Who Did It First?: Great Pop Cover Songs and Their Original Artists

296 Pages·2014·12.37 MB·English

by  Bob Leszczak

Who Did It First?
Great Pop Cover Songs and Their
Original Artists
B L
OB ESZCZAK
Who Did It First?
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD
Lanham • Boulder • New York • Toronto • Plymouth, UK
Published by Rowman & Littlefield
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham,
Maryland 20706
www.rowman.com
10 Thornbury Road, Plymouth PL6 7PP,
United Kingdom
Copyright © 2014 by Bob Leszczak
Unless otherwise noted, all photos courtesy of the author.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical
means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher,
except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-
Publication Data Leszczak, Bob, 1959– author.
Who did it first? : great pop cover songs and their original artists / Bob Leszczak.
pages cm. — (Who did it first?)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4422-3067-5 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-4422-3068-2 (ebook) 1. Popular music—
History and criticism. 2. Popular music—Discography. 3. Cover versions—Discography. I. Title.
ML3470.L464 2014
781.6409—dc23 2013039564
™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard
for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Printed in the United States of America
This book is dedicated to the guy who put the bomp in
the “Bomp Buh Bomp Bomp” and megs of ram in the
“Rama Lama Ding Dong.”
Contents
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Songs
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
R
S
T
U
V
W
Y
Z
Appendix: Curiosities
Further Reading
About the Author
Acknowledgments
I would like to send sincere, heartfelt thanks to those who made this endeavor
such a pleasure. I’m most grateful to all of the extremely talented interviewees
who so generously granted their valuable time to supply me with never-before-
printed, fun, amazing, anecdotal, behind-the-scenes memories and quotes about
their legendary music. Several also graciously offered their own vintage
photographs, which are proudly displayed in this volume. In alphabetical order, a
fond tip of the hat goes out to Beverly Bremers, Jerry Burgan (of We Five), Kim
Carnes, Mel Carter, Gretchen Christopher (of the Fleetwoods), Raoul Cita (of the
Harptones), Jimmy Clanton, Buzz Clifford, Paul Evans, Norman Fox (of the Rob
Roys), George Galfo (of the Mystics), Buddy Greco, John Claude Gummoe (of
the Cascades), Eddie Hodges, Tab Hunter, Brian Hyland, Bob Miranda (of the
Happenings), Jay Proctor (of the Techniques), Neil Sedaka, Emil Stucchio (of
the Classics), B. J. Thomas, Billy Vera, and Lenny Welch.
Those not quoted but nonetheless very important as cogs in this wheel include
Marv Goldberg, Fernando L. Gonzalez, Dennis Ostrom, Steve Propes, Rockin’
Richard, David Schwartz, and Vincent Terrace.
Introduction
Everybody has to start somewhere. Businessmen start on the ground floor and
try to work their way up the corporate ladder. Baseball players bide their time in
the minor leagues wishing for an opportunity to move up and play in the majors.
Musical compositions aren’t very different—some songs just don’t climb the
charts the first time they’re recorded. However, with perseverance, the ideal
singer, the right chemistry, impeccable timing, vigorous promotion, and a little
luck, these songs can become very famous.
You’ll know most, if not all, of the tunes listed in this book. The songs in this
volume began as “pop” songs, but then traveled a circuitous route. In many
cases, the familiar hit version you’ve grown up with, danced with, and romanced
with is not the first version, nor the only version. The purpose of this book is to
show who did it first.
For example, Jackie DeShannon wrote and recorded the original “Bette Davis
Eyes” for an album, but the later Kim Carnes mega-hit version is the one
everyone knows. Likewise, few recall the original “He’s a Rebel” by Vikki Carr,
but everyone recalls and can sing along with the number 1 single by the Crystals
from Phil Spector’s famous “wall of sound.” Despite popular belief, Barry
Manilow did not “Write the Songs”—that was Bruce Johnston of the Beach
Boys, and the original version was recorded by the Captain and Tennille. Did
you know that the original “Drift Away” was by John Kurtz, and not Dobie
Gray? Would you believe “That’s Life” was recorded by Marion Montgomery
before Frank Sinatra? It’s true. The information contained within these pages
will surely shock and awe. You may fancy yourself a music expert, and yet the
“oh, wow” factor of discovering who did it first will be profound.
Several songs were so good, they became hits three or more times—
unforgettable songs such as “Unchained Melody,” “Go Away, Little Girl,” “I
Only Want to Be with You,” “Since I Don’t Have You,” “Always on My Mind,”
and “Volare”—but Who Did It First?
Several artists had the misfortune of recording several original versions of
songs, only to watch as cover artists enjoyed the spoils and achieved the fame.
Petula Clark, the Everly Brothers, the Fifth Dimension, Albert Hammond, Neil
Sedaka, and B. J. Thomas are just a few of the artists who did it first frequently.
Each song in this book, listed alphabetically, consists of information about the
original artist and the cover artist, the original record label and the cover
version’s record label, the record numbers, the years of release, the record speeds
(45, 78, LP, even CD), and the chart position each attained. Then read the
fascinating history surrounding each song. Within the body of many entries are
honorable mentions of still more versions and even “answer records.” Many
contain quotes and behind-the-scenes information from the artists and
songwriters themselves, as well as photographs they’ve provided. Also included
are numerous pictures of key record labels and important songs—all from my
own record collection (a lifelong hobby).
This is volume 2 of a three-volume work. This A-to-Z edition’s focus is songs
that were originally recorded by pop performers and even a few originally by
country crossover performers. Volume 1 centered on R&B, and the upcoming
volume 3 will focus on rock and roll songs. Your library will not be complete
until you have all three.
So, whether you’re using this book to quiz your friends at a party, using it to
quiz listeners to your radio show, or just satisfying your own insatiable musical
curiosity, thank you for having a shared interest in Who Did It First?
Songs