John Twang's documents

Under Pressure

49 visits
Queen and David Bowie recorded "Under Pressure" (Freddie Mercury - Brian May - Roger Taylor - John Deacon - David Bowie) in 1981 as the result of a jam session. The next year it topped the U.K. charts while reaching the Billboard top thirty. This is…


Hard To Handle

44 visits
It was Otis Redding who was first to record the Steve Cropper produced "Hard To Handle" (Jones - Isbell - Redding) in 1967 and released as a single from the posthumous LP "The Immortal Otis Redding". The 45 reached number thirty-eight on the R&B and…


From The Vine Came The Grape

46 visits
Frankie Vaughan (Abelson) recorded "From The Vine Came The Grape" (Whitcup) in 1953. Actor and singer Frankie received an OBE in 1965 and was the first British singer to star in Las Vegas. He also broke house records at New York's Copacabana. The Ga…


Tell Me You're Mine (Per Un Bacio D'Amour)

43 visits
"Per un Bacio D'Amor" (Testa - Poes) was first recorded by Tony Dallara (Lardera). Tony won the San Remo Music Festival in 1960. The Gaylords had their first hit and a million seller with "Tell Me You're Mine" in 1952 when the single peaked at numbe…


The Little Shoemaker (Le Petit Cordonnier)

44 visits
Francis Lemarque had success in his native France with "Le Petit Cordonnier" (Rudi Revil - Nathan Korb) in 1953. Nathan Korb was an alias for singer Francis Lemarque. "The Little Shoemaker" (Geoffrey Parsons - Nathan Korb - John Turner) hit for the…


Runaround

51 visits
Brooklyn trio, The Chuckles (Teddy Randazzo, Tommy Romano and Russ Gilberto) recorded "Run Around" (Cirino Colacrai) as a B side but had a top twenty hit with the song in 1954. They were named after a popular candy bar of the late forties and early f…


Pretty Girls

44 visits
Toronto multi-instrumentalist and Juno Award winner Lisa Dal Bello recorded the original "Pretty Girls" in 1978 for the LP of the same name. Composer, award winning singer and actress, Melissa Manchester's cover of "Pretty Girls" hit the Billboard p…


I Got Stripes (On A Monday)

47 visits
Leadbelly (Huddie Ledbetter) seems to be responsible for much of The American Songbook and here is yet another example from 1939. "On A Monday" (Leadbelly) was adapted from another Leadbelly song called "Yallow Women's Door Bells". Leadbelly aka Lead…


I Love You

58 visits
The Zombies (Rod Argent, Paul Atkinson, Colin Blunstone, Hugh Grundy and Chris White) recorded "I Love You" (Chris White) in 1965 as a B side. The song did not chart in either the U.K. or the U.S. One-hit wonder, People (Denny Fridkin, Geoff and Rob…


Penny Serenade

57 visits
Australian crooner, bandleader and violinist Brian Lawrence was the original to record "Penny Serenade" (Hal Hallifax - Melle Weersma) in 1938. Bill tried acting and appeared as the lead in a few musical movies but gave up both singing and acting fol…


Misirlou

86 visits
The first known recording of "Misirlou" (N. Roubanis) is by Tetos Demetriades in 1927. The slower tempo was used for a traditional Greek dance. Though Nick Roubanis is credited as the composer this is a traditional Middle Eastern melody. Misirlou is…


Can't Help Falling In Love

61 visits
Based on the music of "Plaisir d'Amour" Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling In Love" (Hugo Peretti - Luigi Creatore - George David Weiss) is from the soundtrack of the 1961 movie "Blue Hawaii". The release featuring ace assistance from The Jordanaire…


I Really Don't Want To Know

58 visits
Eddy Arnold was first to record "I Really Don't Want To Know" (Don Robertson - Howard Barnes) in 1953 shortly after he departed from the management of Colonel Tom Parker. The single topped the Country chart but didn't chart on the pop listing. Les P…


Blue Tango

60 visits
Leroy Anderson's "Pops" Concert Orchestra and "Blue Tango" (Leroy Anderson) peaked at the top of the chart, spending six months on Billboard's top ten in 1952. The single was the number one "song" of the year. While studying at Harvard where he was t…


Song Of Joy

59 visits
Composed when Ludwig van Beethoven was deaf and aging, The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 was unusual for featuring voices in the final movement. This was taken from the Friedrich Schiller's publication "Thalia" containing the poem "Ode To Joy".…


Birmingham Bounce

65 visits
Birmingham native Hardrock (Sidney) Gunter and the Pebbles recorded "Birmingham Bounce" (Gunter) in 1950 as their first release. Many refer to this release as the first rock and roll record as it was issued well before "Rocket 88". The claim has been…


I Believed It All

48 visits
Mary Mayo sang "I Believed It All" (A. Bergman -B. Bergman - A. Ham) in the 1965 film "Harlow" backed by Nelson Riddle's Orchestra. Mary was married to composer Al Ham. They met while Al was bassist and arranger for the post war Glenn Miller Orchestr…


From New York To L.A. (Mon Pays)

43 visits
It started out as a movie theme for the 1964 National Film Board release "La neige a fondu sur la Manicougan" and became a Quebecois anthem. Poet, singer, songwriter Gilles Vigneault recorded "Mon Pays" in 1965. Gilles Vigneault did not like it, but…


Proud

60 visits
Vic Dana was first to record "Proud" (Barry Mann - Cynthia Weil) as the B side of "I Will" in 1962. The single is on his album "More". Vic has now retired and lives in Kentucky. A short time after the original, Johnny Crawford issued a cover of "Pro…


Chattanooga Choo Choo

45 visits
Glenn Miller and the Orchestra's million seller "Chattanooga Choo Choo" (Mack Gordon - Harry Warren) was released as a B side with vocals by Tex Beneke and The Four Modernaires and is from the motion picture "Sun Valley Serenade". Wikipedia: "The fil…