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In 1963 The Big 3 (Tim Rose, Cass Elliot and Jim Hendricks) issued "The Banjo Song" (Tim Rose) a version of Stephen Foster's "Oh! Susanna". Cass married James Hendricks to help him avoid the U.S. draft. Shocking Blue's (lead vocalist Marika Veres, Cor

At the start of filming "The High And The Mighty" in 1953 Dimitri Tiomkin was commissioned to write the movie's score and a theme. After composing the basic melody Dimitri requested help from veteran Ned Washington. The theme to "The High And The Mighty"

Billy Montana (Schlappi) sings "Bring On The Rain" (Billy Montana - Helen Darling). This was recorded at Bud & Alley's in Florida during the 30A Songwriters Festival in South Walton. This non-profit and private festival has been successful since 1993.

This is the first love song by KC and the Sunshine Band and last recording issued before Harry Wayne Casey went solo. "Please Don't Go" (Harry Wayne Casey - Richard Finch) from the 1979 LP "Do You Wanna Go Party" topped the Billboard chart along with

Written and performed in 1927, "I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover" (Mort Dixon - Harry M. Woods) was a number two hit for Nick Lucas (Lucinese). It was Nick who introduced "Tiptoe Through The Tulips". Wikipedia "Lucas became friends with Tiny Tim, who

Red (Joe) Hayes recorded the initial version of "A Satisfied Mind" (Red Hayes - Jack Rhodes) for the Starday label in 1954. According to Red "One day my father-in-law asked me who I thought the richest man in the world was, and I mentioned some names. He

Bobby Hebb sings "A Natural Man" (Bobby Hebb - Sandy Baron). Bobby Hebb's parents were both blind musicians in Nashville while Bobby and his brother Harold were a song and dance team. Co-author Sandy Baron (Beresofsky) was a comedian of note who opened

The French title was simply "Bolero" (Paul Durand - Henri Contet) and was based on that Maurice Ravel work. Jacqueline François (Guillemautot) recorded the song with composer Paul Durand's Orchestra in 1948. This was the first of many number one records

This is the 1968 single issue of "A Deeper Shade Of Soul" (Ray Barretto) by Grammy winning drummer and bandleader Ray Barretto (Barreto) and vocalist Pete Bonet. This is from the album "Acid". Puerto Rican Pete Bonet also played with Mongo Santamaria,

Grammy Award Winning songwriter and producer Mark Hudson assisted by Nashville award winning songwriter Gary Burr perform "Livin' On The Edge" (Steven Tyler - Joe Perry - Mark Hudson) on a local NYC television show in May of 2018. Mark Hudson was a member

Rob Crosby (Hoar) co-wrote "She's More" (Rob Crosby - Liz Hengber). Rob has written for Lady Antebellum, Blackhawk, Brooks & Dunn, Lee Greenwood, Restless Heart, Martina McBride, Carl Perkins and Paul Simon. Andy Griggs hit with "She's More" from

In 1939 "The Empress of the Blues", Bessie Smith recorded "Don't Cry Baby" (Saul Bernie - James P. Johnson - Stella Unger). Bessie Smith was killed as the result of a 1937 traffic accident. Her Pennsylvania grave remained unmarked until a tombstone was

Pete (Pietro) Rugolo and His Orchestra perform "Theme From Dr. Kildare" (Jerry Goldsmith - Pete Rugolo - Hal Winn). Pete Rugolo scored other television series including The Fugitive, Leave It To Beaver, Fantasy Island, Checkmate, The Untouchables, The

Belinda Carlisle first recorded "Waiting For A Star To Fall" (George Merrill- Shannon Rubicam). It's more than evident by her performance that Belinda didn't want the song on her 1977 LP "Heaven On Earth" and recorded it only after her label's insistence.

From the album "Philadelphia To Love Adventure: The Demos" this is the demo for Elton John's "Philadelphia Freedom". Elton requested that Bernie Taupin compose lyrics for a song about Billie Jean King, the founder of the Philadelphia Freedom's World Team

Here is the 1971 demo for Elton John's (Reginald Dwight) "Levon" (Elton John - Bernie Taupin). The song was inspired by Levon Helm, drummer and singer with The Band. The group was Elton's favourite at the time. Later that thought was negated by Bernie

The 1942 film musical "Orchestra Wives" introduced "Serenade In Blue" (Harry Warren - Mack Gordon) by Glenn Miller's Orchestra and the voice of Pat Friday (Helen Freiday). Pat was dubbing for actress Lynn Bari (Margaret Fisher). Glenn starred in the

Recorded April 27, 2011 at Belmont University's Massey Performing Arts Center here is compose4r Craig Wiseman singing "A Baby Changes Everything". Craig hosted The Stars of Second Harvest Show at the Ryman, with all proceeds to the Second Harvest Food

It's been mentioned that the following song referred to drug addiction. Victor Young and Sam M. Lewis wrote "Street Of Dreams" in 1932. The next year Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians took the tune to number five. Guy's brother Carmen was the featured

Sir Elton John (Reginald Dwight) and Bernie Taupin wrote "Snookeroo" especially for Ringo Starr. The title refers to the billiards game. Elton said "Bernie wrote really simple lyrics, very Ringo type lyrics and I tried to write a simple sort of melody to

The first single released by Barry Manilow (Pincus) was "Amy" by Featherbed featuring Barry and it was written by the same two composers of "Daybreak" (Barry Manilow - Adrienne Anderson). The song "Daybreak" first appeared on the 1976 studio album "This

The underestimated Alex Call and The Real Life sing "Perfect World" in a Help-A-Thon for the homeless concert at a 1989 San Francisco benefit concert. Alex who co-wrote the rock classic "867-5309/Jenny" and he was a member of the group Clover with Hey

Faces (lead vocals Ronnie Wood, Kenny Jones, Ian McLagan and Ronnie Lane) issued the single "Ooh La La" (Ronnie Lane - Ronnie Wood) from the 1973 LP of the same name. Rod Stewart and Ronnie Lane both tried singing lead but didn't were accepted. This,

Adapted from Chopin's "Fantasie Impromptu", "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" (Harry Carroll - Joseph McCarthy) was introduced in the 1918 Broadway production of "Oh, Look!". That year it was successful as a recording by Charles W. Harrison. Perry Como and

"The Magic Song" (Al Hoffman - Mack David - Jerry Livingston" was introduced in the Academy Award nominated 1950 Walt Disney animated classic "Cinderella" where it's known as "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo". Verna Felton performed the song in the motion picture as

Grammy winner Rodney Crowell wrote "Making Memories Of Us", first recorded by Tracy Byrd for his 2003 LP "The Truth About Men". The track was not issued as a single. A year later the composer joined Vince Gill to alternate on lead vocals as members of

Pianist, composer, producer, conductor and arranger Stephan Moccio at the keyboard playing "A New Day Has Come" (Stephan Moccio - Aldo Nova). Ontario, Canada native Stephan also found success co-writing "Wrecking Ball" and collaborated with acts that

Successful songwriter, keyboardist and Grammy winner Rod Temperton wrote "Always And Forever", a hit for Britain's Heatwave (lead vocalist Johnnie Wilder Jr., Ernest Berger, Eric Johns, Mario Mantese, Rod Temperton and Keith Wilder) in 1977. The track is

An affair between Christine McVie and Fleetwood Mac's lighting director Curry Grant was the start of "You Make Lovin' Fun". She told husband and fellow group member John McVie that the musical selection was about her dog. The truth came out later. Here is

Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart's 1936 Broadway musical "On Your Toes" introduced the ballet section titled "Slaughter On Tenth Avenue". This was translated into the 1939 motion picture "On Your Toes" in which Eddie Albert and Vera Zorina were the

Deserved member of The Songwriters Hall Of Fame, Albert Hammond sings "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" (Albert Hammond - Diane Warren) from the LP "The Best Of Me". Albert has written too many hits to list as has Diane Warren. Starship (Grace Slick, Mickey

In 1929 Fats (Thomas) Waller wrote "Ain't Misbehavin'" (Andy Razaf - Thomas Waller - Harry Brooks) for the Harlem musical comedy "Connie's Hot Chocolate". This original 78 r.p.m. recording had the artist listed as Thomas Waller. The Nickname "Fats" came

More than four decades have passed since Rand Bishop began his career in music. He has been nominated for a Grammy, won a BMI Award, worked with the Indigo Girls, Beach Boys, Heart and wrote "My List" (Rand Bishop - Tim James) for Toby Keith. Rand is an

Bobby Braddock produced Blake Shelton's first album and wanted "I Wanna Talk About Me" (Bobby Braddock) as a track. The record executives did not agree. Bobby performed this on April 2, 2010 at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville. Through the years Bobby has

Although he was known as an off-beat songwriter, Willard Robison wrote the music for "A Cottage For Sale" (Willard Robison - Larry Conley) in 1929. He sings his hit here. One of his other popular songs was "Don't Smoke In Bed". Jack Teagarden released two

Singer, songwriter and producer Dan Hartman wrote "Free Ride". For a while Dan backed Johnny Winter , then played bass and sang with the Edgar Winter Group before going solo. His version of "Free Ride" was used in the 1995 release "Mighty Morphin Power

Gary U.S. Bonds (Anderson) original "Not Me (Gary Anderson - Frank Guida) didn't make the Top One Hundred and was not successful, even as a follow-up to the top ten "New Orleans". The single may be found on the album "Dance 'Til Quarter To Three".

Hank Williams was driving from Nashville, Tennessee to Shreveport, Louisiana in 1952 with his paramour Billie Jean Jones. While talking about his first wife Audrey, Hank called her "a cheatin' heart". Hank knew he liked the phrase and wrote the song in

Originally titled "Till The Real Thing Comes Along" (Alberta Nichols - Mann Holliner) for the Rhapsody In Black 1936 revue. This was sung on stage by Ethel Waters who never recorded the song. The Kansas City swing band Andy Kirk and His Twelve Clouds Of

Composer David Pack and his falsetto recorded the LP "The Secret Of Movin' On" in 2005 and included this version of his "Biggest Part Of Me". David is a Grammy winning producer having worked with such varied artists as Chet Atkins, Natalie Cole, Phil

Tanya Tucker's 1972 LP "Delta Dawn" introduced "Soul Song" (George Richey - Norro Wilson - Billy Sherrill). In 1972 this was available on vinyl and eight-track. Co-writer Billy Sherrill produced the entire album. Within months after the initial

This is from the 1976 concept album for "Evita" with Julie Covington singing the original recording of "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" (Andrew Lloyd Webber - Tim Rice). The track appeared several times in the musical. The album appeared well before the stage

Curtiss Maldoon (Dave Curtiss - Clive Maldoon) issued "Sepheryn" (Curtiss - Maldoon) on their 1971 self-titled LP. The cd was on Deep Purples label "Purple". This is the radio edit of Madonna's (Ciccone) top five "Ray Of Light" (Madonna - William Orbit

Scotland's late Gerry Rafferty with the 1978 demo for "Baker Street". Gerry was a former member of Stealers Wheel. During the group's breakup Gerry often stayed with a friend on Baker Street in London. The first thing you may notice is the lack of the

Gladys Knight and the Pips (Merald Knight, William Guest and Edward Patten) released "The End Of Our Road" (Roger Penzabene - Norman Whitfield - Barrett Strong) in 1968. This reached number fifteen pop and number five R&B on Billboard. As usual The

Marv Green sings "Wasted" (Marv Green - Troy Verges - Hillary Lindsey) from the LP "Pouring Raindrops Back Into Clouds" which is part of the lyric from the hit. The album contains many of his biggest songwriting successes. The 2005 "Some Hearts" was

In 1958 The Soul Stirrers (lead vocalist Johnnie Taylor, LeRoy Crume, Paul Foster, Bob King and Willie Rogers) recorded "The Love Of God" (LeRoy Crume). The recording session happened shortly after the departure of Sam Cooke. Theola Kilgore's 1963 issue

Cuban Ernesto Lecuona wrote the classics "Malaguena" and "The Breeze And I". "Tabu" was written by Ernesto Lecuona's niece, Margarita who also wrote "Babalu". Cuarteto Machin (Antonio Machin, Placido Acevedo, Daniel Sanchez and Candido Vicenty) first

Britney Spears' producer asked Sweden's Max Martin to meet Britney in New York and write a few songs for her debut album. Britney flew to Stockholm in April of 1998 to record a major portion of the LP. One of those tracks was "Hit Me Baby One More Time"

Ben Tucker was the bassist for The Dave Bailey Quintet (Dave Bailey, Billy Gardner, Bill Hardman, Frank Haynes and Ben Tucker) when they recorded his jazz instrumental "Comin' Homer Baby" for the 1961 LP "2 Feet In The Gutter". Dave Bailey retired as a

Although it wasn't released until 1997 Dusty Springfield recorded "Any Other Fool" (Diane Warren - Robbie Buchanan) in 1989. The song was meant to be a track on her album "Reputation" but a falling-out between her and Diane Warren caused the tune to be

Atlantic Records executive Jerry Wexler requested songwriters John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins compose for Aretha Franklin in 1967. They submitted "Son Of A Preacher Man" and it was recorded by The Queen of Soul but it didn't jell with other tunes slated

Songwriters Jud Friedman and Allan Rich perform their hit "I Don't Have The Heart" at Celebrity Centre in Hollywood. Jud is the lead voice and plays piano at the concert series titled "SNAP", "Sunday Night At The Pavilion With Harriet Shock And Friends".

The 1937 Walter Baxter and Joan Bennett starring movie "Walter Wanger's Vogues Of 1938" introduced "That Old Feeling" (Sammy Fain - Lew Brown" when it was sung by Virginia Verrill. This is a clip from the movie and includes a bit of dialogue. The singer

The 1953 movie Calamity Jane starred Doris Day (Kappelhoff) and Howard (Harry) Keel. The film included the number one and Academy Award winning song "Secret Love" (P.F. Webster - S. Fain). The recording was done in one take. Kathy Kirby's (O'Rourke)

Climax (Larry Cox, Johnny Stevenson, Marc Gordon, Jon Guttman, Walter Nims and assorted session musicians) featuring Sonny Geraci issued "Rock And Roll Heaven" (Johnny Stevenson - Alan O'Day) in 1973. The single was written especially for the group and

The Drifters (Rudy Lewis lead vocalist, Johnny Moore, Gene Pearson, Johnny Terry and Charlie Thomas) recorded "Only In America" (Jerry Leiber - Mike Stoller - Barry Mann - Cynthia Weil) in 1963. Wikipedia: "The song was written at a time before

The brilliant poet, novelist, songwriter and performer Leonard Cohen introduced the world to "Hallelujah" as the opening cut on side two of his 1984 album "Various Positions" featuring Jennifer Warnes. The resulting single reached number fifty-nine on

Composer and pianist Ernesto Lecuona, was not a member of The Lecuona Cuban Boys but was the founder of the band. He would sometimes appear as the opening act for the group. They recorded "Para Vigo Me Voy" translated as "I'm Going To Vigo" (a Spanish

The Classics IV (lead vocalist Dennis Yost, J.R. Cobb, Walter Eaton, Joe Wilson) issued the album "Mamas and Papas/Soul Train" in 1968 and enjoyed the success of "Stormy" (Dennis Yost - James Cobb - Buddy Buie). The song reached number five on the Top One

Showcased during a Songwriters Roundtable at the Dothan Civic Center in Dothan, Alabama September 10, 2010 Buddy (Perry) Buie sings while co-writer J. R. (James Barney) Cobb plays guitar on "Traces" (Buddy Buie - J.R. Cobb - Emory Gordy Jr.). Dennis

Louis Katzman's group The Ambassadors were responsible for the first recording of "It Had To Be You" (Isham Jones - Gus Kahn) in 1924. Dick Haymes and Helen Forrest with the Victor Young Orchestra revived "It Had To Be You" twenty years later. The

Donna Summer (LaDonna Gaines) and her husband wrote "Starting Over Again" (Donna Summer - Bruce Sudano) when Bruce's parents separated after thirty years of being married. Actress, singer, songwriter and all too talented Dolly Parton watched Donna sing

Richard Strauss composed "Also Sprach Zarathustra" in 1896 inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's novel. The full performance of this piece lasts approximately thirty minutes. What is most familiar is the fanfare called "Sunrise" that was used in Stanley

The "5" Royales (lead vocalist Johnny Tanner, Obadiah Carter, Otto Jeffries, Clarence and Lowman Pauling) single "Think" (Lowman Pauling) was released in 1957 and peaked at number nine on the R&B chart. Although a variety of groups used the name, The

Keith Anderson sings "Lost In This Moment" (Keith Anderson - John Rich - Rodney Clawson) from his 2008 album "C'mon". Keith has an engineering degree from Oklahoma State University and was a prospect for the Kansas City Royals until a shoulder injury

Written especially for the 1932 Cotton Club Parade was "I've Got The World On A String" (Harold Arlen - Ted Koehler). The annual Cotton Club series was in Harlem, New York where the standard was introduced by Cab (Cabell) Calloway's Orchestra with Cab

Michael Jackson recorded a demo called "Al Capone" in 1986 which was finally issued on "Bad 25" the twenty-fifth anniversary of the historic release. This may not sound too much like "Smooth Criminal" but elements involved are strong and became the

From the 1994 LP "Words And Music" Randy Goodrum sings "I'll Be Over You" (Randy Goodrum - Steve Lukather). Co-author Steve Lukather plays guitar on this track while saxophonist Brandon Fields deserves mention. Toto (Steve Lukather on lead vocal, David

Randy Goodrum performs "It's Sad To Belong" at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville. Randy spent time in Nashville as a session and backing pianist for Jerry Reed, Roy Orbison and Chet Atkins. Texans England Dan (Seals) and John Ford Coley (Colley) recorded

The novelty song "Glendora" (Ray Stanley) originated with American Airlines pilot Jack Lewis in 1956 as a B side. This was issued on Crest Records, a company that was launched as a songwriter outlet with the hopes that a song would be picked up by a well

Shirley (Goodman) and (Leonard) Lee recorded "Just A Little Word" (Leonard Lee) as a single in 1956. After breaking up in 1963 Shirley went on the sing backup with The Rolling Stones, Dr. John and Sonny and Cher. In the next decade she hit with "Shame,

Tammy Wagoner and Billy Montana (Schlappi) wrote "Suds In The Bucket" for Lee Ann Womack. It's performed here by the Grammy nominated Billy Montana at Backstage Nashville. Garth Brooks, Kenny Rogers and many other country acts have recorded Billy's songs.

Cherrelle (Cheryl Anne Norton) recorded "I Don't Mean To Turn You On" (Jimmy Jam (Harris) - Terry Lewis) on her 1984 debut album "Fragile". The single peaked at number eight on the Billboard R&B chart and number six Dance. This is the edited hit

"Till The World Ends" was written for Britney Spears by Kesha (Sebert), Dr. Luke, Max Martin and Alexander Kronlund. Kesha sings the demo and makes an appearance on the Britney Spears re-mix hit with Nicki Minaj. Britney Spears' version of "Till The

Introduced in the 1942 Betty Grable film "Springtime In The Rockies", in 1943 "I Had The Craziest Dream" (Mack Gordon - Harry Warren) was a chart topper for Harry James and his Orchestra with vocals by Helen Forrest. The audio is edited to include the

Younger brother of Walter Hammond of The Olympics, and a founding member of gospel group The Mighty Clouds Of Joy, Clay Hammond (Jr.) wrote "Part Time Love". Clay was a later member of both The Rivingtons and The Drifters. This track is from Clay's 1977

Former award winning commercial jingle writer and session vocalist Stephony Smith performs "It's Your Love" at The Hayman Loft in Nashville. Stephony has written for Shania Twain, The Dixie Chicks, Kenny Chesney, Trisha Yearwood and Barbra Streisand.

Baltimore Orioles fan Phil Vassar sings "For A Little While" (Phil Vassar - Steve Mandile - Jerry Vandiver) from his 2006 album "Greatest Hits Volume 1". This post has a baseball theme. From the 1997 chart topping Country LP "Everywhere" Tim McGraw's

Written in 1925 "Angry" (Dudley Mecum - Henry Brunies - Merritt Brunies - Jules Cassard) achieved popularity through this recording by "The Whispering Pianist" Art Gillham. The song is now viewed as a barbershop standard. Kay Starr (Starks) covered

Allan Rich takes the lead while co-writer Jud Friedman plays keyboards and adds vocals at a later point. This Hollywood concert includes the duo performing "Run To You". They had been contacted to write a song for the 1993 Kevin Costner, Whitney Houston

Saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. was the first to release "In The Name Of Love" (R. MacDonald - W. Salter - B. Withers) on the wonderful album "Winelight". The LP won the Grammy for Best Jazz Fusion Performance in 1982 and includes "Just The Two Of Us"

Country musician Johnny (Lehman Monroe) Tyler wrote and sang the western swing dance number "Oakie Boogie" in 1947. Through a rather short career Johnny recorded for the Fargo, Liberty, Stanchel, Starday, Bixby, Specialty, Rural Rhythm, Ekko and RCA

Orchestra leader, multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer and arranger Bert Kaempfert (Kampfert) recorded "Lady" (Bert Kaempfert - Larry Kusik - Charles Singleton) for the 1967 album "Hold Me". The trumpet is played by Manfred Moch. Manfred also played