name a song whose original artist and/or songwriter surprised you

[unblock]

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]

1. Stormy Monday

Thought it was Bobby Bland song, actually it's a T-Bone Walker song....

[Kber]

2. When you were mine- sung by Cindy Lauper - written by Prince

[unblock]

5. good one -- he also wrote "nothing compares 2 u", more famously by sinead o'conner

[Tikki]

26. Prince, also, wrote "Manic Monday" recorded by the Bangles

Tikki

[unblock]

35. nice! and the bangles did another one -- "hazy shade of winter"

written by paul simon.

[Arkansas Granny]

3. Anything written by Shel Silverstein. I associated him with children's books not songwriting.

He wrote "A Boy Named Sue", "On The Cover Of The Rolling Stone", "Marie Laveau" and many others that crossed several genres.

[unblock]

6. wow, i didn't know that!

[3catwoman3]

34. The Cover of the Rolling Stone...

...is one of my favorites of what I call "silly songs." ALways makes me smile.

[OilemFirchen]

49. Not to be outdone:

Martin Mull's "A Girl Named Johnny Cash" by Jane Morgan:

[underpants]

55. That's hilarious

[GReedDiamond]

72. A little OT, but Martin Mull is also a very good painter...

For example:

[blm]

4. Neil Diamond wrote Red, Red Wine sung reggae-style by UB40, and Solitary Man sung Johnny Cash-style

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]

19. Wow! You are correct about the chemistry between Neil and Shirley.

Yikes! Get a room!

[blm]

20. LOL - He looks like a completely smitten 19yo and I'm surprised he had enough

blood left in his brain to remember the words. ; )

Notice that she kisses his mic at the end before she kisses him. ;

[Dave Starsky]

48. Good Lord, they're like two horny teenagers.

I never realized Shirley Bassey was that young. She must have been a baby when she sang Goldfinger.

[blm]

52. I know - I love the genuineness of the chemistry.

Of course, the song itself is pretty damn sexy.

[cemaphonic]

87. The odd thing about Red, Red Wine is that it is a cover of a cover

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]

88. Yeah - saw him do it. It really is just a sign of a great song when it translates so well to

other styles.

[Mister Ed]

7. "The Locomotion"

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]

9. interesting!

i knew about little eva's original and that it was written by carole king, but i didn't know the babysitter connection!

[JudyM]

30. Same for young Donny Osmond's "Go Away, Little Girl" and the Beatles' "Chains." Carole King.

[TexasBushwhacker]

40. Carole and first husband Gerry Goffin were yuge in the 60s

One Fine Day - The Chiffons
Pleasant Valley Sunday - The Monkees
Up On the Roof - The Drifters

[JudyM]

45. Apparently Lennon and McCartney were inspired to get into songwriting by them... saw a quote

about that somewhere.

[Mister Ed]

42. Wow. I didn't know that! n/t

[DFW]

74. If you really want a laugh try this

https://myspace.com/thefreedomtoast/music/songs
#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]

8. Make You Feel My Love

Sung by Garth Brooks
Written by Bob Dylan

[unblock]

10. now there's an odd matchup!

[BuddyCa]

11. "Turn Turn Turn"

words by King Solomon

[unblock]

12. haha!

the original folk hero/rocker!

[GreydeeThos]

13. Eric Clapton and Cream's song "Crossroads"

Crossroads was written by Robert Johnson in 1936.

[Drifter]

14. Memories of El Monte

written by Frank Zappa

Cheers
Drifter

[unblock]

16. don't know that song -- but noticed the avatar is fitting!

[Drifter]

18. Yeah ...

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]

15. All That Heaven Will Allow

from the Mavericks. It was written by Bruce Springsteen.

[unblock]

17. actually i've only ever heard the boss's version. he's written a number of surprises

"fire" by the pointer sisters,
"blinded by the light" by manfred mann
...

[blm]

21. Dolly Parton sang Single Bars, Single Women (later made into a TV movie)

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. Mark Knopfler wrote "Private Dancer"

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]

43. Barry also wrote "Islands in the Stream"

Made famous by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton.

Not a bad songwriter, that one.

[Dave Starsky]

46. Barry Gibb wrote a ton of stuff for other people.

"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]

81. He wrote an album cut for Johnny Mathis

When he was an Aussie lad of 15 or 16. Amazing songwriter.

[underpants]

59. I didn't know that Knopfler wrote that

Interesting.

[Blues Heron]

23. Me and Bobbi Mcgee

Written by Kris Kristofferson. Janis pwned that song

Also All Along the Watchtower by Bob Dylan. Jimi pwned that song

[blm]

53. Yep - like Joe Cocker ended up pwning every song he covered. He was the ultimate pwner

imo.

[Miles Archer]

65. He DEFINITELY pwned Gary Wright's "Love Is Alive."

At the time of release, it was an extremely welcome stomper at a time when many of his hits were ballads.

[blm]

69. Heh - Beatles were even left in the dust when Cocker came poaching. They loved it, though.

; )

[kwassa]

24. Two songs named "Fever"

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]

37. interesting, another springsteen/pointer sisters surpise. didn't know this one.

i knew about "fire".

that one's actually kinda date-rapey when sung in a male voice....

[blm]

54. yup

.

[kwassa]

25. "I Will Always Love You" Whitney Houston, written by Dolly Parton.

[unblock]

36. a fairly famous one, but certainly a surprise when i first found out.

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]

47. I actually like Dolly's original version better.

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]

50. Same here - I saw Whitney sing it live at the Billboard Awards and it didn't feel genuine

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]

68. this is why i can't get into mariah carey' singing or eddie van halen's guitar playing

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.

[blm]

70. so true

.

[Dave Starsky]

82. I agree completely.

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]

83. Who doesn't like Dolly Parton?

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]

86. exactly - she's as good a human being as they come

.

[kwassa]

27. "Crazy" by Patsy Cline, first written and performed by Willie Nelson.

Her most famous song.

&list=RDOnYEQbEHNZE

[underpants]

61. Willie and Dylan

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]

84. True of the Beatles on the other side of the pond...

... 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]

28. The RAMONES cover of Tom Wait's "I Don't Want To Grow Up"

Tikki

[Orrex]

85. I didn't learn that Jersey Girl was a Tom Waits song

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]

29. I was stunned that Chris Christopherson wrote "Sunday Morning Comin Down"

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]

31. Different Drum

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]

56. My wife and I attended a Pittsburgh concert by Michael Nesmith and his band back in 2013.

They put on a great show. One of the crowd's favorites, and the reason we went, was his performance of "Joanne."

[underpants]

58. Oh that song. Love it. Nesmith actually did it in the Monkees show

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]

32. Deep Purple covering Joe South's ..."HUSH"

Tikki

[Paula Sims]

33. Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen version

I'm just not into that grovely voice. Love the lyrics and when others sing it - just not Cohen

[blm]

51. I loved Cohen's voice and his version. My nephew actually thought that Jeff Buckley wrote the song.

I had to set him straight. ; )

[Comatose Sphagetti]

38. Manfred Mann's Earth Band cover of

Bruce Springsteen's, "Blinded by the Light."

Love Mann's version. Hate Springsteen's.

[unblock]

39. I felt that way briefly because I heard manfred mann's version first

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]

41. The Sonics cover of Richard Berry's..."Louie, Louie".

Tikki

[teach1st]

44. Charlie Chaplin

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]

57. rod steward wrote Blues Deluxe back in the 60's..an awesome blues song

that Joe Bonammassa kills everytime he plays it

[cos dem]

60. Santana's big hit "Black Magic Woman"

The original is by Fleetwood Mac. The live version on their "Live From Boston" album is amazing.

[underpants]

62. Chuck Barris of "The Gong Show" wrote "Palisades Park"

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]

64. Ed Wood's former girlfriend and actress in his films, Dolores Fuller...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolores_Fuller

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]

71. I became friends with George David Weiss in the early 80s and he told me the story behind

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]

66. Co-written by Leon Russell:

"Everybody Loves A Clown" by Gary Lewis & The Playboys:

[OilemFirchen]

67. No slouch himself, Jimmy Webb's extensive catalog.

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]

75. How about this version of "Respect"......

By "Hillaretha and the Democrettes"

"D-O-N-A-L-D-T, kiss my sweet B-U-T-T"

[DFW]

76. Peter and Gordon's "World Without Love"

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]

79. McCartney was Peter Asher's brother-in-law

Kind of - dated his sister Jane for most of the 60's, they were engaged for a while

[DFW]

80. I didn't know Peter was Peter Asher for years

Everyone knew Paul was dating Jane Asher, but I had no idea she was the sister of hte Peter of Peter and Gordon.

[lapucelle]

77. The First Cut is the Deepest

by Yusuf Islam, known at the time as Cat Stevens.

[Brother Buzz]

78. Freddy Cannon's Palisades Park was written by that Gong Show dude, Chuck Barris