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Oct 25, 2011 · Discover the surprising, obscure and interesting stories behind the original versions of hit songs, ranked by a music expert. See the criteria, notes and remakes of songs from Bigger They Come The Harder They Fall to You're So Vain.
- What: What: ‘Respect’. Who: Otis Redding wrote the original, before Aretha Franklin covered it. Hear the original.
- What: ‘Step On’. Who: John Kongos did it before Happy Mondays made it Madchester ‘tastic. Hear the original.
- What: ‘Blinded By The Light’. Who: Bruce Springsteen did the track before Manfred Mann’s Earth Band took it chart-bound. Hear the original. Advertisement.
- What: ‘Downtown Train’. Who: Tom Waits did the singer/songwriter original before Rod Stewart got his hands on it. Hear the original.
- Rod Stewart, "The First Cut Is the Deepest" (1976) Cat Stevens wrote "The First Cut Is the Deepest" prior to the start of his recording career, and sold it to soul singer P.P.
- Black Sabbath, "Evil Woman" (1970) Black Sabbath's first single was a cover of "Evil Woman," which was a Top 20 hit the year before for the band Crow. The song didn't chart anywhere and was left off the U.S. version of Sabbath's self-titled debut album.
- Big Brother and the Holding Company, "Piece of My Heart" (1968) Aretha Franklin's sister Erma recorded "Piece of My Heart" for co-writer Bert Berns' Shout label in 1967.
- Rick Springfield, "I've Done Everything for You" (1981) 'Working Class Dog' established the Australian-born Rick Springfield in the U.S. as a rarity: an actor who could sing and also had credible songwriting chops, as evidenced by the smash hit "Jessie's Girl."
Aug 13, 2015 · Original: Big Mama Thornton (1965) Songwriting duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller wrote “Hound Dog” for Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton in 1953. While Thornton’s original version was a No. 1 hit on the R&B charts for seven weeks, Elvis Presley’s iteration immediately became the most popular after its 1956 release.
Find out who performed the original version of a particular song, or who covered or sampled that song. Unlike many related sites, we try to be as complete as possible (not just performer and song title, but also songwriters and original releases) and order the data in a reusable and maintainable way.
Nov 13, 2023 · Al Green’s original version of “Take Me to the River” is great—as most Al Green songs are—but the Talking Heads completely changed the song’s trajectory when they covered it for More ...
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Jun 10, 2016 · Some of the rock era’s biggest hits were so big, it’s easy to believe that these songs — many of which are the artists’ signature tunes — are all original versions.
