Songs with Earlier Histories Than the Hit Version

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Tagged: Walker Brothers

1970s, Pop

We’re All Alone

Written and first recorded by Boz Scaggs (AUS #54 1976).
Other hit versions by Frankie Valli (US #76/MOR #27/CAN #73 1976), La Costa (C&W #75 1977), The Walker Brothers (NETH #22 1977), Rita Coolidge (US #7/MOR #1/C&W #68/UK #6/IRE #6/AUS #32/NZ #34/NETH #22 1977).

From the wiki: “”We’re All Alone” was written by Boz Scaggs, and was included on his 1976 album Silk Degrees. ‘We’re All Alone’ was used as the B-side of one of the album’s promotional singles, ‘Lido Shuffle’, in advance of the album’s release but was itself never released as an A-side except in Australia, where it peaked at #57.

“‘We’re All Alone’ did garner attention soon after the Scaggs’ album’s March 1976 debut. Frankie Valli covered and released a single version from his Valli LP which reached #78 U.S. in August 1976. The Walker Brothers – one of Scaggs’ formative influences – cut ‘We’re All Alone’ for their Lines album. The Walker’s track had an October 1976 single release in the UK whereas the Frankie Valli version had been released that July. Neither single charted in the UK, but the Walker Brothers’ version did reach #22 in the Netherlands in August 1977. Country singer La Costa (sister of Tanya Tucker) had a single release of ‘We’re All Alone’ in both the US – where it charted at #75 C&W – and also the UK where the track was the B-side of a remake of ‘I Second That Emotion’.

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1960s, Pop

Make It Easy On Yourself

First commercial release (as “Are You Lonely By Yourself”) by The Isley Brothers (1962).
Hit versions by Jerry Butler (US #20/R&B #18 1962), Walker Brothers (US #16/UK #1 1965), Dionne Warwick (US #37/MOR #2/R&B #26 1970).

From the wiki: “‘Make It Easy On Yourself’, written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, was first recorded for commercial release by the Isley Brothers. Much to Bacharach’s chagrin, the Brothers messed with the lyrics (turning it into ‘Are You Lonely By Yourself’) and he objected to the release of their version. (The Isley recording remained unreleased until 2001.) Instead, to fill out the time remaining of their studio session, the Isley Brothers recorded ‘Twist and Shout‘.

“It was Jerry Butler (‘He Don’t Love You‘, ‘Moon River‘, ‘Gypsy Woman‘) who first made ‘Make It Easy On Yourself’ a chart hit – his third Top 20 hit since departing The Impressions for a solo career.

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1960s, Pop

The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine (Anymore)

First recorded by Frankie Valli (1965).
Hit versions by The Walker Brothers (US #13/UK #1/GER #4 1966), Cher (UK #26 1996).
Also recorded by The Fuzzy Bunnies (US #115 1968), Keane (2004).

From the wiki: “‘The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore’, written by Bob Crewe (‘Silence is Golden‘, ‘Silhouettes‘, ‘Lady Marmalade‘) and Bob Gaudio (‘Sherry’, ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’, ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’), was originally recorded in 1965 by Frankie Valli for his 1966 solo album Frankie Valli: Solo. Although it was recorded at a Four Seasons recording session (with the other group members at that time), it was Valli’s first official ‘solo’ single in almost a decade. (He had previously recorded as ‘Frankie Valley’ and ‘Frankie Tyler’.) Valli’s version, however, failed to chart in the Billboard Hot 100.

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1960s, Pop

Hurting Each Other

First recorded by Jimmy Clanton (1965).
Also recorded by Ruth Lewis (1966), The Walker Brothers (1966).
Hit versions by Chad Allan & The Expressions (CAN #19 1965), Ruby & The Romantics (US #113 1969), The Carpenters (US #2/MOR #1/CAN #2/AUS #4/NZ #7/JPN #56 1972).

From the wiki: “The earliest version of the song was recorded by Jimmy Clanton, the singer from New Orleans known as the ‘swamp pop R&B teenage idol’, in February 1965, produced by the song authors, Gary Geld and Peter Udell. He rode the crest of the popular teen music wave in the 1950s and 1960s. Seven of his records, including ‘Go, Jimmy, Go’, ‘Just a Dream’, and ‘Venus in Blue Jeans‘, charted in the U.S. Top 40.

“Chad Allan & The Expressions, from whom The Guess Who would later evolve (Randy Bachman, Jim Kale and Garry Peterson were original members; Burton Cummings replaced Allan in 1966), also recorded the song in 1965 on their Canadian LP Hey Ho (What You Do to Me) … teasingly subtited ‘Guess Who?’. Released as a single, ‘Hurting Each Other’ hit #19 on the Canadian charts in early 1966. In June 1966, a version by Ruth Lewis, produced again by the song’s writers, Geld and Udell, was released as a single by RCA Victor records without any apparent chart impact. A cover of ‘Hurting Each Other’ also appeared on The Walker Brothers’ second album, Portrait, which was released in November 1966 but their recording was not released as a single. However, ‘Hurting Each Other’ was the final single released by Ruby & The Romantics (‘Hey There, Lonely Girl‘) before the group’s break-up in 1969 and, even though it ‘Bubbled Under the Hot 100’, it was the first appearance of the song on a US music chart.

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