Inspired by this thread, let’s make a list of songs sung by singers who write most of their own songs, but are really well known for the singing a song they didn’t write, but only sang; i.e.
Barry Manilow–I Write the Songs, written by Bruce Johnston
The Beatles–Twist & Shout, written by the Isley Brothers
Bruce Springsteen–Jersey Girl, written by Tom Waite
Patsy Cline - Crazy - Written by Willie Nelson
Jimi Hendrix - All Along the Watchtower - Written by Bob Dylan
The Lemonheads - Mrs. Robinson
**The Byrds: ** “Mr. Tambourine Man” (Bob Dylan)
Rolling Stones: “It’s All Over Now” (Bobby Womack)
**Arlo Guthrie: ** “The City of New Orleans” (Steve Goodman) – Arlo’s biggest hit single
**James Taylor: **“What a Wonderful World” (Sam Cooke/Lou Adler/Herb Alpert), “You’ve Got a Friend” (Carole King), “How Sweet It is (To Be Loved by You)” (Dozier/Holland/Holland), “Handy Man” (Otis Blackwell), and “Mockingbird” (traditional). For someone known as almost the perfect example of a singer/songwriter, a surprisingly high percentage of Taylor’s hit singles have been by other songwriters.
Pearl Jam: “Last Kiss” (Wayne Cochran)
Jeff Buckley only released one album, Grace, before his death, and two more, Sketches for my Sweetheart the Drunk and Songs to No One (which has a few re-treads) were released by his mother after his death. He wrote a lot of beautiful music in so short a career, but he’s probably best known for the definitive cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”
Hank Williams: “Lovesick Blues” (Cliff Friend and Irving Mills) - his first #1 hit and arguably his best-known song.
Elton John–“Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” (Lennon & McCartney}
“Blinded by the Light” is probably the only Manfred Mann song most people could name, written by Bruce Springsteen.
Michael Hedges - All Along the Watchtower - Bob Dylan
Michael Hedges - A Love Bizarre - Not sure… Prince (and… Sheila E?)
Michael Hedges - Come Together - Beatles (or parts thereof)
Gerry Boulet - Toujours vivant - (lyrics by Michel Rivard. Boulet actually had other lyricists as well, but gave his tunes such a personal gusto, it’s hard to believe he didn’t write all of the lyrics himself)
Muskrat Love (I’m not even gonna touch this one - it’s got a long and confused history, not just C&T and America)
I just love Springsteen’s original. Has anyone else done Blinded by the Light?
Nitpick - Tom Waits
Bonnie Raitt’s signature song, “Angel From Montgomery”, was written by John Prine.
Funny, the only other Manfred Mann song I could name off the top of my head is Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn), which is a cover of a Bob Dylan song.
George Harrison’s big hit from his Cloud Nine album, “Got My Mind Set On You,” is the only one not written by George.
The Bangles wrote the majority of their own songs, but it’s the ones they didn’t write that they’re famous for (“Walk Like an Egyptian,” “Manic Monday,” “If She Knew What She Wants,” “Going Down To Liverpool”).
Back in the late 80s, X were known pretty well for “Fourth of July,” which was a cover of The Blasters’ original.
There’s no love left in the world for “Doo Wah Diddy” (Barry/Greenwich)?
According to Allmusic.com, there’s Allan Clarke, and Funkstar de Luxe, plus a couple dance remixes and some other entries that don’t look like notable covers.
Cake is famous for “I Will Survive,” their cover of a 70’s disco hit sung by Gloria Gaynor (but written by a coupla dudes)
I was going to mention them for their cover of “Hazy Shade of Winter”.
“Doo Wah Diddy” doesn’t register in my mind as “a Manfred Mann song.” It’s “execrably fluffy sock hop pop with interchangeable artists.”
“Nothing Compares 2 U”, written by Prince, is probably the song Sinead O’Connor is best known for.