You Heard It Here First!

by N/A

Overview

The original versions of 26 hit rock and (in lesser frequency) pop, soul, and country songs from the 1950s and '60s are on this highly entertaining CD. These are not the sort of songs that will be recognized only by collectors and historians; these are songs that became big hits when they were covered by other artists, from "Rock Around the Clock" and "I Fought the Law" to "Wild Thing" and "Suspicious Minds." And even if you're an extremely knowledge historian/collector, it's doubtful you've heard, let alone owned, every single one of these tracks. A few of these originals are relatively well known, like Bessie Banks' soul classic "Go Now" (covered by the Moody Blues), Joe Jones' "California Sun" (made into a surf hit of sorts by the Rivieras), and Richard Berry's perennial "Louie Louie." But certainly relatively few people even know of the existence of original versions such as the Wild Ones' "Wild Thing," Sunny Dae & the Knights' "Rock Around the Clock," the Little Darlings' "Little Bit o' Soul," Carson & Gaile's "Something Stupid," and Eddie Riff's "Ain't That Loving You Baby" (the song made into a Top 20 1964 hit for Elvis Presley, not the Jimmy Reed blues classic), for instance. To some listeners, hearing these rarities might come as a disappointment when you hear how relatively little the hitmakers changed some of the arrangements, like Mark James' "Suspicious Minds" (redone by Presley) and the aforementioned "Little Bit o' Soul," done by the obscure British group the Little Darlings three years before the Music Explosion had a huge U.S. hit with it. Yet there are also some songs that were substantially different and occasionally even superior in their first appearance, Gloria Jones' storming soul stomper "Tainted Love" being the most outstanding example. While not superior to the remakes, Hoagy Lands' Sam Cooke-like "Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand" is certainly way different from the Animals' mutation of the same tune into "Baby, Let Me Take You Home," just as Johnny Darrell's "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" is from the Kenny Rogers remake and Yvonne Fair's "I Found You" is from James Brown's "I Got You," which the tune evolved into three years later in the Godfather of Soul's hands. Most of the cuts, too, are just plain fine on their own terms, like Muddy Waters' "You Need Love" (the basis of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love") and, to again cite one of the most obscure tracks here, Diane & Annita's fetching soul-pop duet "A Groovy Kind of Love," made into a British Invasion hit by the Mindbenders. As one very minor criticism, "You Were on My Mind" (later a folk-rock hit for the We Five) is not represented by Ian & Sylvia's very first original version, but a later one that included some overdubbed drums. ~ Richie Unterberger

Product Details

Release Date:	09/16/2008
Label:	Ace
UPC:	0029667034425
Rank:	84050

Tracks

1. Tainted Love  - Ed Cobb  - Gloria Jones
2. Suspicious Minds  - Mark James  - Francis Zambon
3. Wild Thing  - Chip Taylor  -  Wild Ones
4. I Fought the Law  -  Crickets  - Sonny Curtis
5. The Red Rooster  - Willie Dixon  -  Howlin' Wolf
6. Hanky Panky  - Jeff Barry  - Ellie Greenwich  -  Raindrops
7. Go Now  - Bessie Banks  - Larry Banks  - Milton Bennett
8. A Rockin' Good Way  - Brook Benton  - Priscilla Bowman  - Luchi DeJesus  - Clyde Otis  -  Spaniels
9. This Diamond Ring  - Sammy O. Ambrose  - Bob Brass  - Al Kooper  - Irwin Levine
10. Tobacco Road  - John D. Loudermilk
11. I Found You  - Yvonne Fair
12. Ain't That Loving You Baby  - Ivory Joe Hunter  - Clyde Otis  - Eddie Riff
13. Louie Louie  - Richard Berry  -  Berry
14. My Boy Lollipop  - Barbie Gaye  - Morris Levy  - Robert Spencer
15. Little Bit O' Soul  -  Little Darlings
16. Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town  - Johnny Darrell  - Mel Tillis
17. Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand  - Wes Farrell  - Hoagy Lands  - Bert Russell
18. You Need Love  - Willie Dixon  - Muddy Waters
19. A Groovy Kind of Love  -  Diane & Annita  - Carole Bayer Sager  - Toni Wine
20. You Were on My Mind  - Sylvia Fricker  -  Ian & Sylvia
21. I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself  - Burt Bacharach  - Hal David  - Tommy Hunt
22. Let's Get Together  -  Kingston Trio
23. California Sun  - Henry Glover  - Joe Jones  - Morris Levy
24. Something Stupid  -  Carson & Gaile  - C. Carson Parks
25. Hey Joe, Where You Gonna Go?  -  Leaves
26. Rock Around the Clock  -  Dae  - Jimmy DeKnight  - Max Freedman

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Johnny Darrell   Primary Artist
The Kingston Trio   Primary Artist
Bessie Banks   Primary Artist
The Leaves   Primary Artist
Mark James   Primary Artist
Little Darlings   Primary Artist
Eddie Riff   Primary Artist
Diane & Annita   Primary Artist
The Spaniels   Primary Artist
The Raindrops   Primary Artist
Priscilla Bowman   Primary Artist
Sunny Dae & the Knights   Primary Artist
Richard Berry & the Pharaohs   Primary Artist
Joe Jones   Primary Artist
Ian & Sylvia   Primary Artist
Carson & Gaile   Primary Artist
Barbie Gaye   Primary Artist
The Crickets   Primary Artist
Gloria Jones   Primary Artist
Sammy O. Ambrose   Primary Artist
Howlin' Wolf   Primary Artist
Muddy Waters   Primary Artist
Yvonne Fair   Primary Artist
Hoagy Lands   Primary Artist
John D. Loudermilk   Primary Artist
Tommy Hunt   Primary Artist
Wild Ones   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Milton Bennett   Composer
Al Kooper   Composer
Brook Benton   Composer
Morris Levy   Composer
Willie Dixon   Composer
Henry Glover   Composer
Toni Wine   Composer
Jimmy DeKnight   Composer
Wes Farrell   Composer
Jeff Barry   Composer
C. Carson Parks   Composer
Carole Bayer Sager   Composer
Chip Taylor   Composer
Ivory Joe Hunter   Composer
Hal David   Composer
Burt Bacharach   Composer
Mel Tillis   Composer
Max Freedman   Composer
Richard Berry   Composer
Luchi de Jesus   Composer
Francis Zambon   Composer
Bob Brass   Composer
Robert Spencer   Composer
John D. Loudermilk   Composer
Ed Cobb   Composer
Ellie Greenwich   Composer
Clyde Otis   Composer
Larry Banks   Composer
Irwin Levine   Composer
Bert Russell   Composer
Sylvia Fricker   Composer
Sonny Curtis   Composer