Songs with Earlier Histories Than the Hit Version

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Category: 1970s

1970s, Pop

Muskrat Love

Written and originally recorded (as “Muskrat Candlelight”) by Willis Alan Ramsey (1972).
Also recorded (as “Sun Down”) by Lani Hall (1972).
Hit versions by America (US #67/MOR #11 1973), Captain & Tennille (US #4/MOR #1 1976).

From the wiki: “‘Muskrat Love’ is a pop song by written by Willis Alan Ramsey, a cult legend among fans of Americana and Texas country, depicting a romantic liaison between two anthropomorphic muskrats named Susie and Sam. The song was first recorded by Ramsey on the critically acclaimed album Willis Alan Ramsey (1972) on which the song was titled ‘Muskrat Candlelight’.

“The trio America recorded ‘Muskrat Love’ for their 1973 album Hat Trick, marking the second time the band had recorded a song not written by a member of America. David Dickey, bassist for the group, brought ‘Muskrat Candlelight’ to the group’s attention. According to Beckley ‘to us it sounded like a very bluesy, quirky tune. We just felt it was quirky and commercial, and we worked it up.’ Dan Peek would recall that America’s label Warner Bros. ‘hated’ the track and ‘begged us not to release it as a single … We were stupid to press the issue but we liked the song for its easy, acoustic, harmonic beauty not realizing that perhaps it was badly cast for us in order to retain the fairly hip image we had eked out’. In a 2012 interview Gerry Beckley said of ‘Muskrat Love’: ‘It’s a polarizing little number. After concerts, some people tell us they can’t believe we didn’t play it, while others go out of their way to thank us for not performing it.’

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1970s, Pop

It’s Gonna Take Some Time

Co-written and first recorded by Carole King (1971).
Hit version by The Carpenters (US #12/CAN #12/JPN #48 1972).

From the wiki: “‘It’s Going to Take Some Time’ is a song written by Carole King and Toni Stern for King’s 1971 album, Music. It was redone by the Carpenters in 1972 for their fourth album, A Song for You. According to Richard Carpenter, he had to choose which songs he wanted to remake, and there was a big pile of 7″ singles he had to listen to. When he encountered ‘It’s Going to Take Some Time’, he knew it would be a hit, and The Carpenters recorded it. The song peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100.

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1970s, Pop

You Are So Beautiful

Co-written and first recorded by Billy Preston (1974).
Hit version by Joe Cocker (US #5/MOR #12/CAN #4 1975).

From the wiki: “Written by Billy Preston (‘Will It Go ‘Round in Circles’) and Bruce Fisher (‘If I Ever Lose This Heaven‘), ‘You Are So Beautiful’ was first recorded by Preston for the album The Kids & Me, released in May 1974. The album’s dedication, reflected in the title, was to St. Elmo’s Village, an inner-city children’s recreation center and arts community located in Los Angeles.

“In November 1974, Joe Cocker released a slower version of the song on his album I Can Stand a Little Rain. Cocker’s version was produced by Jim Price, and released as a single. It became one of Cocker’s biggest chart hits, peaking at #5 on the United States’ Billboard Hot 100, and at #4 on Canada’s Top Singles chart.

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1970s, Pop

Touch Me When We’re Dancing

Written and first recorded by Bama (US #86/MOR #42 1979).
Hit versions by The Carpenters (US #16/MOR #1 1981), Alabama (C&W #1 1986).
Also recorded by Mickey Gilley & Charly McClain (1984).

From the wiki: “‘Touch Me When We’re Dancing’ was written by Terry Skinner, J. L. Wallace and Ken Bell. Skinner and Wallace headed the Muscle Shoals, Alabama, session group Bama, who first recorded the song and released it as a single in 1979.

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1970s, Pop

You’ve Got a Friend

Written and first released by Carole King (1971).
Hit version by James Taylor (US #1/UK #4 1971).

From the wiki: “‘You’ve Got a Friend’ was written by Carole King, and included on both her album Tapestry and James Taylor’s album Mud Slide Slim, recorded simultaneously in 1971 with shared musicians. Tapestry was the first of the two albums to be released, in February 1971. Mud Slide Slim would be released in March 1971.

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1970s, Country

Let Your Love Flow

First released by Gene Cotton (1975).
Hit version by The Bellamy Brothers (US #1/MOR #2/C&W #21/CAN #3/UK #7/GER #1/SWE #2 1976).

From the wiki: “‘Let Your Love Flow’ was written by Larry E. Williams, a former roadie for Neil Diamond, who first offered the song to Diamond who turned it down. Johnny Rivers also passed on the song.

“An early recording was attempted by producer Phil Gernhard with David Bellamy singing, using Diamond’s road band as session musicians, but the result was disappointing and the session was shelved. Pop-folk and Christian singer Gene Cotton would wind up being the first performer to release ‘Let Your Love Flow’, in October 1975, as the lead promotional single from Cotton’s album For All the Young Writers, but it failed to chart.

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1970s, R&B

Yes We Can Can

First recorded by Lee Dorsey (R&B #46 1970).
Hit version by The Pointer Sisters (US #11/R&B #12/AUS #86/NETH #25/ITA #30 1973).
Also recorded by Allen Toussaint (2005).

From the wiki: “‘Yes We Can Can’ was written by Allen Toussaint (‘Java‘, ‘I Like It Like That‘, ‘Whipped Cream‘) and was first recorded as ‘Yes We Can’ by Lee Dorsey on his 1970 album Yes We Can … And Then Some, co-produced by Toussaint.

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1970s, Jazz

Affirmation

Written and originally recorded by Jose Feliciano (1975).
Hit album version by George Benson (1976).

From the wiki: “In 1975, on his last RCA album, Just Wanna Rock’n’Roll, guitarist Jose Feliciano released his jazz-funk-Latin instrumental composition ‘Affirmation’. It was covered a year later by jazz guitarist George Benson, on his hit album Breezin’.”

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1970s, Pop

A Song for You

Written and first recorded by Leon Russell (1970).
Hit versions by Andy Williams (MOR #29 1971), The Carpenters (1972), Ray Charles (US #104/MOR #9/R&B #57 1993), Herbie Hancock & Christina Aguilera (US #19 2005).
Also recorded by Donny Hathaway (1971), Dusty Springfield (1972).

From the wiki: “‘A Song for You’ was recorded Leon Russell for his debut album, Leon Russell, originally intending for it to be recorded by Rita Coolidge. It has been called ‘an American classic’ by Elton John (who sang ‘Song for You’ as an intro to a medley of his own songs ‘Blue Eyes’ and ‘I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues’ on his 1986 tour).

“One of the first versions of the song that brought the song broader attention was by Andy Williams, in 1972. The Carpenters’ version, while not released as a single, was the title track to their 1972 hit album A Song for You (#4 on the Billboard Album chart; three Top-10 singles). Dusty Springfield recorded her version of ‘A Song for You’ for possible inclusion on the album See All Her Faces (1972) but the track went unreleased until 1996.

“Ray Charles recorded a poignant version of the song on his 1993 album My World. Released as a single, it reached #4 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles but still won for him a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.”

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1970s, Soul

Blame It on the Boogie

Written and first recorded by Mick Jackson (US #61/UK #15 1978).
Hit version by The Jacksons (US #54/R&B #3/UK #8 1978).

From the wiki: “Mick Jackson (no relation to the Jackson 5) wrote and recorded ‘Blame It on the Boogie’ in 1977 with the hope of it being recorded by Stevie Wonder. Jackson released it under his own name in 1978.

“The Mick Jackson track was showcased in 1978 at the Midem Music Festival where, according Jackson: ‘The Jacksons’ manager [Peter Kerstin] heard the track being played and took a tape recording of it back to the States [where] The Jacksons quickly recorded a version so it would be out before mine.’ In fact, the Mick Jackson recording was released first by Atlantic Records in the US in mid-August 1978; The Jacksons’ version was released by Epic Records on August 23.

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1970s, Country

Rhinestone Cowboy

First recorded by Larry Weiss (MOR #24 1974).
Other hit version by Glen Campbell (US #1/C&W #1/UK #4/CAN #1 1975).

From the wiki: “”Rhinestone Cowboy” is a song written by Larry Weiss and most famously recorded by singer Glen Campbell. Growing up in Queens, New York City, Weiss started writing songs in his teens, and continued to do so while working in his family’s textile sales business, before working as a freelance songwriter for music publishers Wes Farrell (who also published Gerry Goffin and Carole King). Weiss’ first break came in 1963 when Nat ‘King’ Cole recorded ‘Mr. Wishing Well’, co-written with Lockie Edwards Jr.. Weiss also wrote for R&B acts including Baby Washington, Chuck Jackson, The Shirelles, and American Breed (‘Bend Me, Shape Me‘).

“Weiss wrote and first recorded ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’ in 1974 (sounding very much like Neil Diamond), where it appeared on his album Black and Blue Suite. It did not, however, have much of a commercial impact as a single, charting only on the Adult Contemporary music chart. In late 1974, however, Glen Campbell did hear the song on the radio and, during a tour of Australia, sat down to learn it.

Weiss remembers,

“‘The chorus came from the 1944 movie Buffalo Bill. In the last scene, he rides out on a white horse, in a white outfit, with long white beard and hair, and he thanks everybody for giving him such a great life. There’s another scene where he’s at his lowest point, sat on a stuffed horse in a penny arcade holding his hat in the air. I now realize that it was about trials and tribulations. In a way, I wrote the song about that without even knowing it.

‘I was so disappointed when it wasn’t a hit that I was ready to quit. But Glen told me that when the song was presented to him, he’d already heard it on the car radio and had to pull over to the side of the road. He said: ‘People told me I was mad to like it, but it just blew me away.’ The song had been turned down by everybody from Elvis Presley to Neil Diamond, but it worked better with Glen singing it. If Neil or a pop singer had sung it, it wouldn’t have meant as much.'”

– ‘How We Made Rhinestone Cowboy‘, The Guardian, May 13, 2013

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1970s, Jazz

Breezin’

Originally recorded by Gabor Szabo (R&B #43 1971).
Hit version by George Benson (US #63/MOR #13/R&B #65 1976).

From the wiki: “‘Breezin” was written by Bobby Womack (‘It’s All Over Now‘) and first recorded by Hungarian Jazz guitarist Gabor Szabo. Szabó was famous for mixing jazz, pop-rock and his native Hungarian music. He began playing guitar at the age of 14, inspired by jazz music he heard on the Voice of America broadcasts. He escaped Hungary and moved to the United States in 1956, a year of the attempted revolt against Soviet-dominated Communist rule, and attended the Berklee School of Music in Boston.

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1970s, Country

Always on My Mind

First recorded by Brenda Lee (C&W #45/CAN #40 1972).
Hit versions by Elvis Presley (C&W #16/UK #9 1972), John Wesley Ryles (C&W #20 1979), Willie Nelson (US #5/C&W #1 1982), Pet Shop Boys (US #4/UK #1/CAN #1 1988).

From the wiki: “‘Always on My Mind’ is an American country music song by Johnny Christopher, Mark James (‘Suspicious Minds‘, ‘Hooked On a Feeling‘) and Wayne Carson, recorded first by Brenda Lee in 1972.

“Wayne Carson says that he wrote the song in 10 minutes at his home in Springfield at his kitchen table and completed the song in studio with the assistance of Johnny Christopher and Mark James. Brenda Lee would be the first singer to record and release a version of ‘Always On My Mind’. Her single, however, would stall at #45 on the US Country Singles chart.

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1970s, Rock

Call Me the Breeze

Written and first recorded by J.J. Cale (1972).
Also recorded by Mason Proffit (1972).
Hit album version by Lynyrd Skynyrd (1974).

From the wiki: “‘Call Me the Breeze’ was written by J.J. Cale and first appeared on his 1972 debut album, Naturally, as the opening track. Like many Cale songs, it has been covered numerous times by an assortment of musicians.

“Ironically, many of the more contemporary cover versions of ‘Call Me the Breeze’ available have been performed as tributes to … Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Southern Rock band from Florida that scored an Album Oriented Radio hit with ‘Call Me the Breeze’ in 1974.

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1970s, Pop

Swayin’ to the Music (Slow Dancing)

First recorded (as “Slow Dancing”) by The Funky Kings (US# 61/MOR #13 1976).
Other hit versions by Johnny Rivers (US #10/MOR #1/CAN #3 1978), Johnny Duncan (C&W #6 1979).
Also recorded by Olivia Newton-John (1977), Unicorn (1977), Ian Gomm (1980).

From the wiki: “The first recording of ‘Swayin’ to the Music (Slow Dancing)’ was released on the self-titled 1976 album by the Funky Kings whose membership included its composer, Jack Tempchin (‘Peaceful Easy Feeling’, ‘Already Gone’, ‘You Belong to the City’), and Jules Shear (later of Jules & The Polar Bears, ‘If She Knew What She Wants‘). Titled ‘Slow Dancing’, its single release reached #13 on the AC chart before crossing over to #61 on the Billboard Hot 100. Olivia Newton-John also recorded “Slow Dancing” for her 1977 album Making a Good Thing Better.

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1970s, Rock

Do You Believe in Love

Written by “Mutt” Lange and first recorded (as “We Both Believe in Love”) by Supercharge (1979).
Hit version by Huey Lewis & The News (US #7/UK #9 1982).

From the wiki: “‘We Both Believe in Love’ was written by Robert John ‘Mutt’ Lange but underwent a title change while being considered for recording by Huey Lewis and his band. The original, unrevised version was first recorded in 1979 by British band Supercharge, on which Lange sang lead vocals, and appeared on the 1979 Supercharge album Body Rhythm.

“Supercharge were a 1970s English rock band from Liverpool. The band had a #3 hit in Australia in 1977 with ‘You’ve Gotta Get Up and Dance’. Live UK gigs by Supercharge often featured celebrated live sound engineer Chrys Lindop, and included the infamous comedy track ‘She Moved The Dishes First’ (see below), which the band claims they wrote so they could mess about a bit while replacing broken guitar strings during live gigs. This track also achieved notoriety when it was picked up and played regularly by the North Sea pirate radio station ‘Radio Caroline’.

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1970s, Rock

Rock Me on the Water

First recorded by Johnny Rivers (1971).
Also recorded by Brewer & Shipley (1971).
Hit version by Jackson Browne (US #48 1972).

From the wiki: “‘Rock Me on the Water’ is an oft-covered song written singer-songwriter Jackson Browne. The title was released as the second single from his 1972 debut album, Jackson Browne, following the #7 success of Browne’s debut single, “Doctor My Eyes.” Browne’s version reached #48 on the Billboard Hot 100 on Sept. 23, 1972.

“Johnny Rivers was the first to release a recording of ‘Rock Me on the Water,’ including the song on his 1971 album Homegrown. It was not released as a single. Brewer & Shipley also recorded the song for release in 1971, on their album Shake Off the Demon.

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1970s, Rock

Never Ending Song of Love

Written and first recorded by Delaney & Bonnie & Friends (US #13 1971).
Other hit version by The New Seekers (UK #2/IRE #1/AUS #25 1971).

From the wiki: “‘Never Ending Song of Love’ was written by Delaney Bramlett and was first released in March 1971 on the Delaney & Bonnie album Motel Shot. (The album’s title refers to the impromptu, sometimes late-night, jam sessions touring musicians engaged in when on the road.)

“‘Never Ending Song’ was Delaney & Bonnie’s most successful, highest-charting single.

“The New Seekers were formed in 1969 after the dissolution of The Seekers (‘Georgy Girl’) and quickly found chart success with a cover recording of Melanie’s ‘What Have They Done To My Song, Ma?’. Their breakthrough hit, though, released in June 1971, was ‘Never Ending Song of Love,’ reaching #2 on the UK Singles Chart and #1 in Ireland. That success led the New Seekers to being used as the session singers’ for the Coca-Cola jingle, ‘I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke’, which then led in turn to the group being used to record the song reworked as ‘I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing‘ international hit single.”

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1970s, Pop

I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing

First recorded (as “True Love and Apple Pie”) by Susan Shirley (1970).
First recorded (as “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke”) by The Hillside Singers (1971).
Hit versions by The Hillside Singers (US #13/MOR #5 1972), The New Seekers (US #7/UK #1 1972).

From the wiki: “The original melody was derived from a commercial jingle first written by Rose Malka Freidman for another, non-beverage product. A version of the jingle was then reworked into a full-length song by songwriters Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway, who had previously collaborated as performers and songwriters (‘You’ve Got Your Troubles’, ‘Softly Whispering I Love You‘). It was then recorded, titled ‘True Love and Apple Pie’, by Susan Shirley, and released in 1970 with little promotion behind it.

“The idea for its use as a Coca-Cola advertising jingle came originally to an advertising executive named Bill Backer, working for McCann-Erickson — the worldwide advertising agency responsible for Coca-Cola. Backer, Cook and Greenaway weres delayed at Shannon Airport in Ireland. After a forced layover with many hot tempers, the trio noticed their fellow travelers the next morning were talking and joking while drinking Coca-Cola. Backer wrote the line ‘I’d like to buy the world a Coke’ on a napkin and shared it with Cook and Davis.

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1970s, Pop

For All We Know

Originally recorded by Larry Meredith (1970).
Hit versions by Shirley Bassey (UK #6 1971) and The Carpenters (US #3/MOR #1/UK #18/CAN #7 1971).

From the wiki: “‘For All We Know’ is a popular song written by Fred Karlin, Robb Wilson (Robb Royer) and Arthur James (Jimmy Griffin) for the 1970 film Lovers and Other Strangers, and for which it won the 1971 Academy Award for Best Original Song. It was originally performed by Larry Meredith for the movie soundtrack. Two of the songwriters, Royer and Griffin, were co-founders of the band Bread with David Gates.

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1970s, Pop

I Write the Songs

Originally recorded by Captain & Tennille (May 1975).
Hit versions by David Cassidy (UK #11 July 1975), Barry Manilow (US #1 Oct 1975).
Also recorded by Bruce Johnston, composer (1977).

No. Barry Manilow did not ‘write the songs’. ‘I Write the Songs’ was written by Bruce Johnston, of the The Beach Boys, in 1975.

From the wiki: “The original version was recorded by Captain & Tennille, both of whom worked with Johnston in the early 1970s with The Beach Boys. The song appears on their 1975 debut album, Love Will Keep Us Together, but was never released as a single. (Daryl ‘Captain’ Dragon is quoted as saying the pair wanted to release ‘I Write the Songs’ as their debut single but, instead, opted for ‘Love Will Keep Us Together‘.)

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1970s, Rock

Jet Airliner

Written and originally recorded by Paul Pena (1973, released 2000).
Hit version by The Steve Miller Band (US #8/CAN #3/NZ #12 1977).

Paul Pena’s life could be summed up this way: When life gives you a lemon, you make lemonade.

Born with congenital glaucoma, Pena would become completely blind by age 20. By that time, though, the multi-instrumentalist had landed gigs opening for The Grateful Dead, and Frank Zappa, and playing sessions with B.B. King, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, and Bonnie Raitt. Pena found some permanency, too, as a member of the T-Bone Walker Blues Band. And, it was while traveling to the Montreaux Jazz Festival in 1972, to perform with Walker, that Pena wrote ‘Jet Airliner’.

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1970s, Soul

Strawberry Letter 23

Written and first recorded by Shuggie Otis (1971).
Hit version by The Brothers Johnson (US #5/R&B #1/CAN #8/UK #35 1977).

From the wiki: “Shuggie Otis, son of famed songwriter (‘Willie and the Hand Jive’), bandleader and disc jockey Johnny Otis, wrote the song for a girlfriend who used strawberry-scented paper when she wrote letters to him. Otis recorded it for his 1971 album Freedom Flight. George Johnson of the Brothers Johnson was dating one of Otis’ cousins at the time when he came across an early pressing of the album. The Johnsons recorded ‘Strawberry Letter 23’ for their 1977 album Right on Time, which was produced by Quincy Jones.

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1970s, Pop

It Must Be Love

Written and first recorded by Labi Siffre (UK #14 1972).
Hit version by Madness (US #33/UK #4 1981 |UK #6 1992).
Also recorded by Paolo Nutini (2007).

From the wiki: “The original Labi Siffre recording was released as a single in 1971, and reached #14 in the UK singles chart. It also appeared on his 1972 album Crying Laughing Loving Lying. Madness’ version was originally issued as a standalone single in late-1981 and appeared on their UK #1 compilation album Complete Madness the following year, and on many other Madness compilations since. In 1983, it peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at #33. Siffre made a cameo appearance in the Madness video as a violin player. Madness’ recording was reissued in 1992, and this time reached #6 in the UK charts.

“In 2007, Paolo Nutini also released a cover of the song for BBC Radio 1’s cover compilation album Radio 1 Established 1967.”

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