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 «  

Tagged: Swinging Blue Jeans

1950s, Rock 'n Roll

Good Golly Miss Molly

First released by The Valiants (1957).
Hit versions by Little Richard (US #10/R&B #4/UK #8 1958), The Swinging Blue Jeans (US #43/UK #11 1964).
Also recorded by Los Teen Tops (1959).

From the wiki: “‘Good Golly Miss Molly’ was written by John Marascalco and producer Robert ‘Bumps’ Blackwell. Although it was first recorded in 1956 (during two separate sessions in July and October 1956 at J&M Studios, New Orleans) by Little Richard, Blackwell – after leaving Specialty Records (Little Richard’s label) to manage Sam Cooke – produced another version, by The Valiants, that was rush-released to radio and stores in late 1957 only to be quickly eclipsed when Richard’s recording was finally, belatedly released in January 1958.

Read more →

1950s, Rock 'n Roll

The Hippy Hippy Shake

Written and first recorded by Chan Romero (AUS #3 1959).
Also recorded by Little Tony (1959), The Beatles (1963, released 1994).
Hit versions by The Swinging Blue Jeans (US #21/UK #5 1964), Mud (UK #8 1974), The Georgia Satellites (US #45/ROCK #13 1988).

From the wiki: “‘”Hippy Hippy Shake’ was written and recorded by 17-year old Chan Romero in 1959. That same year, it reached #3 in Australia. A cover version by Italian rocker Little Tony appeared in the same year and found moderate success in the UK and Italy.

Read more →

1960s, R&B

You’re No Good

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.’

Read more →