Songs with Earlier Histories Than the Hit Version

Help support this site! Consider clicking an ad from time to time. Thanks!

 
« Go Back to Previous Page «  

Category: 1970s

1970s, Rock

I Love Rock ‘n Roll

Written and first recorded by Arrows (1975).
Also recorded by Joan Jett, Steve Jones & Paul Cook (1979), Tiny Tim (1980).
Hit versions by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts (US #1/UK #4/CAN #1/AUS #1/FRA #4 1981) and Britney Spears (UK #13/AUS #13/SCOT #9 2002).

From the wiki: “The song was originally recorded and released by Arrows in 1975 on RAK Records, with lead vocals by Alan Merrill and produced by Mickie Most. In an interview with Songfacts, Merrill said he wrote it as ‘a knee-jerk response to The Rolling Stones’ ‘It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll (But I Like It)’.’ Arrows’ version was first released as a B-side, but was soon flipped to the A-side on subsequent pressings of the single.

“The Arrows performed the song in 1975 on the Muriel Young-produced show 45. Based on the strength of their performance, Young offered the band a weekly UK television variety series, Arrows, which was broadcast on ITV starting in March 1976.

“Although Arrows’ recording was not a chart hit in its original version (as a result of nonexistent promotion by the band’s label), the song came to become a worldwide hit when recorded by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts.

Read more →

1970s, Rock

Never Been to Spain

Written and first recorded by Hoyt Axton (1971).
Hit versions by Three Dog Night (US #5/MOR #18/CAN #3/AUS #34 1972), Ronnie Sessions (C&W #34 1972).
Also recorded by Elvis Presley (1972).

From the wiki: “‘Never Been to Spain’ was written by Hoyt Axton (‘Joy to the World‘,’No No Song‘), and was first recorded for and released on his 1971 LP Joy to the World. It would later be recorded later that same year by Three Dog Night, with Cory Wells on lead vocal, and was featured on the album, Harmony. Released as the second single from the album (after ‘An Old Fashioned Love Song‘), ‘Never Been to Spain’ peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #18 on the MOR chart in 1972.

Read more →

1970s, Pop

The Greatest Love of All

Originally recorded by George Benson (US #24/R&B #2/UK #27 1977).
Other hit version by Whitney Houston (US #1/R&B #3/UK #8/AUS #1 1985).

From the wiki: “‘The Greatest Love of All’ was written by Michael Masser (‘Touch Me in the Morning’, ‘Saving All My Love for You‘) and lyricist Linda Creed (‘You Are Everthing’, ‘Betcha By Golly, Wow‘). The song was written and recorded to be the main theme of the 1977 film The Greatest, a biopic of the boxer Muhammad Ali, and was first recorded by George Benson for the film.

“Creed wrote the lyrics in the midst of her struggle with breast cancer. The words describe her feelings about coping with great challenges that one must face in life, being strong during those challenges whether you succeed or fail, and passing that strength on to children to carry with them into their adult lives. Creed eventually succumbed to the disease in April 1986 at the age of 37; at the time her song was an international hit by Houston.

Read more →

1970s, Soul

Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone

First recorded by The Undisputed Truth (US #63/R&B #24 1971).
Other hit versions by The Temptations (US #1/R&B #5/UK #14/CAN #12/NZ #6 1972), Bill “Wolf” Wolfer (US #55/R&B #47 1982), (Was (Not Was) (R&B #60/UK #11/NETH #13/SWZ #6 1990).

From the wiki: “‘Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone’ is a psychedelic Soul song, written by Motown songwriters Norman Whitfield (‘I Heard It Through the Grapevine‘)and Barrett Strong (‘Money (That’s What I Want)‘), and first recorded in 1971 for Motown by The Undisputed Truth. (This version of ‘Papa’ was released as a single in early 1972, where it peaked at #63 on the pop charts and #24 on the R&B charts.

Read more →

1970s, Pop

Let Me Be the One

First released by Nanette (released November 1970).
Also recorded by Cathy Carlson (released January 1971).
Hit album version by The Carpenters (released May 1971)
Hit single version by Jack Jones (MOR #18 1971).
Also recorded by Matthew Sweet (1994).

From the wiki: “The earliest evident recording of ‘Let Me Be the One’, written by Roger Nichols and Paul Williams, was made by Nanette Workman, one of five songs recorded with producer Tommy Cogbill in late June 1970 at American Sound Studio in Memphis, with her arrangement of ‘Let Me Be the One’ released as a UK single in November 1970 (credited to ‘Nanette’) with no apparent chart impact.

“The first recording to receive US distribution was recorded in December 1970 by Ontario, Oregon native Cathy Carlson, and released in January 1971 as the B-side to Carlson’s single, ‘God Bless the Child’. Carlson appeared regularly as a performer on ‘The Tonight Show’ in the late 1960s and early ‘70s, and on the annual Jerry Lewis Telethon for Muscular Dystrophy. Carlson and Lewis were such good friends, he became her daughter’s godfather.

Read more →

1970s, Pop

One Tin Soldier

First recorded by The Original Caste (CAN #6 1969 |US #34 1970).
Other hit versions by Coven (US #17 1971 |US #79 1973), Skeeter Davis (C&W #54/CAN #4 1972).

From the wiki: “‘One Tin Soldier’ is a 1960s counterculture era anti-war song written by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter. Canadian pop group The Original Caste first recorded the song in 1969. The track went to #6 on the (Canadian) RPM Magazine charts, hit the #1 position on CHUM-AM in Toronto on 27 December 1969, and reached #34 on the American pop charts in early 1970.

Read more →

1970s, Country

Drift Away

First recorded by John Henry Kurtz (1972).
Hit versions by Dobie Gray (US #5/R&B #42 1973), Narvel Felts (C&W #8 1973), Uncle Cracker & Dobie Gray (US #9/MOR #1 2003).
Also recorded by The Rolling Stones (unreleased 1974).

From the wiki: “‘Drift Away’ was written by Mentor Williams (brother of songwriter Paul Williams) as a lament of the difficulties being a Nashville songwriter. John Henry Kurtz was the first to record ‘Drift Away’, for his own album, Reunion (1972), on which he was backed by some of L.A.’s finest: Skunk Baxter, Kenny Loggins, Michael Omartian, Jim Gordon, and others. Kurtz was a man of many talents: Broadway, movie and TV actor; Civil War collectibles buff (some of which were filmed for Ken Burns’ PBS-TV series, Civil War); voice-over artist (NBC Nightly News, and countless commercials); musician.

“In 1973 the song became Dobie Gray’s biggest hit, peaking at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the final pop hit for Decca Records in the United States. In the early 1960s Gray had moved to Los Angeles, intending to pursue an acting career while also singing to make money. Born Lawrence Darrow Brown, he recorded for several local labels under the names Leonard Ainsworth, Larry Curtis, and Larry Dennis, before Sonny Bono directed him toward the small independent Stripe Records. They suggested that he record under the name ‘Dobie Gray’, an allusion to the then-popular sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis

“Gray’s first taste of success came in 1963 when his seventh single ‘Look At Me’, on the Cor-Dak label and recorded with Wrecking Crew bassist Carol Kaye, reached #91 on the Billboard Hot 100. Greater success came in early 1965 when his original recording of ‘The ‘In’ Crowd‘ (recorded later that year as an instrumental by Ramsey Lewis). Gray’s record reached #11 on the US R&B chart, and #25 in the UK.

Read more →

1970s, Rock

Only You Know and I Know

Written and originally recorded by Dave Mason (US #42 1970).
Hit album version by Delaney and Bonnie (1970).

From the wiki: “Dave Mason co-founded the rock band Traffic, but left following the recording of their debut album, Mr. Fantasy (1967), only to rejoin halfway through the sessions for their next album, Traffic (1968), after which he left again. From 1969 through 1970, Mason toured with Delaney and Bonnie and Friends along with Eric Clapton and George Harrison.

Read more →

1970s, Pop

You Light Up My Life

Originally recorded by Kasey Cisyk (US #80 1977).
Other hit versions by Debby Boone (US #1/CAN #1/UK #48 1977), LeAnn Rimes (US#34/C&W #48 1997).

From the wiki: “Kasey Cisyk’s work singing commercial jingles brought her to the attention of Joe Brooks, who worked as a composer and arranger of jingles. Brooks, who wrote, directed and composed the score for the movie You Light Up My Life chose Cisyk to dub the singing voice of actress Didi Conn.

“Cisyk’s performance of the song appears on the original soundtrack album, and was released as a single, although she was not listed as the performing artist in the final credits of the film (for which she successfully sued the producers). Her single release of the song reached #80 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.

Read more →

1970s, Rock

Fire

First released by Robert Gordon (1978).
Also recorded by Bruce Springsteen (1978, released 2010).
Hit version by The Pointer Sisters (US #2/UK #34 1979).

From the wiki: “Bruce Springsteen envisioned ‘Fire’ as a song which could be recorded by his idol Elvis Presley. Springsteen would later say ‘I sent Elvis a demo of it but he died August 16, 1977 before it arrived.’

“Springsteen did complete a studio recording in 1978 of ‘Fire’ which was one of 52 tracks at least partially recorded which did not make the cut for Springsteen’s album Darkness on the Edge of Town because of thematic inconsistency. Springsteen likely had an especial concern that if included on Darkness on the Edge of Town ‘Fire’ would be Columbia Records’ single of choice despite it being non-representative of the overall album.

Read more →

1970s, Pop

Could It Be Magic

First recorded by Featherbed feat. Barry Manilow (1971).
Based on “Prelude in C Minor” by Frederic Bach.
Hit versions by Barry Manilow (US #4/UK #25 1975), Donna Summer (US #52/Dance #3/UK #40 1976), Take That (UK #3 1992).

From the wiki: “‘Could It Be Magic’ was co-written by Barry Manilow and Tony Orlando (based on Chopin’s Prelude in C-Minor) and first recorded by Featherbed, a `ghost’ group consisting of session musicians led by the vocals of a very young Manilow. Manilow, in 1970, was unproven as a pop-song arranger and was therefore not permitted to arrange the original backing track himself upon the song’s first release in 1971. Instead, the original version of the song was produced under the hand of producer Tony Orlando.

“Manilow is said to have hated the Orlando arrangement so severely that he was appreciative of the fact that the song went absolutely nowhere on the music charts. Featuring a bubblegum pop beat, cowbells and a ‘Knock Three Times’ feel, the original lyrics have nothing in common with the subsequent 1973 hit version by Manilow (with its completely different meter and arrangement) although the chorus remained the same.

Read more →

1970s, Rock

Ol’ 55

Written and first recorded by Tom Waits (1973).
Hit album version by Eagles (B-side US #1/CAN #1/UK #51/AUS #14 1974).
Also recorded by Shelby Lynne & Allison Moorer (2019).

From the wiki: “‘Ol’ ’55’ is a song by American musician Tom Waits. It is the opening track and lead single from Waits’ debut studio album, Closing Time, released in March 1973 on Asylum Records. The title, ‘Ol’ ’55’, refers to the singer’s vehicle, almost certainly Waits’ legendary 1955 Cadillac.

“The song has been covered by numerous artists, most notably by the Eagles for their 1974 album On The Border. The Eagles’ arrangement was released as the B-side of the international hit ‘Best of My Love’.

Read more →

1970s, Soul

Rainy Night in Georgia

Written and originally recorded by Tony Joe White (1962 |1969).
Also recorded by David Ruffin (1970).
Hit version by Brook Benton (US #4/R&B #1 1970).

From the wiki: “‘Rainy Night in Georgia’ is a song written and first recorded by Tony Joe White in 1962 (and re-recorded by White in 1969) and was popularized by R&B vocalist Brook Benton in 1970.

“In 1967, White signed with Monument Records, which operated from a recording studio in the Nashville suburb of Hendersonville, TN. Over the next three years, White released four singles with no commercial success Stateside, although ‘Soul Francisco’ was a hit in France. ‘Polk Salad Annie’ had been released for nine months and written off as a failure by his record label when it finally entered the US charts in July 1969. It climbed into the Top Ten by early August, eventually reaching #8, becoming White’s biggest performance hit.

Read more →

1970s, Pop

If I Can’t Have You

Written and originally recorded by The Bee Gees (1977).
Hit version by Yvonne Elliman (US #1/UK #4/CAN #1 1977).

From the wiki: “According to Maurice Gibb, this track was the first song they recorded while producing the other songs for the film Saturday Night Fever. ‘If I Can’t Have You’ was originally intended to be sung for the film soundtrack by The Bee Gees while Elliman’s contribution would be another ballad written by the Gibb brothers, ‘How Deep Is Your Love’.

Read more →

1970s, Reggae/Ska

Wild World

Originally recorded by Jimmy Cliff (UK #8 July, 1970).
Other hit versions by Cat Stevens (US #11 November, 1970), The Gentrys (MOR #28 1971) Maxi Priest (US #25/UK #5 1988), Mr. Big (US #27/UK #59 1993).

From the wiki: “Jimmy Cliff’s version, released a few months before the song’s writer, Cat Stevens, released his version, reached #8 on the UK Singles Chart. Surprisingly, Stevens’ version was not released as a single in the UK, thus its appearance only on US radio charts. Some of the subsequent covers have also been in the reggae style, indicating that they may be covers of Cliff’s version, as opposed to direct covers of Cat Stevens’ original acoustic arrangement.

Read more →