “‘Last Kiss’ was written and recorded by Wayne Cochran in 1961 for the Gala record label. It failed to do well on the charts. Cochran subsequently re-recorded his song for the King label in 1963; again, with no chart impact. ‘Last Kiss’ was later revived, in 1964, by J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers; Canadian group Wednesday, in 1974; and Pearl Jam, in 1999.
First recorded by The Cannonball Adderley Quintet (US #11 1966).
Other hit versions by The Mauds (US #85 1967), Larry Williams & Johnny “Guitar” Watson (US #96/R&B #23 1967), Marlena Shaw (US #58/R&B #33 1967), The Buckinghams (US #5 1967).
Also recorded by James Brown (1967), The Buddy Rich Big Band (1968).
From the wiki: “‘Mercy, Mercy, Mercy’ is a song written by Joe Zawinul in 1966 for Julian ‘Cannonball’ Adderley and his album Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at ‘The Club’. The song was released as a promotional single for the album and became a surprise hit, reaching #11 on the Billboard charts in Feb. 1967. ‘Mercy, Mercy, Mercy’ song has been re-recorded numerous times, most notably by The Buckinghams who reached # 5 in August 1967, adding lyrics to the tune.
“The theme of the song on the original recording is performed by Zawinul himself, playing it on a Wurlitzer electric piano previously used by Ray Charles.
“‘Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” was first covered by the Mauds in 1967, using an arrangement of the original instrumental with lyrics written especially for them by Curtis Mayfield. The Mauds were part of the mid-1960s Chicago ‘garage band’ scene that included The Buckinghams, The Cryan Shames, New Colony Six, The Ides of March, and Shadows of Knight – a collection of groups that was able to chart 30 national hit singles between them from 1966-1968.
“In fact, it was Knight’s frontman Jimy Sohns who first discovered and championed The Mauds in 1966. ‘I rehearsed the first line-up of The Mauds when Jimy was still in high school and hand-picked them to replace us (the Shadows of Knight as the house band) when we left The Cellar (the famous teen club in Arlington Heights, IL) to play other places,’ remembers Sohns. The single attained regional popularity (via WLS-AM and WCFL-AM radio airplay) but stalled at #85 on the Billboard Hot 100 due to the better marketing and distribution of the Buckinghams’ single which used the Mauds’ arrangement – although with different lyrics – and peaked at #5 on the Hot 100.
“Other early vocal arrangements were released by Larry Williams & Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson (released February, 1967) and Marlena Shaw (released March, 1967).
“An instrumental arrangement of ‘Mercy, Mercy, Mercy’. featuring James Brown on keyboards, was released in 1967. The following year, a live arrangement of ‘Mercy, Mercy, Mercy’ was featured on the 1968 Buddy Rich Big Band album, Mercy, Mercy, recorded at Caesars Palace in 1968. The album received acclaim as the ‘finest all-round recording by Buddy Rich’s big band.'”
First recorded by The Velvets (B-side JPN #1 1961).
Other hit version by co-writer Roy Orbison (UK #15/AUS #4/IRE #4/BEL #1 1966).
From the wiki: “‘The Velvets didn’t conform to any of doo-wop’s norms.’ writes sleeve note author Bill Millar. The group hailed not from New York but from Odessa, Texas, where the panhandle meets the rest of the state. The quintet was formed in 1959 by Virgil Johnson, a high-school English teacher, with four of his students.
“Performing locally at sock-hops and campus functions, The Velvets were heard by Roy Orbison who was so impressed with them that he recommended the group to Fred Foster at Monument Records. Like their mentor, Orbison, The Velvets sang songs which straddled that increasingly invisible line between Country and Pop. The Velvets and Roy Orbison both shared the same producer, Fred Foster, and used the same Nashville ‘A-Team’ session musicians. The Velvets’ second release, ‘Tonight’, became their highest-charting single, taking into the Billboard Hot 100 at #26 (UK chart at #50) and, as Millar says, was as perfect as Black pop music would get. However, the follow-up, ‘Laugh’, barely dented the American charts. But, its B-side, ‘Lana’, went to #1 in Japan!
First recorded by Little Stevie Wonder (1962).
Hit version by The Blendells (US #62 1964).
From the wiki: “The Blendells were a 1960s Mexican American brown-eyed soul group from East Los Angeles, California. They garnered success in 1964 with their Latin-tinged cover of Little Stevie Wonder’s ‘La La La La La’, written by Clarence Paul and first released on Wonder’s 1962 chart-topping album Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius. The Blendell’s 1964 recording peaked at #62 on the national charts, but it was #1 in Phoenix, AZ (where they performed as headliners before 11,000 people), Hawaii, and Los Angeles, at a time when the #2 song was by The Beatles.
“The song was brought to the attention of the band by drummer Ronnie Chipres. The Blendells were playing it at one of their gigs when Eddie Davis heard it and urged them to record it. Lead singer Sal Murillo says the song was recorded in one take. Many in the ‘West Coast East Side’ music community believe The Blendells would have achieved far more success had most of its members not been drafted into the Vietnam War.
First released by Trash (UK #27 1969).
Hit album version by The Beatles (1969).
From “One Hit Wonders“: “If you were going to isolate an aspect of the Abbey Road album song cycle and issue it as a single, ‘Golden Slumbers/ Carry That Weight’ would be the obvious pairing. The Beatles clearly had no interest in doing so, but Trash – one of their Apple signings – were encouraged to exploit the potential of the tunes by Apple Corp’s enterprising employee Richard Dilello.
First recorded by Kai Winding (1963).
Hit versions by Irma Thomas (B-side US #52 1964), The Rolling Stones (US #6/AUS #4 1964 |UK #64 1982).
From the wiki: “Session arranger Garry Sherman contacted songwriter friend and colleague Jerry Ragovoy (‘Piece of My Heart‘) after big band trombonist, bandleader, and former Benny Goodman, Stan Kenton and Miles Davis sideman Kai Winding had expressed an interest in going in a more commercial, contemporary and rhythmic direction at the onset of the British Invasion. Coming up with a melody was easy, but Ragovoy could think of no lyrics for the song other than ‘time is on my side’ and ‘you’ll be comin’ back to me’. Produced by Creed Taylor and engineered by Phil Ramone, ‘Time Is On My Side’ was also recorded using background vocals by Cissy Houston, Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick, ‘Time Is On My Side’ was released on the Verve Records label in October 1963. It did not chart.
Written and first recorded (as a demo) by Carole King (1967).
Hit versions by Aretha Franklin (US #8/R&B #2 1967), Celine Dion (MOR #31 1995), Mary J. Blige (R&B #39/UK #23 1995).
Also recorded by Carole King (1971).
From the wiki: “Written by the celebrated partnership of Gerry Goffin and Carole King, ‘You Make Me Feel (Like a Natural Woman)’ was inspired by Atlantic Records co-owner and producer Jerry Wexler.
“As recounted in his autobiography, Wexler, a student of African-American musical culture, had been mulling over the concept of the ‘natural man’, when he drove by Goffin on the streets of New York. Wexler shouted out to him he wanted a ‘natural woman’ song for Aretha Franklin’s next album. In thanks, Goffin and King granted Wexler a co-writing credit.
“Franklin’s recording features all three Franklin sisters, including Erma and Carolyn singing backup. Erma had a record deal in the ’60s, but didn’t have much success. Her biggest hit was her 1967 original recording of ‘Piece Of My Heart‘, made famous by Janis Joplin.”
First recorded by Merry Clayton (1963).
Also recorded by Ramona King (1963).
Hit versions by Betty Everett (US #6/R&B #1 1963 |UK #38 1968), The Searchers (1964), Bootleg Family Band (AUS #5 1974), Linda Lewis (UK #6 1975), Kate Taylor (US #49 1977), Cher (US #33/UK #1/IRE #1/SPN #1/NOR #1 1990).
Also performed by Linda Ronstadt & Phoebe Snow (1979).
From the wiki: “‘It’s in His Kiss’ was first rejected by the premier girl-group of the early 1960s, the New York-based Shirelles, and was instead first recorded in Los Angeles by Merry Clayton as her first credited single. Clayton had previously provided an uncredited female vocal to the hit ‘You’re the Reason I’m Living’ recorded by Bobby Darin as his debut on Capitol Records, and Darin had subsequently arranged for Clayton herself to be signed to Capitol.
“Clayton recorded ‘It’s in His Kiss’ – whose composer Rudy Clark was a staff writer for TM Music which Bobby Darin headed – in a session produced by Jack Nitzsche with The Blossoms (‘Stoney End‘, ‘He’s a Rebel‘) as chorale: the single was released June 10 1963 with no evident chart success.
Written and first recorded by Laura Nyro (1966).
Also recorded by The Blossoms (B-side 1967 |A-side 1969), The Stone Poneys (1968), Peggy Lipton (US #121 1968).
Hit version by Barbra Streisand (US #6/MOR #2/CAN #5/UK #27 1971).
From the wiki: “Laura Nyro (1947–1997) was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist. She achieved critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums Eli and the Thirteenth Confession (1968) and New York Tendaberry (1969), and had commercial success with artists such as Barbra Streisand and The 5th Dimension recording her songs.
“Nyro’s style was a hybrid of Brill Building-style New York pop, jazz, gospel, rhythm and blues, show tunes, rock, and soul. As a child, she taught herself piano, read poetry, and listened to her mother’s records by Leontyne Price, Billie Holiday and classical composers such as Ravel and Debussy. She composed her first songs at age eight. With her family, she spent summers in the Catskill Mountains, where her father played the trumpet at resorts.
“‘Stoney End’ was first recorded by Nyro in 1966 and released in 1967 on the Verve/Folkway album More Than a New Discovery (later reissued as Laura Nyro, 1969, and as The First Songs, 1973). For the single version of ‘Stoney End,’ Nyro was forced to rework some of the lyrics that referred to the Bible, because Verve felt it would cause too much controversy.
Written and first recorded (as a demo) by Paul McCartney (1969).
Hit version by Badfinger (US #7/UK #4 1969).
From the wiki: “Paul McCartney recorded a solo demo of his song on 24 July 1969, when he arrived early for an Abbey Road album session. He sang the double-tracked lead vocal and played all the instruments: he sang and played piano on the first take, sang again and played maracas on the first overdub, drums came third and bass guitar was added last. It took less than an hour to finish.
First recorded as “Come and Take a Ride in My Boat” by The Rare Breed (1966).
Hit version by Every Mother’s Son (US #6 1967).
From the wiki: “‘Come on Down to My Boat’ was written by Jerry Goldstein and Wes Farrell, and was first recorded in 1966 as ‘Come and Take a Ride in My Boat’ by The Rare Breed (not to be confused with the UK band Rare Breed featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler), who would later perform as The Ohio Express (‘Yummy Yummy Yummy’, 1968). The song was covered by Every Mother’s Son in 1967, peaking in the Billboard Top-10.”
Written and originally recorded by Otis Redding (US #35/R&B #4 1965).
Other hit version by Aretha Franklin (US #1/R&B #1/UK #10/CAN #3/AUS #14 1967).
From the wiki: “Essentially a ballad, ‘Respect’ was written by Otis Redding for Speedo Sims, who intended to record it with his band, the Singing Demons, but was unable to produce a good version. Redding then decided to sing the song himself, which Speedo agreed to. (Redding also promised to credit Speedo on the liner notes, but this never happened.)
First recorded (as “The Last Time”) by The Rolling Stones (US #9/UK #1/IRE #2 1965).
Based on “This May Be the Last Time” by The Staple Singers (ca. 1954).
Also recorded (instrumentally, as “The Last Time”) by The Andrew Oldham Orchestra (1965).
Hit version by The Verve (US #12/UK #2 1997).
From the wiki: “‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ is a song by English alternative rock band The Verve, and is the lead track on their third studio album, Urban Hymns (1997). It is based on former Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham’s orchestral version of The Rolling Stones’ song ‘The Last Time’ from which the Verve samples the main theme.
“The sampling, and the extent to which it was used, would later involve The Verve in legal controversy. Oldham had produced his hobby-project album, The Rolling Stones Songbook, in 1965 by recording orchestrated instrumental versions of several popular Stones melodies. Oldham’s production of ‘The Last Time’ was the only take on Oldham’s album not immediately recognizable by comparison to the original Rolling Stones recordings.
Written and first recorded by Buck Owens (B-side 1964).
Hit version by Ray Charles (US #6/R&B #5/UK #50 1966).
From the wiki: “‘Crying Time’ is a song from 1964 written by Buck Owens. Owens recorded the original version of his song and released it as the B-side to ‘I’ve Got a Tiger By the Tail’ in 1964. A cover version of ‘Crying Time’ was then recorded in 1965 by Ray Charles, featuring backing vocals by the Jack Halloran Singers and The Raelettes, and released on his 1966 album Crying Time. His version proved to be a hit strong Top 40 and R&B hit. Charles’ version of ‘Crying Time’ won two Grammy Awards in 1967, in the categories Best R&B Recording and Best R&B Solo Performance.
“Charles and Barbra Streisand together performed the song as a duet on her 1973 album Barbra Streisand … And Other Musical Instruments and on the TV special titled the same.”
First recorded by Howlin’ Wolf (1960).
Hit versions by Koko Taylor (US #58/R&B #13 1966), The Pointer Sisters (US #61/R&B #24 1973).
Also recorded by Savoy Brown (1971), Willie Dixon (1973).
From the wiki: “‘Wang Dang Doodle’ is a Blues song written by Willie Dixon and first recorded in 1960 by Howlin’ Wolf. In 1965, Dixon and Leonard Chess persuaded Koko Taylor to record it for Checker Records. Her recording, produced by Dixon, charted both R&B and Pop, and ‘Wang Dang Doodle’ has since gone on to become a Blues standard.
“In his autobiography, Dixon explained that the phrase ‘wang dang doodle’ ‘meant a good time, especially if the guy came in from the South. A ‘wang dang’ meant having a ball and a lot of dancing, they called it a rocking style so that’s what it meant to ‘wang dang doodle’.’ Dixon claimed that he wrote ‘Wang Dang Doodle’ when he first heard Howlin’ Wolf in 1951 or 1952, but that it was ‘too far in advance’ for him and he saved it for later. Wolf supposedly hated the song at first and commented, ‘Man, that’s too old-timey, sound[s] like some old levee camp number.’
