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The song was first recorded in early 1965 by Limmie Snell (who started recording for Columbia at the age of 11) under the name "Lemme B. Good". About a month later the song was redone -- with considerably rewritten lyrics -- by R&B/novelty artists

In 1928 Bruno Rudzinsky recorded this European melody as Pawel Waltz. The title was changed by Tex Owens (Doye Hensley Owens) to "Cattle Call' in 1934. The Tennessee Plowboy, Eddy Arnold took it to the top of the charts in 1944 and again in 1955 with

Ruthann Friedman was born in 1944 and gradually headed to the west coast where Van Dyke Parks (exec producer on her lp Constant Companion) introduced her to The Association in 1964. The group recorded "Windy" three years later. Listen carefully and

Although it wasn't released until 1970 Eddie North recorded "Rainy Night in Georgia" at roughly the same time as composer swamp rocker Tony Joe White (Polk Salad Annie) in 1969, Tony wrote it in 1962. The incomparable Brook Benton had the hit in the

Bob and Joe Shelton (Bob Attlesey and Joe Attlesey) originally recorded "Just Because" later recorded by Elvis Presley whose name is listed as one of the composers on "Love Me Tender" and with Ken Darby. The Shelton Brothers recorded "Aura Lee"

Marvin Percy Rainwater had been a classically trained pianist, but after an accident had removed part of a thumb, he learned to strum a guitar enough to accompany his singing and compose songs on it. His career was established by "Gonna Find Me a

Rumour has it that this is John Lennon struggling to demo "Nobody I Know" apparently written principally by Paul. It's the second of three Lennon-McCartney compositions given to Peter and Gordon who hit with the song in 1964. Peter's sister Jane dated

Tony Renis co-composed "Quando, Quando, Quando" (When, When, When) in1962. The Italian composer, singer, actor and producer received a Golden Globe Award and Oscar nomination for "The Prayer", by Céline Dion and Andrea Bocelli, from the Quest for

Composer Jenny Carson was a fan of Hank Williams and wrote "Let Me Go Devil" after Hank died and his fight with alcoholism. Country fiddler and vocalist Wade Ray recorded the song in 1953. The lyrics were rewritten the following year when "Let Me Go

In 1958 Little Kid Lex recorded "New Year Rock". It's probably the first and only time Bert Kaempfert recorded anything that originally used the word "rock". In 1962 Bert Kaempfert recorded "Afrikaan Beat" as a follow up to "A Swingin' Safari"

Jerry Masters, who was a recording engineer at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, told the story: "We cut a demo of "Old Time Rock and Roll" on the writer of the song, George Jackson (Jackson-Jones), there at the studio when we didn't have anything else to do.

Buddy Holly is playing lead guitar on Charlie Phillips "Sugartime" (Charlie Phillips - Odis Echols) issued in 1957. Charlie went on to record the demo for "Welcome To My World" before Jim Reeves had the hit. The McGuire Sisters (Phyllis, Christine and

Dick Holler composed songs as varied as "Abraham, Martin and John" and "Snoopy vs the Red Baron". Here he is with his group "The Holidays". In 1964 group members Don Smith and Cyril Vetter penned "Double Shot". The Swingin' Medallions hit with the tune

Phil Spector, Jeff Barry, and Ellie Greenwich composed "Be My Baby" in 1963. The first version here is by composer Ellie Greenwich. Next is the Ronettes as produced by Phil Spector. That was the big hit! While Canadian Andy Kim charted the song in

Gordon Jenkins' 1953 Seven Dreams concept album and the song "Crescent City Blues" with vocalist Beverly Maher provided more than the basis for this hit. After "Folsom Prison Blues" became popular Johnny Cash reached a settlement with Gordon. The man

The late Fred Karlin (composer of 1971 Academy Award winner For All We Know) and lyrics by Dory Previn who died in 2012 (ex-wife of Andre), wrote "Come Saturday Morning". It was first performed by The Sandpipers on the soundtrack of the 1969 film The

Gene Autry was the first to record "Blueberry Hill" for his movie "The Singing Hill" in 1940. It became a hit for Sammy Kaye, Louis Armstrong and many others. None of these had the impact demonstrated by Antoine Fats Domino's version in 1956. Fats

The Seagulls recorded "Don't Go Out into the Rain (You're Gonna Melt) in1966. Kenny Young composed the Drifter's "Under the Boardwalk", Mark Lindsay's "Arizona", Herman's Hermits' "Just a Little Bit Better" and this tune which hit the Top Twenty for

On his "Catch One" album Hot Chocolate member Tony Wilson released three records before his label mate Randy Vanwarmer's hit version. On the Tony Wilson lp, Vanwarmer and Wilson are mentioned as

"On Broadway" was composed by music legends Barry Mann , Cynthia Weil, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. When Phil Spector discovered The Crystals they were all in high school. Their version of "On Broadway" from the 1962 album "Twist Uptown", later

"That's Amore" is a 1952 song by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Jack Brooks. It became a major hit, signature song for Dean Martin in 1953. Amore means "love" in Italian.

Shawn Elliott was on Roulette records when he recorded "A Walkin' Miracle". He would go on to record for Atlantic, London and others, before moving onto acting. His Broadway credits include: "City of Angels" and "Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and

The 1954 Broadway production "The Pyjama Game" gave us Richard Adler and Jerry Ross tunes like "Hey There", "Steam Heat" and "Hernando's Hideaway". The original cast include John Raitt (Bonnie's father), Janis Paige. Eddie Foy Jr and Shirley MacLaine

Brinsley Schwarz was a British pub band featuring Nick Lowe as lead vocalist. In 1970 they were set to open for Van Morrison at the Fillmore East in New York but had problems getting visas and when they did, at the last minute, everything went wrong for

"Standing on the Corner" was written by Frank Loesser in 1956. It was introduced by Shorty Long, Alan Gilbert, and Roy Lazarus in the Broadway musical, The Most Happy Fella. The same show also gave us "Big D". The original production was partially

Artie Kornfeld along with Steve Duboff were the Changin' Times. In 1965 they wrote and recorded "The Pied Piper". It became one of the most covered records ever. Artie Kornfeld was also the co-writer of "Dead Man's Curve" by Jan and Dean and was the

At the end of January 1911 vaudeville performer Dolly (Dorothy) Connolly recorded My Hula, Hula Love. The song was composed by Percy Wenrich and Edward Madden. In the late forties Leadbelly (Huddie Ledbetter) recorded the tune as a blues "Hawaiian

Hoyt's mother, Mae co-wrote "Heartbreak Hotel". Hoyt Axton's first album "The Balladeer" in 1962 was performed live at the Troubadour in Hollywood and featured "Greenback Dollar" (Kingston Trio). In 1971 he issued "Joy to the World" with hits like the

The group Redwood showcased vocalists Danny Hutton, Cory Wells and Chuck Negron when they formed in 1967. A year later they added backup musicians and changed the name to Three Dog Night. If you were in the Australian Outback and it was cold you slept

Little Anthony and The Imperials (Anthony Gourdine, Ernest Wright, Clarence Collins, Tracy Lord and Nathaniel Rodgers) recorded the original "The Diary" (R. Barrett - A. Gourdine) in 1958 but it wasn't released until the Sedaka single was issued, that

Don Covay (Donald Randolph) was Little Richard's chauffeur and his opening act. In 1961 he and the Goodtimers recorded his composition "Pony Time". His version got to the lower portion of the top 100. In the late sixties he organized a super soul group

Pianist Otis Blackwell either composed or co-authored: "Fever" his pen name was John Davenport), "Great Balls of Fire", "Breathless", Handy Man", "Just Keep It Up", "Return to Sender", "All Shook Up", "One Broken Heart for Sale", "Don't be Cruel" but

Ernie Maresca lived near Dion DiMucci in the Bronx and wrote several hits with/for him including "Runaround Sue", "The Wanderer", "Lovers Who Wander", "Donna, the Prima Donna" and "The Majestic". At one time he sang with The Regents who later had a hit

In the twenties Jack Denny's first band was Montreal's Mount Royal Orchestra. In 1931 he became the orchestra at New York City's Waldorf-Astoria. One year later he and vocalist Jack Small recorded "I've Told Every Little Star". The Hammerstein-Kern