First recorded by Dionne Warwick (1985).
Hit version by Anita Baker (US #44/MOR #9/R&B #5 1987).
From the wiki: “‘No One in the World’ was written by Marti Sharon and Ken Hirsch, and was first recorded by Dionne Warwick (and produced by Barry Manilow) for her 1985 album Finder of Lost Love and again on her 1987 album, Reservations for Two.”
“Anita Baker covered ‘No One in the World’ for her Rapture album, released in 1987. Released as the fourth promotional single from the album, ‘No One in the World’ would peak at #44 on the Billboard Hot 100 but chart Top-10 on the Adult Contemporary and R&B charts.”
Written and first recorded (as an instrumental demo) by K.C. & The Sunshine Band (1974).
Hit version by George McCrae (US #1/R&B #1/UK #1/AUS #1 1974).
From the wiki: “‘Rock Your Baby’ was written and produced by Harry Wayne Casey (‘K.C.’) and Richard Finch of K.C. & The Sunshine Band, and is considered to be one of the landmark recordings of early disco music.
“The backing track for the record had been recorded in 45 minutes as a demo, and featured guitarist Jerome Smith, saxophonist Whit Sidener and trumpeter Vinnie Tanno of K.C. & The Sunshine Band. The track was not originally intended for McCrae. But, he happened to be in the studio, was invited by K.C. to add a vocal, and the resulting combination of infectious rhythm and falsetto vocal made it a hit. An instrumental re-recording would later be released as a separate single, in 1975 in the US (backed with ‘S.O.S.’) and in 1976 in the UK (backed with ‘Sunshine City’).
First recorded (as “Am I the Same Girl”) by Barbara Acklin (US #79/R&B #44 1968).
Other hit versions by Young-Holt Unlimited (US #3/R&B #3 1968), Swing Out Sister (US #45/MOR #1 1992).
From the wiki: “Although Barbara Acklin — who was married to co-writer Eugene Record — recorded the song first, and it enjoyed modest chart success, producer Carl Davis would go on to remove Acklin’s vocal from the track, replacing it with a piano solo by Floyd Morris, and released the resultant track in November 1968 as ‘Soulful Strut’ credited to Young-Holt Unlimited. However, neither Eldee Young nor Red Holt is believed to have played on the track, which was the work of session musicians identified only as the Brunswick Studio Band.
First recorded by Soul Brothers Six (US #91 1967).
Other hit versions by The Fantastic Johnny C (US #87 1968), Grand Funk Railroad (US #3 1974), Huey Lewis & The News (US #44/MOR #4 1994).
Also recorded by Q-Tips (1980), Buddy Guy with Paul Rodgers (1993), Joss Stone (2003).
From the wiki: “‘Some Kind of Wonderful’ is a song written by John Ellison and first recorded by his group, Soul Brothers Six, from Rochester, NY, in 1967, peaking at #91 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The Fantastic Johnny C, from Philadelphia, next recorded a version of the song in 1968 that briefly charted in the US.
“In 1974, Grand Funk Railroad covered ‘Some Kind of Wonderful’ for the group’s album All the Girls in the World Beware!!!. Reaching #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1975, the Grand Funk recording ended the year ranked #74 on Billboard’s Hot 100 year-end chart for 1975.
Originally recorded by Marvin Gaye (1963).
Hit version by Paul Young (US #70/UK #1 1983).
From the wiki: “‘Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home)’ is a song written by Marvin Gaye, Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield, and first recorded by Gaye in 1962 as an album track on That Stubborn Kinda Fellow. Years later, Paul Young’s version of the song was a UK #1 single for three weeks in July 1983. The song fared less well on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at #70, but was later used in the 1986 film Ruthless People and its accompanying soundtrack album.”
First recorded by Patti Drew (US #62/R&B #34 1968).
Also recorded by Barbara Lewis (1968), Neil Sedaka (1969).
Other hit version by The 5th Dimension (US #20/R&B #15 1969).
From the wiki: “Neil Sedaka co-wrote ‘Workin’ on a Groovy Thing’ in 1968 but did not record his own version of the song until 1969 when touring Australia. Sedaka recorded an album titled Workin’ on a Groovy Thing on a one-off basis for a Sydney, Australia-based label at a time his career had slumped and his contract had not been renewed by his former label in the USA. (In the United Kingdom, the album was released on the MCA label under the title Sounds of Sedaka.) Patti Drew was the first to record and release the song, in 1968.
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.
First recorded by The Elgins (US #50/R&B #9 1966 |UK #3 1971).
Other hit version by Bonnie Pointer (US #11 1979).
From the wiki: “The version by the Elgins, released on the Motown subsidiary V.I.P. Records label in 1966, reached #9 on the Billboard R&B chart and #50 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It was reissued in the UK in 1971, and reached #3 on the UK Singles Chart. The Elgins’ backing vocals were augmented by The Andantes.
First single release by Nella Dodds (US #74 released October 1964).
Other hit versions by The Supremes (US #1/R&B #2/UK #27 released November 1964), Jr. Walker & The All Stars (US #24/R&B #8 1967), Shakin’ Stevens (UK #24 1987).
Also recorded by Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels (1966).
From the wiki: “The Supremes’ recording of ‘Come See About Me’ was recorded on July 13, 1964 during the sessions that produced the album Where Did Our Love Go, released in August 1964. But, the release of the song as a promotional single was held up while the album’s first two singles, ‘Where Did Our Love Go’ and ‘Baby Love’, were released and charted.
“Techically a cover recording, 14-year old Nella Dodds’ Wand Records single would actually be the first released as a single, in October 1964. It entered the Billboard Hot 100 in early November, debuting at #87 the week of November 14, showing promise as a rising pop and R&B hit. Mowtown Records, not wanting to be outshone by another label with a song written by their songwriting dream team, Holland-Dozier-Holland, rushed released the Supremes’ ‘Come See About Me’ to radio and retail in November, 1964, quickly undercutting the early chart momentum of Dodd’s recording and using their marketing muscle to debut the Supreme’s single two weeks later at #13 on the Hot 100 chart the week of November 28.
Written and first recorded by “Sir” Mack Rice (R&B #15 1965).
Other hit versions by Wilson Pickett (US #23/R&B #6/UK #28 1967 |UK #62 1987), The Commitments (UK #63 1991).
From the wiki: “According to music historian Tom Shannon the song started as a joke. Mack Rice wrote a song called ‘Mustang Mama’ after visiting his friend, the actress/singer Della Reese, in New York City. Reese told him that she was thinking about buying her drummer a new Lincoln for his birthday, which Rice, being from Detroit, thought was a great idea. When Rice mentioned this to Shields, the drummer replied, ‘I don’t want a Lincoln, I want a Mustang.’
“As Rice then explains, on the 2007 Rhythm & Blues Cruise, he had never heard of a Mustang before but Shields filled him in. Rice couldn’t believe Shields wanted such a small car instead of a big ol’ Lincoln. When he returned to Detroit, Rice started writing the song, with the chorus ‘Ride, Sally, ride.’ Rice’s publisher knew Aretha Franklin well, and brought Rice by her house for a visit; he sang some of the song for her; Franklin suggested he change the title to ‘Mustang Sally’ to better suit the chorus.
First recorded by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles (1966, released 1968).
Hit versions by Gladys Knight & the Pips (US #2/R&B #1 1967), Marvin Gaye (US #1/R&B #1/CAN #8/UK #1/IRE #7 1968), Creedence Clearwater Revival (US #43/CAN #76 1976).
From the wiki: “First recorded by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles in 1966, ‘I Heard It Through the Grapevine’ was rejected for release by Motown owner Berry Gordy, who told Barrett Strong (co-writer) and Norman Whitfield (producer and co-writer) that the song was ‘too bluesy’ and that it lacked ‘hit potential’. Whitfield produced another version, with Marvin Gaye, in 1967 with Gordy also rejected (‘It sucks’, he is reported to have opined) for release. Even the Isley Brothers are said to have taken a crack at it (see below).
Written and first recorded by Chris Kenner (US #77 1962).
Also recorded by Danny & The Memories (1965).
Other hit versions by Cannibal & The Headhunters (US #30 1965), Wilson Pickett (US #6/R&B #1/UK #22 1966).
From the wiki: “Written and first recorded by Chris Kenner in 1962, ‘Land of 1000 Dances’ is famous for its ‘na na na na na’ hook added by Cannibal & The Headhunters in their 1965 version. (The ‘na na na na na’ hook happened by accident when Frankie ‘Cannibal’ Garcia, lead singer of Cannibal & The Headhunters, forgot the lyrics. The melody to that section of the song was also created spontaneously, as it is not on Kenner’s original recording.) The song’s best-known version was Wilson Pickett’s 1966 single release, from the album The Exciting Wilson Pickett, which became an R&B #1 and Billboard Top 10 hit, his highest-charting Pop song.
“Whitfield first produced the song – a blatant anti-Vietnam War protest – with The Temptations as the original vocalists. Whitfield re-recorded the song with Edwin Starr as the vocalist, when Motown decided to withhold The Temptations’ version from single release so as not to alienate their more conservative fans.
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.
First recorded (as “Keep Growing Strong”) by Connie Stevens (1970).
Hit versions by The Stylistics (US #3/R&B #2/UK #13 1972), Prince (US #31/R&B #10/UK #11 1996).
From the wiki: “Thom Bell and Linda Creed wrote the song that was originally recorded by Connie Stevens as ‘Keep Growing Strong’ and released on the Bell Records label in 1970 with no chart impact. But, the composition scored a hit when it was covered by the Philadelphia soul group The Stylistics in 1972 peaking in the US Top 10 and UK Top 20. (Surprisingly, Bell produced both the Stevens’ and Stylistics’ recording sessions.)
First recorded by Lezli Valentine (1968).
Hit versions by The Moments (1968 |US #3/R&B #1 1970), Stacy Lattisaw (US #13/R&B #2 1981).
From the wiki: “Written by Sylvia Robinson and Bert Keyes in 1968. ‘Love on a Two-Way Street’ was first recorded by Lezli Valentine, an artist signed to All Platinum, the record label that Robinson co-owned with her husband, Joe. Released as a single, it had no apparent chart impact.
“The song was then recorded by The Moments (‘Don’t Cry Out Loud‘) – with Billy Brown re-recording the lead vocal over the Valentine’s original instrumental track – as filler for their 1968 album Not on the Outside, But on the Inside, Strong!, released on Stang Records, a subsidiary label of All Platinum also created by Robinson. (The Moments would later evolve into the vocal trio Ray, Goodman & Brown.)
“Two years later, in March 1970, the Robinsons decided to belatedly release the Moments’ track as a single. It would go on to become one of the biggest R&B hits of that year and the highest-charting single of the The Moments’ career, peaking at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping the R&B chart.
“In 1981, Stacy Lattisaw covered ‘Love on a Two-Way Street’, peaking in the Hot 100 Top-15 and at #2 on the R&B chart.”
Written and originally recorded by Arthur Alexander (US #68/R&B #10 1962).
Hit album version by The Beatles (1963).
From the wiki: “‘Anna (Go to Him)’ (or simply ‘Anna’) was written and originally recorded by Arthur Alexander, and is considered to be one of the great early Soul ballads even if its loping groove was closer to a mid-tempo song than a slow ballad.
“‘Anna’ was actually a minor pop hit (but Top-10 R&B) when it first came out in 1962, peaking #68 on the Pop charts. However, it was a personal favorite of John Lennon, and ‘Anna’ had been a part of the Beatles live set since its release in 1962. ‘Anna’ would become more famous for its cover version by the Beatles than when originally released by Alexander.
First recorded by Danny Thomas (1973).
First single release by Ray Price (C&W #1 1973).
Also recorded by Dean Martin (1973).
Hit versions by Gladys Knight & The Pips (US #3/R&B #1/UK #7 February 1974), The Persuaders (US #85/R&B #29 March 1974).
From the wiki: “‘You’re the Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me’ — also known simply as ‘Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me’ — is a song written by Jim Weatherly, and enjoyed two runs of popularity, each by an artist in a different genre. The song’s first run of popularity, as ‘You’re the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me,’ came in 1973. That’s when Country singer Ray Price took the song to #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart on October 6, 1973.
Co-written and first recorded by Dan Penn (1965).
Hit version by James & Bobby Purify (US #6/R&B #5 1966 |UK #12 1976).
From the wiki: “Dan Penn’s writing credits read like a soul jukebox. Often working with his friend Spooner Oldham, Penn (who kept busy performing, producing and songwriting at Muscle Shoal’s famed FAME studio) was behind many of the defining songs from the most celebrated black singers of the Sixties: James Carr’s ‘The Dark End of the Street’; Aretha Franklin’s ‘Do Right Man, Do Right Woman’; Percy Sledge’s ‘It Tears Me Up’; Otis Redding’s ‘You Left The Water Running’; and James and Bobby Purify’s ‘I’m Your Puppet’.
First recorded by Eleventh Hour (1974).
Hit versions by LaBelle (US #1/R&B #1/UK #17/CAN #1/ITA #8/NETH #1 1974); All Saints (UK #1/SCOT #2 1998); Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mya, & Pink (US #1/R&B #1/UK #1/CAN #17/AUS #1/NZ #1/GER #1 2001).
From the wiki: “‘Lady Marmalade’ is a song written by Bob Crewe (‘Silhouettes‘, ‘Silence is Golden‘, ‘The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore‘, ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’) and Kenny Nolan (‘My Eyes Adored You’, ‘I Like Dreamin”), inspired by Crewe’s first-hand observations of New Orleans and made famous for its sexually suggestive chorus of ‘Voulez-vous coucher avec moi (ce soir)?’ (‘Do you want to go to bed with me (tonight)?’).
“After it was first recorded as a demo by The Eleventh Hour, a group made up of studio musicians, fronted by co-writer Nolan on vocals, ‘Lady Marmalade’ was first released in 1974 as a track on the Eleventh Hour’s Greatest Hits LP which did not chart. Meanwhile, co-writer Crewe showed the song to Allen Toussaint in New Orleans; Toussaint then decided to record the song with Labelle, whose label (Epic Records) had hired him to produce their label debut, Nightbirds.
First recorded by Dee Dee Warwick (US #88/R&B #13 1966).
Also recorded by Jerry Butler (1967), Jay & the Techniques (1968).
Hit versions by Madeline Bell (US #26/R&B #32 1968), Diana Ross & The Supremes with The Temptations (US #2/R&B #2/UK #3 1968).
From the wiki: “Written by Philly Soul songwriters Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff (‘If You Don’t Know Me By Now’, ‘Love Train’, ‘Now That We Found Love‘), and producer Jerry Ross (‘Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie‘, ‘Sunny‘), ‘I’m Gonna Make You Love Me’ was originally a Top-20 R&B hit for Dee Dee Warwick in 1966. It was released as the follow-up single to her Top-10 hit ‘I Want To Be With You’. Co-writer Ross produced the track while Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson provided background vocals. Warwick’s recording reached #13 R&B and crossed over to the Billboard Top 100 in December 1966.
Originally recorded by The Isley Brothers (US #125 1967).
Hit version by Marvin Gaye (US #7/R&B #2 1969).
From the wiki: “Co-writer Norman Whitfield produced both recording sessions for Motown, taking his up-tempo Isley Brothers arrangement and turning it into a slowed-down psychedelic Soul opus for Marvin Gaye.”
Originally recorded by Arthur Alexander (1972).
Hit version by Elvis Presley (US #2 1972).
From the wiki: “‘Burning Love’ is a song written by Dennis Linde and originally recorded by Country Soul artist Arthur Alexander, who included it on his 1972 self-titled album. It was soon covered and brought to fame by Elvis Presley, becoming his biggest hit single in the United States since ‘Suspicious Minds’ in 1969 and his last Top 10 hit in the American Hot 100 or pop charts. ‘Burning Love’ was kept from becoming #1 by Chuck Berry’s novelty song ‘My Ding-a-Ling‘.
Originally recorded by The Persuaders (US #39/R&B #7 1974).
Also recorded by Nikki Wills (1981).
Other hit versions by Robert Palmer (US Rock #59/UK #16 1982), Rod Stewart (US #10/UK #15 1984), Louise Mandrell (as “Some Girls Have All the Luck” C&W #22 1985), Maxi Priest (UK #12/IRE #15/BEL #18 1987).
From the wiki: “[Jeff] Fortgang wrote many songs during his three years in the music business after graduating Yale in 1971, but sold only this one. He went on to get a PhD in Clinical Psychology, and still works in the mental health field in the Boston area. By the time ‘Some Guys Have All the Luck’ became a major hit (by Rod Stewart) in 1984, Fortgang had long before abandoned his dreams being a popular songwriter and was already well into a career as a psychologist.
