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Related: Culture Forums, Support Forumsname a song whose original artist and/or songwriter surprised you
i'll start with a couple from 1967:
aretha franklin's 1967 legendary feminist anthem "respect" was written and originally recorded by otis redding in 1965.
sung in a male voice, its tone is entirely different; aretha's strong, confident demand for her due replaced otis's pleading for a scrap of respect.
the monkees actually recorded "i'm a believer" in 1966, but it was the biggest hit of 1967. i always figured the monkees didn't write it, but i was surprised to find out it was written by neil diamond.
Blues Heron
(5,944 posts)Thought it was Bobby Bland song, actually it's a T-Bone Walker song....
Kber
(5,043 posts)unblock
(52,331 posts)Tikki
(14,559 posts)Tikki
unblock
(52,331 posts)written by paul simon.
Arkansas Granny
(31,532 posts)He wrote "A Boy Named Sue", "On The Cover Of The Rolling Stone", "Marie Laveau" and many others that crossed several genres.
unblock
(52,331 posts)3catwoman3
(24,054 posts)...is one of my favorites of what I call "silly songs." ALways makes me smile.
OilemFirchen
(7,143 posts)Martin Mull's "A Girl Named Johnny Cash" by Jane Morgan:
underpants
(182,904 posts)GReedDiamond
(5,316 posts)For example:
blm
(113,100 posts)by Johnny Cash.
And he's STILL on tour after 50 years.
Throwback to when Neil Diamond and Shirley Bassey burned up the small screen with their major league sizzle on Play Me. I would STILL bet a mortgage payment that they got together here
.you can't fake THAT much chemistry.
Boomerproud
(7,968 posts)Yikes! Get a room!
blm
(113,100 posts)blood left in his brain to remember the words. ; )
Notice that she kisses his mic at the end before she kisses him. ;
Dave Starsky
(5,914 posts)I never realized Shirley Bassey was that young. She must have been a baby when she sang Goldfinger.
blm
(113,100 posts)Of course, the song itself is pretty damn sexy.
cemaphonic
(4,138 posts)Tony Tribe covered it in a reggae style shortly after it was written in the 60s. Supposedly, UB40 hadn't even heard Diamond's version when they recorded their version. (The other funny thing is that after it became a hit, Diamond started performing it with reggae touches).
blm
(113,100 posts)other styles.
Mister Ed
(5,944 posts)When Grand Funk Railroad released their remake of the early-sixties Little Eva hit, my high-school friend Angela was aghast to learn that it had been written by her musical heroine, Carole King.
Angela lived and breathed Carole King's "Tapestry" album, and couldn't believe that the same woman who'd written those haunting ballads had also written "that rinky-dink song!", as she exclaimed with incredulity.
And who was Little Eva, for whom Carole King had written the song in the early 60's? The babysitter of Louise, the three-year-old daughter of King and her husband Gerry Goffin.
unblock
(52,331 posts)i knew about little eva's original and that it was written by carole king, but i didn't know the babysitter connection!
JudyM
(29,280 posts)TexasBushwhacker
(20,219 posts)One Fine Day - The Chiffons
Pleasant Valley Sunday - The Monkees
Up On the Roof - The Drifters
JudyM
(29,280 posts)about that somewhere.
Mister Ed
(5,944 posts)DFW
(54,445 posts)#5 "The Evolution" was a parody on "Locomotion" about Sam Brownback of Kansas who was against the teaching of the theory of evolution as opposed to creationism.
AJT
(5,240 posts)Sung by Garth Brooks
Written by Bob Dylan
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(52,331 posts)BuddyCa
(99 posts)words by King Solomon
the original folk hero/rocker!
GreydeeThos
(958 posts)Crossroads was written by Robert Johnson in 1936.
Drifter
(4,751 posts)written by Frank Zappa
Cheers
Drifter
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(52,331 posts)I realize that many might not know this song (or the group). I was going for the style of music.
I didn't know about this song until a few years ago (Zappa fan since 1984).
I don't think I have ever heard this song performed by Frank. I think he mentions the song title on "Roxy and Elsewhere"
It is a little known fact that Frank grew up on (and loved) doo-wap music. He wrote a lot of songs that are inspired by, pays tribute to, and lampoons doo-wap music.
Cheers
Drifter
IcyPeas
(21,910 posts)from the Mavericks. It was written by Bruce Springsteen.
unblock
(52,331 posts)"fire" by the pointer sisters,
"blinded by the light" by manfred mann
...
blm
(113,100 posts)Last edited Sun Mar 19, 2017, 03:08 PM - Edit history (2)
It was originally written by SNL head writer Michael O'Donoghue and sung on the show by TonyAward winner Christine Ebersole.
Dolly usually sang her own songs, but, fell in love with the song when she saw it on SNL. Record company made her edit the song's tougher verses.
If you really want to hear the intensity of the lyrics (and why the record company cut out a lot of it) here's a rare find of Ebersole's original.
http://snl.wikia.com/wiki/Single_Women
Single bars and single women
With a single thought in mind
Just to make it till the morning
Looking for what they can find
For a man you won't remember
For a night you can't forget
Do you come to this place often?
May I light your cigarette?
Drinkin' beer and Amaretto
Poppin' pills and smokin' dope
Hopin' for a new beginning
But beginning to lose hope
As you're waitin' for the moment
When a glance becomes a stare
Have you seen my new Camaro?
Do you like your sirloin rare?
Find a matchbook in the morning
With a name and number scrawled
When you phone, a woman answers
And you wish you never called
Just another heavy-hitter
Who was out to make a score
What's that perfume that you're wearin'?
Haven't I met you before?
With a twenty in your pocket
And a toothbrush in your purse
Life could get a whole lot better
But it better not get worse
Like when he's too drunk to make it
Just when you're too drunk to care
Do you mind if I come join ya?
Love your dress and love your hair
They are friendly when they meet you
They are strangers when they go
May I taste your Vodka Collins?
May I offer you some blow?
As it's gettin' near to closing
And the seconds pass like years
Lots of friends to share the laughter
Not a one to share the tears
And you wish they'd change the jukebox
'Cause the songs, they all sound the same
Would you let me buy you breakfast?
What's your sign and what's your name?
Do you dance? Are you a model?
Would you like to see a trick?
Did you read the latest novel?
Did you catch the latest flick?
Do you ski? Are you a jogger?
What's the matter? Are you gay?
Can I drop you off at my place?
Wanna party? Wanna play?
Single bars and single women
With a single thought in mind
Just to make it till the morning
Looking for what they can find
ailsagirl
(22,899 posts)Last edited Sat Mar 18, 2017, 09:26 PM - Edit history (1)
Barry Gibb wrote Streisand's best (IMO) song "Woman in Love"
Interesting-- both men wrote convincingly from a woman's POV
Charles Bukowski
(1,132 posts)Made famous by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton.
Not a bad songwriter, that one.
Dave Starsky
(5,914 posts)"If I Can't Have You" - Yvonne Elliman
"Grease" - Frankie Valli
"Heartbreaker" - Dionne Warwick
Just off the top of my head.
Dude was a hit-making machine back in the day.
Freddie
(9,275 posts)When he was an Aussie lad of 15 or 16. Amazing songwriter.
underpants
(182,904 posts)Interesting.
Blues Heron
(5,944 posts)Written by Kris Kristofferson. Janis pwned that song
Also All Along the Watchtower by Bob Dylan. Jimi pwned that song
blm
(113,100 posts)imo.
Miles Archer
(18,837 posts)At the time of release, it was an extremely welcome stomper at a time when many of his hits were ballads.
blm
(113,100 posts); )
kwassa
(23,340 posts)One a hit by the Pointer Sisters, written by Bruce Springsteen.
One a hit by Peggy Lee,
"Fever" is a song written by Eddie Cooley and Otis Blackwell, who used the pseudonym John Davenport. It was originally recorded by American R&B singer Little Willie John in 1956 and released as a single in April of the same year.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fever_(Little_Willie_John_song)
unblock
(52,331 posts)i knew about "fire".
that one's actually kinda date-rapey when sung in a male voice....
.
Response to kwassa (Reply #24)
John1956PA This message was self-deleted by its author.
kwassa
(23,340 posts)unblock
(52,331 posts)i imagine dolly herself was pretty surprised when she first heard whitney sing the living crap out of dolly's simply little ditty.
Dave Starsky
(5,914 posts)I always thought the Whitney version amounted to little more than vocal showboating. Dolly's version comes off as a thousand times more sincere, because it WAS. It was her farewell to her mentor Porter Wagoner, who had started her on her career.
blm
(113,100 posts)like when she sang her earlier material.
If you like Dolly check out my post above about the origin of Single Bars, Single Women.
unblock
(52,331 posts)i can recognize the amazing technical talent, but the ability to convey emotion and pair it to the lyrics or the music just isn't there.
bruce springsteen, on the other hand, is lousy technically, but it's hard to match his ability to convey emotion.
.
Dave Starsky
(5,914 posts)David Gilmour is always ranked somewhere near the middle of "great guitarists" lists, and he may not be the fastest or greatest technical showman. But for me, he is the greatest guitarist ever, just for the emotion and quality of sound he produces. I NEVER get tired of listening to a Pink Floyd guitar solo, and I've heard them thousands of times.
Dave Starsky
(5,914 posts)I would be very suspicious of anyone who told me they didn't like Dolly Parton. That would be one of those "I'm a Cylon" tells like hating puppies or ice cream.
blm
(113,100 posts).
kwassa
(23,340 posts)Her most famous song.
&list=RDOnYEQbEHNZE
underpants
(182,904 posts)Willie was making something like $8 a day to sit in a room with his guitar and a piano and write songs. He cranked out many that were then given to certain artists. He and the other "Outlaws" eventually said screw this we'll write and OWN the songs. This was not the Nashville way which was apparent when they took for ever to put him in their Hall of Fame. The powers that be didn't appreciate the loss of money over the years.
A musician friend of mine told me about how the whole "singer-songwriter" thing was the result from Bob Dylan. As with Willie the formula was to pay pennies to the writers while the publisher had ownership. The artists all fit certain looks requirements - suit haircut pretty face etc. - but then here comes Dylan. Doesn't fit the look at all, really can't sing all that well, but he owns the songs and plays them. This is where Carol King and Neil Diamond said "He'll if he can do it so can we" and they stepped out from the writing room and became performers. Anyway that's what my friend said was the genesis of breaking the established system and people like Willie and others did the same in the C/W world.
malthaussen
(17,217 posts)... in a parallel development. Lennon and McCartney were determined to write their own stuff from the moment they met. And they made far more from the songwriting than from the touring and records. As you note, once they and Dylan started doing it, everyone decided to get into the act, which truly revolutionized the pop scene.
-- Mal
Tikki
(14,559 posts)Tikki
Orrex
(63,225 posts)until two decades after I'd grown to know it as a Bruce Springsteen classic.
Similarly, I didn't know that Blinded by the Light was a Springsteen song first.
The Polack MSgt
(13,199 posts)It was one of my favorite Johnny Cash songs - still is. I found out he didn't write it, but I still think he made it his song
teach1st
(5,935 posts)Different Drum, recorded by The Stone Poneys (Linda Ronstadt!) was written by Michael Nesmith of the the Monkees. The song was originally recorded by The Greenbriar Boys, a bluegrass group, and it was performed in a late 1966 Monkees episode as a comedy skit.
John1956PA
(2,657 posts)They put on a great show. One of the crowd's favorites, and the reason we went, was his performance of "Joanne."
underpants
(182,904 posts)This link, as far as I can tell, was the extent of that song on the air.
46 seconds.
From my reading on this song, Nesmith had written it but it was never released by the Monkees. The song was just known around the LA music scene and the Stone Ponies did it and it got Linda on the air - which the time tested formula for a hit. Nesmith suggested it for the spot linked above and the producers said okay but you only have 20 seconds.
Carrie Underwood did a really good cover with Paul Schafer and the Letterman band at Linda's Hall of Fame ceremony.
Intro by Glenn Frey
Tikki
(14,559 posts)Tikki
Paula Sims
(877 posts)I'm just not into that grovely voice. Love the lyrics and when others sing it - just not Cohen
blm
(113,100 posts)I had to set him straight. ; )
Comatose Sphagetti
(836 posts)Bruce Springsteen's, "Blinded by the Light."
Love Mann's version. Hate Springsteen's.
unblock
(52,331 posts)I thought the lyrics were amazing and loved that version. then I discovered bruce's version. it just seemed all wrong at first, flat and lame, but I quickly became more and more of a Springsteen fan and now it's flipped for me; the boss's version now seems "correct" and manfred mann's version is just all kinds of wrong. Doesn't capture the feeling at all.
Tikki
(14,559 posts)Tikki
teach1st
(5,935 posts)Charlie Chaplin wrote the music for "Smile," which became a signature song for Nat King Cole and was covered by other artists, including Michael Jackson. He wrote the words and music for Petula Clark's "This is My Song."
beachbum bob
(10,437 posts)that Joe Bonammassa kills everytime he plays it
cos dem
(903 posts)The original is by Fleetwood Mac. The live version on their "Live From Boston" album is amazing.
Response to cos dem (Reply #60)
OilemFirchen This message was self-deleted by its author.
underpants
(182,904 posts)I'd heard this before the Clooney "Dangerous Mind" movie. Chuck took that and road it into THE entertainment industry and supposedly international intrigue.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Barris
Miles Archer
(18,837 posts)Songs recorded by Elvis Presley with lyrics by Dolores Fuller:
Rock-A-Hula Baby (from the film Blue Hawaii, 1961)
I Got Lucky (from the film Kid Galahad, 1962)
Steppin' Out of Line (unused track from the Blue Hawaii sessions, first released on 1962 album Pot Luck)
You Can't Say No in Acapulco (from the film Fun in Acapulco, 1963)
Beyond the Bend (from the film It Happened at the World's Fair, 1963)
Barefoot Ballad (from the film Kissin' Cousins, 1964)
Big Love, Big Heartache (from the film Roustabout, 1964)
Do the Clam (from the film Girl Happy, 1965)
Spinout (from the film Spinout, 1966)
I'll Take Love (from the film Easy Come, Easy Go, 1967)
Have a Happy (from the film Change of Habit, 1969)
Cindy, Cindy (Love Letters from Elvis, 1971 studio album)
blm
(113,100 posts)Can't Help Falling in Love With You.
He submitted it for Blue Hawaii and Tom Parker initially turned it down saying it wasn't an Elvis song. When Elvis heard it and liked it Parker allowed it but only as the B side to Rock-A-Hula Baby.
OilemFirchen
(7,143 posts)"Everybody Loves A Clown" by Gary Lewis & The Playboys:
OilemFirchen
(7,143 posts)Including "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Galveston" and "Wichita Lineman" (Glen Campbell), "Up, Up and Away" (The 5th Dimension), "MacArthur Park" (Richard Harris) and a ton more, including his first - "My Christmas Tree" by The Supremes:
DFW
(54,445 posts)By "Hillaretha and the Democrettes"
"D-O-N-A-L-D-T, kiss my sweet B-U-T-T"
DFW
(54,445 posts)At first I thought they had written a one-hit wonder.
Then I found out it had been written by someone who had slightly more than one hit in his career: Paul McCartney.
Freddie
(9,275 posts)Kind of - dated his sister Jane for most of the 60's, they were engaged for a while
DFW
(54,445 posts)Everyone knew Paul was dating Jane Asher, but I had no idea she was the sister of hte Peter of Peter and Gordon.
lapucelle
(18,351 posts)by Yusuf Islam, known at the time as Cat Stevens.