First recorded by The Persuaders (US #15/R&B #1 1971).
Also recorded by B.B. Seaton (1972).
Other hit versions by The Pretenders (US #83/UK #49 1984), H-Town (US #37/R&B #6 1996).
From the wiki: “‘Thin Line Between Love and Hate’ was first recorded by The Persuaders (‘(‘You’re the) Best Thing That Ever Happened‘, ‘Some Guys Have All the Luck‘), written and produced by the Poindexter brothers (‘Backfield in Motion’), Robert and Richard, and also co-written by Persuaders producer Jackie Members. It proved to be the group’s biggest hit song, spending two weeks atop the Billboard R&B chart in late 1971.”
First recorded by England Dan & John Ford Coley (1978).
Hit version by Michael Martin Murphey (US #19/C&W #1/CAN #1 1982).
From the wiki: “‘What’s Forever For’ is a song written by Rafe VanHoy and first recorded by England Dan and John Ford Coley on their 1978 album Dr. Heckle & Mr. Jive. The song saw its biggest success when it was recorded by Country music artist Michael Martin Murphey. It was released in June 1982 as the third single from his album, Michael Martin Murphey.”
First recorded and released by White Plains (UK #8 1970).
Hit version (as “Julie (Do Ya Love Me)”) by Bobby Sherman (US #5/UK #28 1970).
From the wiki: ‘Julie Do Ya Love Me’ was first released in February 1970 in the US as the B-side to White Plains’ Top 20 hit, ‘My Baby Loves Lovin”. It would later be re-released as an A-side in the UK in October 1970, peaking at #8 on the UK Singles Chart.
“Bobby Sherman’s cover version, released in August 1970, peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 – his last Top-10 hit in the US.”
Written and first recorded by Mac Davis (US #117/MOR #25 1971).
Other hit versions by Helen Reddy (AUS #2 1971), Gallery (US #22/MOR #12 1972).
Also recorded by Donny Hathaway (1971).
From the wiki: “‘I Believe in Music’ was written and first recorded, in 1971, by Mac Davis. His recording made a minor dent in the pop charts, ‘bubbling under’ the Billboard Hot 100 but peaking at #25 on the MOR song chart. Helen Reddy and Donny Hathaway also recorded versions of ‘I Believe in Music’ in 1971. Reddy’s recording peaked at #2 on the Australian music chart; Hathaway’s production was not released as a single but appeared on his 1971 self-titled album, Donny Hathaway.
“Gallery’s 1972 recording of ‘I Believe in Music’ was the second of three singles released from their Nice to Be with You album, peaking at #22 on the Billboard Hot 100.”
Co-written and first recorded (as “Made It Thru The Rain”) by Gerard Kenny (1979).
Hit versions by Barry Manilow (US #10/UK #37 1980), John Barrowman (UK #14 2009).
From the wiki: “Gerald Kenny and Drey Shepperd penned the original version of the song, and Kenny released his recording of it, titled ‘Made It Thru the Rain’, in 1979. In 1980 (now credited to Gerald Kenny/Drey Shepperd/Bruce Sussman/Jack Feldman/Barry Manilow), it was the only hit in the US from Barry Manilow’s self-titled Barry album. The song enjoyed a revival in UK in 2009 when actor and TV host John Barrowman made the charts with a cover version taken from his album Music Music Music. The song’s chart success was due to the BBC Radio One breakfast host Chris Moyles, who asked his listeners to download a copy of the single to give the actor a hit.”
First recorded (as a demo) by Pete Townshend (1976).
Hit version by The Who (US #14/UK #18 1978).
From the wiki: “‘Who Are You’ was written by Pete Townshend and which became the title-track of The Who’s 1978 album, Who Are You, the last album released before drummer Keith Moon’s death in September 1978.
“According to Townshend, the inspiration for the song began with a very long, excruciating meeting in New York City regarding royalties for his songs (the reference to ‘Tin Pan Alley’ in the song). After the meeting, he received a large check for royalties, left and went to a bar and got completely drunk. In that bar he had encountered Paul Cook and Steve Jones of The Sex Pistols, who thought very highly of Pete for paving the way for punk rock.
Written and first recorded by John Fogerty (US #78 1975).
Also recorded by Karla DeVito (1981).
Other hit versions by Dave Edmunds (US #54/ROCK #18/UK #58 1981), Burrito Brothers (C&W #49 1984).
From the wiki: “‘Almost Saturday Night’ is a song written by John Fogerty (Creedence Clearwater Revival) and first released on his 1975 album John Fogerty. It was released as the second single from the album, as a follow up to ‘Rockin’ All Over the World‘. The song had more success when covered in a Rockabilly style by Dave Edmunds in 1981 from his album Twangin…, peaking at #18 on the US Mainstream Rock Chart. The Burrito Brothers (neé The Flying Burrito Brothers) covered the song in 1984. Their version peaked at #49 on the Hot Country Singles chart.
Written and first recorded (as a demo) by Pete Townshend (1970).
Hit version by The Who (NETH #11 1972).
From the wiki: “‘Baba O’Riley’ was written by Pete Townshend, of The Who, who originally wrote the song for his Lifehouse project – the Rock opera follow-up to The Who’s 1969 opera, Tommy. When Lifehouse was scrapped, many of the songs were released on The Who’s 1971 album Who’s Next. ‘Baba O’Riley’ was released as a single in several European countries, but not in the US or the UK where the song was available only as the lead track on Who’s Next. It was, however, the perfect song for the up-and-coming Album Oriented Rock (AOR) radio format that was picking up steam on FM radio. ‘Baba’ became a Classic Rock staple and remains on many playlists.
Written and first recorded by Paul Jabara (1978).
Hit version by Donna Summer (US #3/R&B #5/UK #51 NETH #8 1978).
From the wiki: “‘Last Dance’ was written by Paul Jabara and was first recorded by him in 1978. According to the song’s co-producer Bob Esty, Paul Jabara locked Donna Summer in a Puerto Rico hotel bathroom and forced her to listen to a cassette of him singing a rough version of ‘Last Dance’. Summer liked the song and Jabara asked Esty and her producer Giorgio Moroder to work with him on an arrangement for Summer to use for her recording.
Written and first recorded by Bruce Springsteen (1979, released 2003).
Hit version by Dave Edmunds (US #28 1982).
From Legends of Springsteen:
“Clearly influenced by 1950’s rockabilly style guitar riffs, this song was criminally cut from The River, never put on another studio album, including Tracks. (Bruce did release it in 2003 on the limited edition third disc of his compilation double album The Essential Bruce Springsteen.) That’s a shame, as this might be one of the best Bruce songs to dance to. Seriously, pump it up right now and just try not to tap your toes. It’s nearly impossible.”
First recorded by The Goggles (1971).
Hit version by Beverly Bremers (US #15/MOR #5 1972).
From the wiki: “‘Don’t Say You Don’t Remember’ was written by Estelle Levitt with Helen Miller, who had started out in the late-1940s songwriting before leaving the business to raise her children. Returning to the business in the early-1960s as one of Don Kirshner’s Aldon label songwriters, Miller would collaborate with several lyricists, most notably with Howard Greenfield (who also famously collaborated with Neil Sedaka).
“‘Don’t Say You Don’t Remember’ was first broadcast in 1971 on the NBC-TV Children’s Theater production Looking Through Super Plastic Elastic Goggles at Color and subsequently released as a single by Audio Fidelity Records in 1971 on the original soundtrack recording, performed by The Goggles, with no apparent chart success.
First recorded by Johnny Mathis (MOR #36 1972).
Other hit versions by Al Wilson (US #1/R&B #10/UK #51 1973), Peabo Bryson (R&B #1 1989).
From the wiki: “‘Show and Tell’ was written by Jerry Fuller (‘Travelin’ Man’, originally written for Sam Cooke but recorded by Ricky Nelson; ‘Young Girl’, ‘Lady Willpower’ and ‘Over You’ for Gary Puckett & the Union Gap). The song was first recorded by Johnny Mathis in 1972. Released as a single, it peaked at #36 on Billboard’s easy-listening music chart.
“A 1973 cover of the song by Al Wilson reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1974 and was also named a Cashbox Magazine Number One Single of the Year.
“Peabo Bryson had a #1 R&B hit with his version of the song in 1989, but it did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100.”
First recorded by Crazy Horse (1972).
Hit versions by Rod Stewart (US #46/UK #1 1977), Everything But The Girl (UK #3 1988), Rod Stewart (rerecording MOR #2 1989).
From the wiki: “‘I Don’t Want to Talk About It’ was written by Danny Whitten, and first recorded and released by Whitten’s band (and Neil Young’s backup group), Crazy Horse, on their 1971 eponymous album.
“In 1975, Rod Stewart recorded the song at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama, for his album Atlantic Crossing. Released as a promotional single in 1977, Stewart’s arrangement topped the UK Singles chart, although peaking at only #46 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1988, the UK duo Everything but the Girl released their cover version, from the Idlewild album, as a single which peaked in the UK at #3 but did not chart in the US.
“Stewart recorded a new arrangement of ‘I Don’t Want to Talk About It’ in 1989, for the album Storyteller – The Complete Anthology: 1964–1990. This arrangement did not chart on the Hot 100 but did peak at #2 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.”
Written and originally recorded (as a demo) by John Lennon (1971).
Album hit version by Ringo Starr (1973).
From the wiki: “‘I’m the Greatest'” was written by John Lennon in December 1970 as a wry comment on his past as a Beatle, and later tailored the composition for Ringo Starr to sing. With Lennon, Starr, and George Harrison appearing on the track, the song marks the only time that more than two ex-Beatles recorded together between the band’s break-up in 1970 and Lennon’s death in 1980.
“News of the Richard Perry-produced session led to speculation that the Beatles might re-form. The presence on the recording of bassist Klaus Voormann and keyboard player Billy Preston, as supposed stand-ins for Paul McCartney, created a line-up that the press had dubbed The Ladders, the post-Beatles group which Harrison had intended to install with his two former band mates.”
First recorded by Nicolette Larson (1979).
Hit soundtrack version by Lauren Wood (DEN #1/SNG #2/MLY #3 1990).
Also recorded by Johnny Mathis (1988), Larry Coryell (1993).
From the wiki: “Lauren Wood’s career began in the mid 1970s when she formed a band called Rebecca & The Sunnybrook Farmers. In 1972, Wood provided back-up vocals on Frank Zappa’s album The Grand Wazoo. In 1979, she released her first self-titled album on Warner Bros. Records. Guests included Michael McDonald, Little Feat members Bill Payne and Fred Tackett, and Doobie Brother Patrick Simmons. A duet, with Michael McDonald, ‘Please Don’t Leave’ went to #24 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #5 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart.
“After a follow-up album, Cat Trick, Wood vanished from the music scene. However, she spent time continuing to write for other artists (see Nicolette Larson below) along with writing and performing songs for television and movie soundtracks, including ‘Fallen’, her song used in the 1990 movie Pretty Woman (from which was also released Roxette’s ‘It Must Have Been Love’). The soundtrack album went on to sell 18-million copies worldwide (3-million in the US), and the single for ‘Fallen’ topped music charts in Europe and SE Asia.
Written and first recorded (as a demo) by George Harrison (1969, released 1996).
First commercial recording by Joe Cocker (1969).
Hit versions by The Beatles (US #1/UK #4 1969), Shirley Bassey (US #55/UK #4 1970), Johnny Rodriguez (C&W #6 1974)
Also recorded by Ray Charles (1971).
From the wiki: “‘Something’ was the first Beatles song written by lead guitarist George Harrison to appear as an A-side single, and the only song written by him to top the US charts while he was in the band. Harrison began working on a song that eventually became known as ‘Something’ during the 1968 recording sessions for The Beatles (aka The White Album). Harrison recorded the demo of ‘Something’ on February 25, 1969, his 26th birthday.
“Producer Glyn Jones, who engineered the Beatles’ Get Back sessions, recalls ‘One morning before the others arrived at the studio, George asked me if I would stay behind at the end of the day to cut a demo with him of a song he had written, as he didn’t want to play it in front of the others. So we waited for everyone to leave and he went out into the empty studio and played ‘Something in the Way She Moves’, which might just be the greatest song he ever wrote. He came into the control room, and after having it played back to him, he asked what I thought of it, as he seemed unsure. I told him it was brilliant and that he must play it to the others. I can only assume that his confidence had been dented as a result of living in the shadow of John and Paul.’ [Source: Sound Man, by Glyn Jones, 2014]
“Harrison’s original intention had been to offer the song to Apple Records signing Jackie Lomax as he had done with a previous composition, ‘Sour Milk Sea’. When this fell through, ‘Something’ was instead given to Joe Cocker to record. Cocker completed his recording at A&M Studios in Los Angeles before The Beatles completed their recording in August 1969 at Abbey Road, but Cocker’s recording was not released (on Joe Cocker!, his second album, on which also appeared another Beatles composition, ‘She Came in Through the Bathroom Window’) until November 1969 – six weeks after the release of The Beatles’ Abbey Road.
Co-written and first recorded by Tony Wilson (1979).
Hit version by co-writer Randy Vanwarmer (US #4/C&W #71/UK #8 1979).
From the wiki: “‘Just When I Need You Most’ was written by Randy Vanwarmer and Tony Wilson (of Hot Chocolate, ‘Brother Louie‘) in 1977. It first appeared on Wilson’s Catch One album, released three records before his label mate Randy Vanwarmer’s hit version (Tony’s: Bearsville BRK 6985; Randy’s: Bearsville BRK 6988).
“On the Tony Wilson album, Vanwarmer and Wilson are listed as co-writers; on Randy Vanwarmer’s Warmer album there is no mention of Wilson as co-writer.”
Written and first recorded by Jesse Winchester (1977).
Hit version by Nicolette Larson (US #48 1979).
Also recorded by Little Feat (2011).
From the wiki: “‘Rhumba Man’ was written and first recorded by Jesse Winchester for his 1977 album Nothing But the Breeze. It was later covered, in 1979, by Nicollete Larson for her debut album Nicolette (backed in the studio by Little Feat, who would record their own version in 2011 for the Jesse Winchester tribute album Quiet About It).”
First recorded by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds (1972).
Hit version by The Four Tops (US #4/R&B #2 1973).
From the wiki: “‘Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I’ve Got)’ was written by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter who first joined Talent Associates in 1970 as producers and songwriters, and were responsible for many of that label’s hits, including Original Caste’s ‘One Tin Soldier‘, and hits by Seals & Crofts. After leaving Talent Associates for ABC-Dunhill, Lambert and Potter wrote for Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds (‘Don’t Pull Your Love’) or produced several of ABC’s hits including Glen Campbell’s ‘Rhinestone Cowboy‘ in 1975. The Lambert-Potter-composed ‘Ain’t No Woman’ was first recorded in 1972 by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds and released on their album, Hallway Symphony.
Written and first recorded by Bill LaBounty (US #65/MOR #46/CAN #81 1978).
Other hit versions by Michael Johnson (US #19/MOR #5/CAN #9 1979), Sawyer Brown (US #109/C&W #6/CAN #11 1997).
From the wiki: “‘This Night Won’t Last Forever’ was written by Bill LaBounty and was originally recorded by him in 1978, charting in the lower-third of the Billboard Hot 100. One year later, Michael Johnson covered the song and took it to #19 on the same chart.
“Sawyer Brown charted ‘This Night Won’t Last Forever’ Top-10 on the Country music chart in 1997.”
First recorded by Jesse Winchester (1974).
Hit versions by The Amazing Rhythm Aces (US #14/C&W #1/CAN #1 1975), Sammy Kershaw (US #105/C&W #2 1994).
From the wiki: “American expatriate Jesse Winchester was known principally as a songwriter (‘Yankee Lady’, ‘New Tennessee Waltz’). His draft resister status meant he was unable to tour in the US from 1967-1977, and it was while working in Montreal, Canada, in 1972, Winchester formed his band Jesse Winchester and The Rhythm Aces.
“In 1974, Russell Smith was recruited to join the Rhythm Aces, traveling to Montreal to assist in the recording of Winchester’s Learn to Love It album at Studio Six. Two of the songs on that album were Smith’s, including ‘Third Rate Romance’. Later, Smith and two of Winchester’s sidemen, Jeff Davis and David McDade, would branch out to form The Amazing Rhythm Aces.
Written and first recorded by Bruce Springsteen (1973).
Hit version by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band (US #97 1976 |US #40 1977).
From the wiki: “The original version of ‘Spirit in the Night’ was written by Bruce Springsteen for release on his 1973 debut album, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. Springsteen had recorded 10 other tracks for the album, but Clive Davis, president of the record label that was releasing the album, was concerned that the recorded tracks did not have enough commercial appeal. Springsteen quickly wrote and recorded two additional songs: ‘Spirit in the Night’ and ‘Blinded by the Light‘.
Because these songs were added so late in the recording process, several of Springsteen’s band members were unavailable to record these two songs. As a result, the recording lineup for session was limited to Vini Lopez on drums, Clarence Clemons on saxophone, and Springsteen himself playing all other instruments.
Written and first recorded Joe Walsh (1979).
Hit album versions by Eagles (1979), Anybody Killa (2003)
From the wiki: “‘In the City’ was written by Barry De Vorzon (‘Nadia’s Theme‘) and Joe Walsh, and was first recorded by Walsh for release on the 1979 soundtrack album to The Warriors. Walsh recalls: ‘I went to junior-high school at P.S. 216 in Queens (NYC). I was in a gang, but we weren’t that tough because I had to be in by 7:30 to practice clarinet. Anyway, I came up with ‘In The City’ out of memories of growing up partly in New York City, which contrasted a lot from where I lived before that, which was Ohio.’
Written and first recorded by Van Morrison (US #28/CAN #20/NETH #24 1971).
Other hit versions by Martha Reeves (R&B #74 1974), John Mellencamp & Me’Shell Ndegeocello (US #3/MOR #1/CAN #1/UK #34/AUS #18 1994).
From the wiki: “‘Wild Night’ was first recorded by Van Morrison during a session with Lewis Merenstein as producer at Warners Publishing Studio in New York City in autumn 1968. The version released on Tupelo Honey was recorded in spring 1971 at Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco with Ted Templeman as producer. Tom Maginnis in Allmusic describes the song as ‘an effusive three and a half minutes of Stax-inspired R&B.’
