Famous songs most people assume as originals but were actually covers

EugenetheCarefulAxeWielder wrote:

1tsamazing wrote:

All the Young Dudes by Mott the Hoople was a David Bowie song.

Come and Get It by Badfinger was a Beatles song.

In both instances, the original composers gave the song to the respective bands as a favor, so it wasn't like they tried to make them hits themselves, but if you hear the originals, the covers are much better.

The Beatles never released Come And Get It on any album while they were still together. The "original" version was a McCartney demo, later released on the Anthology albums in the late 90s. McCartney gave the song to Badfinger in 1969 rather than record it himself either singly or with the Beatles. I think when talking about cover versions, the original version needs to have actually been released on record before the cover.

Relax, bro.

Pete's version is obscure at best.The Beat's version was and is extremely well known and popular.

Prongs wrote:

Sooner or Later, performed by Pete Townsend

Written and originally performed by The English Beat

Speaking of the English Beat... saw some version of the band a few weeks ago and after singing some version of Smokey Robinson's TEARS OF A CLOWN, lead singer Dave Wakeling issued an apology to Motown. Cool act.

Superstar by The Carpenters----Leon Russell

Make You Feel My Love by Adele----Bob Dylan

Treole wrote:

80s kid wrote:

LoL who doesn't know this, teenagers? They still play Bruce Hornsby in elevators, pharmacies, soft rock stations, etc.

Ha. Teenagers these days probably don't know who 2Pac is, let alone Bruce.

I brought this up specifically because a millennial at my company once asked me who the guy covering 2Pac's song was. Sad!

Like when kids had no idea who Paul McCartney was

killing time wrote:

Superstar by The Carpenters----Leon Russell

Make You Feel My Love by Adele----Bob Dylan

Make You Feel My Love is a well-known Dylan song with versions done by everyone.

Some argument over the originality of Zep's canon, but Dazed and Confused was certainly a cover.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pTsvs-pAGDc

Oh and I love Page, but Brit guitarist Eddie Phillips of the Mark Four, and Creation, was first with the violin bow.

Blondie with The Tide Is High. Original from The Paragons.

Respect, the famous hit performed by Arteha Franklin is an Otis Redding song.

Walk on By. Written by Black Moses and a huge hit, twice.

Midnight Special....Lead Belly. 1934

Crying Sam Collins did the original in 1930.

the original flop

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTTcnh5vPKU

the hit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ6RjP7MlXk

speaking of Indians

the life of one song

The first release

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2dMNoidtlc

The songwriter had the second release

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT6NRc37T_8

perhaps the most remembered

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC9pc4U40sI

50 years and over two dozen covers later a new release appears

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Xq831b2tPg

Adonis Stone wrote:

Midnight Special....Lead Belly. 1934

Crying Sam Collins did the original in 1930.

Or we might call this the first record ingof a much sung prison song

that is Dave Cutrell and the McGinty's Oklahoma Cow Boy Band released May 1926

Yeah, Carole King wrote a shitload of pop songs. Holland and Dozier another big soul writing team.

And Jim Weatherly, a white All-SEC quarterback for Ole Miss wrote Midnight Train to Georgia covered by Brooke Benton And Gladys Knight and the pips.

What's the deal with God save the Queen and My Country Tis of Thee. Couldn't you Yanks make a bit of an effort regarding the melody. Apparently it was your national anthem until around 1831. Apparently imitation is the highest form of flattery as Lichtenstein uses the melody in their melody as well (Oben am Jungen Rhein).

Adonis Stone wrote:

Midnight Special....Lead Belly. 1934

Crying Sam Collins did the original in 1930.

When you get in to old blues songs it can get really difficult to differentiate underlying traditional folk from composer and cover from adaptation.

Gramps wrote:

wineturtle wrote:

Agree the list of singer/songwriter or songwriter/performer is long and storied.

Writing stuff for others can be a primary focus for some others tend to write for themselves while others mix and match. NickAshford and ValerieSimpson fit into the latter group. Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry are another variation starting off writing for their trio ( Raindrops with Ellies sister Laura) and settled into a more write for others position both individually and as a team even after their divorce.

read below

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

Yeah, Carole King wrote a shitload of pop songs. Holland and Dozier another big soul writing team.

And Jim Weatherly, a white All-SEC quarterback for Ole Miss wrote Midnight Train to Georgia covered by Brooke Benton And Gladys Knight and the pips.

Carole King performed about 3 dozen of her own songs and 4 dozen covers.

Not many people know Holland-Dozier-Holland actually recorded once as a group and Lamont did 3 or 4 as a solo performer

As mentioned earlier Weatherly fist wrote the Midnight Plane to Houston

before it morphed to a Train in Georgia