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First recorded by Clyde McPhatter (US #19/R&B #6 1957).
Hit version by Tom Jones (US #5/MOR #1/CAN #1 1969).
From the wiki: “‘Without Love (There is Nothing)’ is a song written by Danny Small and originally recorded by Clyde McPhatter (‘A Lover’s Question’) in 1957. Tom Jones recorded his popular version in 1969, reaching the Top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1970.”
First recorded by “Big Mama” Thorton (R&B #1 1953).
Also recorded by Jack Turner & His Granger County Gang (1953), Eddie Hazelwood (1953), Betsy Gay (1953), Tommy Duncan & the Miller Brothers (1953), Freddie Bell & The Bell Boys (1955).
Hit version by Elvis Presley (US #1/C&W #1/R&B #1 1956).
From the wiki: “Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller wrote ‘Hound Dog’ as a 12-bar Blues song. It was first recorded in Los Angeles by Willie Mae ‘Big Mama’ Thornton in August 1952, and became her only hit record. Credited with contributing to the evolution of R&B into Rock and Roll, Thornton’s recording of ‘Hound Dog’ is listed as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll, and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in February 2013.
“In August 1952, R&B bandleader Johnny Otis invited 19-year-old songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller to his home to meet Blues singer Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton, a ‘foul-mouthed three-hundred pound R&B singer’. Leiber recalled: ‘We saw Big Mama and she knocked me cold. She looked like the biggest, baddest, saltiest chick you would ever see … I had to write a song for her that basically said, ‘Go fuck yourself.’ Leiber and Stoller wound up writing a Southern Blues lament, ‘the tale of a woman throwing a gigolo out of her house and her life.’
First recorded by Roy Hamilton (US #12/R&B #2 1958).
Also recorded by The Four Seasons (1964), The Graham Bond Organization (1965).
Other hit versions by Mel Tillis & Sherry Bryce (C&W #11 1974), Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen (US #56 1975), Isaac Hayes (US #18/Soul #11 1979).
From the wiki: “‘Don’t Let Go’ was written by Jesse Stone, and was first a hit for Roy Hamilton (‘Unchained Melody‘) in 1958 before covers by Mel Tillis, Commander Cody, and Isaac Hayes charted in the 1970s.
“One of the more interesting of many cover recordings done of ‘Don’t Let Go’ was produced by The Four Seasons in 1964; very much against their archetypical sound. The 1965 cover by The Graham Bond Organization (including bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker) was one of the first Rock tracks to feature the Mellotron.
“Stone was the leader of a Jazz band during the 1920s that included Coleman Hawkins. In 1936, with the assistance of Duke Ellington, Stone was booked to perform at New York City’s famed Cotton Club, and would later become a staff arranger/writer at the Apollo Theater. He would go on to join Atlantic Records as songwriter and producer, where he wrote ‘Shake, Rattle & Roll‘ under the pseudonym ‘Charles Calhoun’, first recorded by ‘Big’ Joe Turner.”
First recorded (as “Lover”) by Tommy Hunt (unreleased 1961).
Hit versions by (as “Any Day Now (My Wild Beautiful Bird)”) by Chuck Jackson (US #23/R&B #2 1962), Elvis Presley (B-side US #3 1969), Ronnie Milsap (US #14/C&W #1/CAN #1 1982), Luther Vandross (2001).
Also recorded by Alan Price Set (1965), Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels (1966).
From the wiki: “‘Any Day Now’ was written by Burt Bacharach and Bob Hilliard in 1961. Co-writer Bacharach (‘Alfie‘,’Make It Easy On Yourself‘,’Message to Michael‘) had orchestrated and recorded the song’s backing track a year before presenting it to Chuck Jackson, formerly of the Del Vikings (‘Come Go With Me‘).
“In the interim, producer Luther Dixon made use of the same backing track to record the arrangement of the song with former Flamingos singer Tommy Hunt (‘I Only Have Eyes For You’, The Flamingos; ‘I Just Don’t Know What to Do with Myself‘), titled ‘Lover’, using a set of completely different, and uncredited, lyrics. Hunt’s 1961 recording, believed to have been recorded within days of his leaving the Flamingos, went unreleased by Stardust Records (backed with another unreleased track, Big Maybelle’s ‘How Do You Feel Now’).
“When it came time to record Jackson, parts of Hunt’s original singing were still audible at the end of Jackson’s hit version.
First recorded by Quincy Jones, with Minnie Ripperton, Leon Ware and Al Jarreau (R&B #74 1974).
Hit version by Average White Band (US #39/R&B #25 1975).
From the wiki: “‘If I Ever Lose This Heaven’ was co-written by Quincy Jones (‘It’s My Party‘), Leon Ware, and Bruce Fisher (‘You Are So Beautiful‘) for Quincy’s 1974 album, Body Heat.
“Ware, Minnie Riperton (whose 1975 album, Adventures in Paradise, Ware would produce and collaborate), and Al Jarreau were among the studio vocalists Jones used for the album.
First recorded (as a demo) by Little Eva (1962).
Hit versions by The Drifters (US #5/R&B #4 1963), Kenny Lynch (UK #10 1962), Julie Grant (UK #33 1963), The Cryan’ Shames (US #85 1968), Laura Nyro (US #92 1970), James Taylor (US #28 1980), Robson & Jerome (UK #1 1995).
Also recorded by Carole King (1970).
From the wiki: “‘Up on the Roof’ is a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, first recorded as a demo in 1962 by Little Eva – their 14-year old babysitter whose singing career Goffin and King had helped launched with ‘The Loco-Motion’ and who the songwriting pair often used for demos. The song was then recorded and commercially released first by The Drifters in July 1962, becoming a major hit in early 1963, peaking at #5 the week of February 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #4 on the US R&B Singles chart.
“In the UK the Drifters’ version of ‘Up on the Roof’ failed to reach the Top 50, being trumped by two local cover versions, sung by, respectively, Julie Grant and Kenny Lynch (‘Mountain of Love‘).
“The Kenny Lynch version, which largely replicated the Drifters’ original, was the more successful, reaching #10 UK. The Julie Grant version, which reached #33 UK, was reinvented as a Merseybeat number. Its producer, Tony Hatch, would later be inspired to write Petula Clark’s iconic hit ‘Downtown’, which itself was originally envisioned as being in the style of the Drifters, with whom Hatch had hoped to place it.
Originally recorded by Wayne Carson Thompson (1969).
Hit version by The Box Tops (US #18/UK #22/CAN #9/AUS #7 1969), Eddy Arnold (MOR #22/CAN #44 1970).
Also recorded by Gin Blossoms (1994).
From the wiki: “Wayne Carson Thompson performed professionally as ‘Wayne Carson’, and was a Nashville-based musician, producer and songwriter when he wrote and first recorded ‘Soul Deep’ in 1969. Among his other songwriting credits are ‘The Letter’ (also recorded by The Box Tops), ‘Always On My Mind‘, and ‘She’s Actin’ Single (I’m Drinkin’ Double)’.
“Covered by the Box Tops in 1969, ‘Soul Deep’ was the third of three singles released from the album Dimensions.”
Co-written and first recorded (as “He Will Break Your Heart”) by Jerry Butler (US #7/R&B #1 1960).
Other hit version by Tony Orland & Dawn (US #1/MOR #1/CAN #4/NZ #28 1975).
From the wiki: “The song was written by Jerry Butler (‘Moon River‘), Calvin Carter, and Curtis Mayfield (who sings backup on the Butler recording). First recorded by Butler and released as a single in 1960, it peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In addition, Butler’s recording spent seven, non-consecutive weeks at #1 on the U.S. R&B chart.
First recorded (as “K.C. Lovin’) by Little Willie Littlefield (1952, reissued/retitled 1959).
Hit versions by Little Richard (as “Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey” US #95/R&B #26 1959), Hank Ballard & the Midnighters (US #72/R&B #16 1959), Rocky Olson (US #60 1959), Wilbert Harrison (US #1/R&B #1 1959), James Brown (US #55/R&B #21 1967).
Also recorded (as “Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey”) by The Beatles (1964).
“The battle and the noise is on!” Billboard highlighting the almost-simultaneous releases of five versions of “Kansas City” the same week in March, 1959.
From the wiki: “First recorded by Little Willie Littlefield the same year, ‘Kansas City’ later became a #1 hit when retitled and recorded by Wilbert Harrison (‘Let’s Work Together‘) in 1959 and, then, went on to become one of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller’s most recorded tunes, with more than three hundred versions, with several appearing on the R&B and pop record charts – including five separate singles released the same week in 1959, four of which charted on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Through a connection to producer Ralph Bass, Leiber and Stoller wrote ‘Kansas City’ specifically for West Coast blues/R&B artist Little Willie Littlefield. Littlefield recorded the song in Los Angeles in 1952, during his first recording session for Federal Records. Federal’s Ralph Bass changed the title to ‘K. C. Lovin”, saying he considered it ‘hipper’ than ‘Kansas City’. Littlefield’s record had some success in parts of the U.S., but it did not reach the national chart.
Written (as “Let’s Stick Together”) and originally recorded by Wilbert Harrison (1962).
Hit versions by Wilbert Harrison (US #32 1969), Canned Heat (US #26/UK #2 1970) and Bryan Ferry (UK #4 1976).
From the wiki: “Wilbert Harrison recorded ‘Let’s Stick Together’ in 1962 but the song failed to appear in the charts. However, a 1969 re-recording, as ‘Let’s Work Together’, for Sue Records, the reached #32 in the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970, making it Harrison’s first chart appearance since his #1 1959 hit ‘Kansas City‘. Unlike the 1962 version, ‘Let’s Work Together’ was a solo performance – with Harrison (credited as ‘Wilbert Harrison One Man Band’) providing the vocal, harmonica, guitar, and percussion.
First recorded by The Superiors (1987).
Hit version by New Kids on the Block (US #1/UK #2/CAN #1/1990).
https://youtu.be/lMIZR0f8zBM
From the wiki: “‘Step by Step’ was written by Maurice Starr, discoverer of The New Edition (1982) and New Kids on the Block (1984), and was originally recorded by one of Starr’s later group creations, The Superiors. ‘Step by Step’ was released as a Motown single in 1987 with no apparent chart impact.
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.
Written and first recorded by Allen Toussaint (1958).
Hit version by Al Hirt (US #4/MOR #1 1963).
Also recorded by The Angels (1964), The Beautiful South (1994).
Performed by The Muppets (1966|1968|1977).
From the wiki: “‘Java’ is an instrumental adaptation from a 1958 LP of piano compositions, The Wild Sounds of New Orleans, by Tousan, also known as New Orleans producer-songwriter Allen Toussaint (‘Working in a Coal Mine’, ‘Southern Nights’). As was the case of the rest of Toussaint’s LP, ‘Java’ was composed at the studio, primarily by Toussaint (along with Freddy Friday, Marilyn Schack, Alvin ‘Red’ Tyler).
“In 1963, trumpet player Al Hirt recorded the instrumental, and the track became the lead single from his album, Honey in the Horn. It was Hirt’s first and biggest hit on the US pop charts, reaching #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spending four weeks at #1 on the Easy Listening chart in early 1964. Hirt released a live version on his 1965 album, Live at Carnegie Hall. Hirt’s recording won the Grammy Award for “Best Performance by an Orchestra or Instrumentalist with Orchestra” in 1964.
First recorded and released by Besse Banks (US #40 released January 1964).
Hit version by The Moody Blues (US #10/UK #1/CAN #2 released February 1964).
Also recorded by Wings (1976).
From the wiki: “‘Go Now’ is a song composed by Larry Banks and Milton Bennett, and first recorded by Banks’ former wife, Bessie Banks. A 1962 demo recording by Bessie of the song was heard by songwriters/record producers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller who, then, had Banks re-record it in late November 1963 (with Dee Dee Warwick among the background singers), and released in early 1964 on Leiber-Stoller’s Tiger label. Bank’s version reached #40 on the national singles charts.
Originally recorded by The Rivileers (1954).
Hit version by Kathy Young & The Innocents (US #3/R&B #6 1960).
From the wiki: “The Rivileers were an R&B quintet who recorded for the Sol Rabinowitz’s New York City-based Baton Record label. ‘A Thousand Stars’ was the label’s first release. (The label’s most enduring hit is arguably ‘Got My Mo-Jo Working‘, first recorded by singer Ann Cole in 1957.)
Written and originally recorded by The Johnny Otis Show (US #9/R&B #5 1958).
Other hit versions by The Strangeloves (US #100 1966), Eric Clapton (US #26 1974), George Thorogood (US #63 1985).
From the wiki: “The origin of the song came when one of radio disc jockey and bandleader Johnny Otis’ managers, Hal Zeiger, found out that rock’n’roll concert venues in England did not permit the teenagers to stand up and dance in the aisles, so they instead danced with their hands while remaining in their seats. The music was based on a song Otis had heard a chain gang singing while he was touring as a teenager with Count Otis Matthews and the West Oakland House Stompers.
First recorded by The Gladiolas (R&B #11 1957).
Other hit version by The Diamonds (US #2 1957).
Also recorded by Sha Na Na (1969), Elvis Presley (1977).
From the wiki: “‘Little Darlin” was written by Maurice Williams and recorded as a rhythm-and-blues song by Williams’s R&B group, The Gladiolas, and quickly released in January 1957 by Excello Records.The Gladiolas, featuring Williams, were from Lancaster, South Carolina, where they had been together since high school. Their original version of the song peaked at #11 on the R&B charts in April 1957, but barely dented the Billboard Hot 100. (By 1959, Williams’ group became ‘Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs’ (‘Stay’).)
Originally recorded by Smiley Lewis (R&B #2 1955).
Other hit versions by Gale Storm (US #2 1955), Dave Edmunds (UK #1 1970 |US #4 1971).
From the wiki: “‘I Hear You Knocking’ (sometimes spelled ‘I Hear You Knockin”) was written in 1955 by Dave Bartholomew and Earl King (under the pen name Pearl King) and first recorded that year by Smiley Lewis, reaching #2 on the Billboard R&B singles chart in 1955.
First recorded by Smiley Lewis (R&B #11 1956).
Also recorded by Elvis Presley (1957, released 1983).
Other hit version by Elvis Presley (US #4/R&B #10/CAN #1/UK #1/SWE #1 1958).
From the wiki: “The song was written by Dave Bartholomew, Earl King (under the pseudonym ‘Pearl King’) and Anita Steiman, and was originally recorded by Smiley Lewis in 1956. His recording charted R&B Top-15 in 1956.
“Elvis Presley recorded a cover of the song with its original lyrics on January 18, 1957, but that version would not be released until 1983. Both Elvis’ manager, Colonel Tom Parker, and Presley’s record company (RCA) had reservations about the suggestive lyrics along with the provocative title, ‘One Night of Sin’. This recording was unheard by the public until its release in 1983 on Elvis: A Legendary Performer Volume 4. In the meantime, Presley did not give up on the song. He continued to play with it during his spare time on the movie set of Loving You, finally rewriting the lyrics that he felt were holding the song captive.
Originally recorded by Dee Dee Warwick (US #117 1963).
Hit versions by Betty Everett (US #51/R&B #5 1963), The Swinging Blue Jeans (US #93/UK #3 1964), Linda Ronstadt (US #1/CAN #2 1974).
Also recorded (as ‘Olet Paha!’) by Eddy and the Lightnings (1964).
From the wiki: “The original version of ‘You’re No Good’ was cut by Dee Dee Warwick for Jubilee Records in 1963 with production by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller (‘Hound Dog‘, ‘Stand By Me’, ‘There Goes My Baby’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’.)
“During the playback of Betty Everett’s November, 1963 recording her Vee-Jay label-mates The Dells ‘were sitting on the wooden platform where the string players would sit… just stomping their feet on this wooden platform to the beat of the song as it was playing back… [Producer Calvin Carter] told the engineer ‘Let’s do it again, and let’s mike those foot sounds, ’cause it really gave it a hell of a beat.’ So we did that, and boom, a hit.’
First recorded by The Everly Brothers (1962, released 1984).
Hit versions by The Cookies (US #17/R&B #7/UK #50 1962), The Beatles (1963).
From the wiki: “‘Chains’ was composed by the Brill Building husband-and-wife songwriting team Gerry Goffin and Carole King (‘Up on the Roof‘, ‘Crying in the Rain‘, ‘Oh No Not My Baby‘). It was first recorded by the Everly Brothers in 1962 but went unreleased until 1984.
“The same year, ‘Chains’ became a US Top 20 hit for Little Eva’s backing singers, The Cookies (with Earl-Jean McRae (‘I’m Into Something Good‘) singing lead), with an arrangement produced by co-writer Goffin.and later covered by The Beatles.
Co-written and originally recorded by Shorty Long (1964).
Hit version (as “Devil with the Blue Dress/Good Golly Miss Molly”) by Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels (US #4 1966).
From the wiki: “‘Devil with the Blue Dress On’ (also known as ‘Devil with a Blue Dress On’) was a song written by Shorty Long and William ‘Mickey’ Stevenson, first performed by Long (as a slow jam) and released as Shorty Long’s debut single on Motown in 1964 but the single failed to chart. Two years later, Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels covered the song as a medley with a cover of Little Richard’s ‘Good Golly Miss Molly’. The Wheels’ version was notably more up-tempo than Long’s more blues-influenced rendition. Reaching #4 on the Hot 100, the Wheels’ track would end up becoming the group’s most well-known and highest-charting hit in the United States.
First released by Tiny Topsy (1959).
Hit versions by Roscoe Gordon (US #64/R&B #2 1959), Roy Head (US #39 1965).
From the wiki: “‘Just a Little Bit’ was developed when Rosco Gordon was touring with West Coast blues artist Jimmy McCracklin. According to Gordon, McCracklin started to write the song and agreed that Gordon could finish it with both of them sharing the credit. Gordon later presented a demo version to Ralph Bass at King Records, who was reportedly uninterested in the song. Gordon then approached Calvin Carter at Vee-Jay Records, who agreed to record it.
Written and first recorded by Dave Bartholomew (1952).
Also recorded by The Bees (as “Toy Bell” 1954), Chuck Berry (as “My Tambourine” 1968).
Hit version by Chuck Berry (US #1/&B #42/UK #1 1972).
From the wiki: “‘My Ding-a-Ling’ was originally recorded by Dave Bartholomew in 1952 for King Records. When Bartholomew moved to Imperial Records, he re-recorded the song under the new title, ‘Little Girl Sing Ding-a-Ling.’ (In 1954, The Bees also released a version on Imperial titled ‘Toy Bell.’) Bartholomew’s partnership with Fats Domino on Imperial Records produced some of his greatest successes. In the mid 1950s they co-wrote more than forty hits, including two songs that reached #1 on the Billboard R&B chart, ‘Goin’ Home’ and ‘Ain’t That a Shame’, along with ‘I’m Walkin”, ‘I Hear You Knocking‘ and ‘One Night‘. Bartholomew is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.