# Right Song, Wrong Artist **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 26, 2009, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-song-wrong-artist/519060 "2009-11-26T20:12:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2009, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-song-wrong-artist/519060/1 "2009-11-26T20:12:31Z")
Since the early 80s, I loved a song called “My Girl,” by Shakin’ Stevens, except for the fact I could never find it. Well today on the radio I heard it. Only it’s “My Girl,” by Donnie Iris, so the radio announcer said and the Internet confirmed. OK I spent the last 25 years looking for a the right song, but the wrong artist. I thought for sure it was Shakin’ Stevens. But it’s Donnie Iris. So has this ever happened to you? I don’t mean a simple mistake but thinking for SURE that an artist is singing the song and it turns out to be someone totally different. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2009, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-song-wrong-artist/519060/2 "2009-11-26T22:25:04Z")
I would have sworn “Play That Funky Music” was by KC and the Sunshine Band. I also would have sworn “Horse with No Name” somehow involved Neil Young. ---
**Author:** ![StoutHearted](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@StoutHearted](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StoutHearted)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-song-wrong-artist/519060/3 "2009-11-27T02:10:36Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > I also would have sworn “Horse with No Name” somehow involved Neil Young. Count me in as someone who made this mistake. My BF is even a huge Neil Young fan and I had to break the news to him. Thank goodness for the Internet because now I can just put in part of a lyric and get artist, song title, and a slew of other information. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-song-wrong-artist/519060/4 "2009-11-27T06:30:50Z")
For a long time I could have sworn “The Breakup Song” was done by Bryan Adams until I found out it wad done by **Greg Khin**. I don’t know why, but not being too familiar with **David Bowie** ’s work for a long time, I thought “Modern Love” was done by **Billy Joel**. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-song-wrong-artist/519060/5 "2009-11-27T09:14:04Z")
“I Dig Rock and Roll Music” by Peter, Paul, and Mary. Here’s the first minute of a performance of it: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_huz88HN_A) I had in my mind for decades that it was done by the Mamas and the Papas, and only a few years ago realized who really did it. In fact, the first minute of it is a dead-on imitation of the Mamas and the Papas. It’s obviously intended as an attack on groups like the Mamas and the Papas who had drifted from folk music to rock and roll. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-song-wrong-artist/519060/6 "2009-11-27T14:34:57Z")
“Streets Of Your Town” is the only Go-Betweens song that has ever got any airplay on the stations where I live. I had always thought (for almost 20 years) that it was by Prefab Sprout, until a friend gave me some of his old Go-Betweens CDs to listen to and I discovered the song on “16 Lovers Lane”. ---
**Author:** ![QuercusMax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/8baadc/32.png) [@QuercusMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuercusMax)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-song-wrong-artist/519060/7 "2009-11-27T14:39:25Z")
I always thought that “Bitch” was by Alanis Morissette. It was only a couple years ago that I heard it on the radio and the DJ said it was Meredith Brooks. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-song-wrong-artist/519060/8 "2009-11-28T00:09:54Z")
In 1971, a soft-rock group named Cymarron achieved one-hit-wonder status with a modest hit entitled “Rings”. However, many people thought the song was by a better known group at the time, Lobo, to the point that at Lobo concerts people keep asking them to sign “their” song Rings. Out of self-defense, Lobo finally released their own version in 1974 – it reached #43 on the U.S. Billboard chart. ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-song-wrong-artist/519060/9 "2009-11-28T02:05:12Z")
Too many. Bobby McFerrin - Walk The Dinosaur (Was/Not Was) Kylie Minogue - Mickey (Tony Basil) Bernadette Peters - Big Yellow Taxi (Joni Mitchell) (Even better, I didn’t even know what the damn _song_ was called until the recent cover.) Cyndi Lauper - Rush Hour (Jane Wiedlin) Kenny Loggins - Maniac (Michael Sembello) The Rolling Stones - Revolution (The Beatles) Simon and/or Garfunkel - Year of the Cat (Al Stewart) Huey Lewis And The News - R.O.C.K. in the USA (John Mellencamp) [one of those 70’s prog groups…Pink Floyd?] - Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin) Duran Duran - Panama (Van Halen) (NO effin’ idea how this happened…something to do with Gran Turismo 5, that’s all I know…) Bis - Enjoy The Silence (Depeche Mode) Man, is the Internet a godsend or what? I don’t even want to imagine what an unholy mess my MP3 collection would be without [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com). ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-song-wrong-artist/519060/10 "2009-11-28T04:02:09Z")
**DKW** … wow is all I can say. I could have sworn when I first heard Spoon’s “Don’t You Evah,” that it was Beck. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-song-wrong-artist/519060/11 "2009-11-28T04:56:04Z")
“On the Dark Side” by John Cafferty–I always thought it was by Bruce Springsteen. In my defense, the whole point of the song was to sound just like Springsteen. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-song-wrong-artist/519060/12 "2009-11-28T05:01:37Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > “On the Dark Side” by John Cafferty–I always thought it was by Bruce Springsteen. In my defense, the whole point of the song was to sound just like Springsteen. From the sound track to the movie Eddie and The Cruisers. You have seen the movie haven’t you? ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-song-wrong-artist/519060/13 "2009-11-28T05:05:57Z")
> [@ghardester](#): > > From the sound track to the movie Eddie and The Cruisers. You have seen the movie haven’t you? No, but I read the Wikipedia page for John Cafferty. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-song-wrong-artist/519060/14 "2009-11-28T14:34:40Z")
> [@QuercusMax](#): > > I always thought that “Bitch” was by Alanis Morissette. It was only a couple years ago that I heard it on the radio and the DJ said it was Meredith Brooks. I was watching _Never Mind the Buzzcocks_ (UK music quiz show) the other night and this song came up in the lyrics round. I’m sure the host said in passing that it was by Alanis Morissette, which I knew was wrong. I knew it was Meredith somebody but couldn’t think of her surname. Edit: A quick Google shows I [didn’t imagine this](http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=buzzcocks+bitch+alanis&btnG=Google+Search&meta=&aq=f&oq=). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-song-wrong-artist/519060/15 "2009-11-29T08:23:56Z")
I had convinced myself that Neil Young was a member of _America_, because one of the singers sounds just like him. “Horse With No Name” is one of those songs. That’s apparently common. ---
**Author:** ![No\_Me\_Ayudes\_Compadre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/no_me_ayudes_compadre/32/5224_2.png) [@No\_Me\_Ayudes\_Compadre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Me_Ayudes_Compadre)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-song-wrong-artist/519060/16 "2009-11-29T23:39:22Z")
In the 1980s there was a beer commercial (Michelob maybe?) with a very cool Joe Jackson song that sounded like it must’ve been an outtake from the Look Sharp! sessions, but which I couldn’t ever find and of which no one had ever heard. It turned out to be Night Time by J. Geils Band. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-song-wrong-artist/519060/17 "2009-11-29T23:49:14Z")
I just found out on this board that Cannonball was by The Breeders. I thought it was a Veruca Salt song. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-song-wrong-artist/519060/18 "2009-11-30T15:11:27Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > “On the Dark Side” by John Cafferty–I always thought it was by Bruce Springsteen. In my defense, the whole point of the song was to sound just like Springsteen. They’re from the same Jersey scene as Springsteen IIRC and a lot of his songs have the same sensibilities as BS. He’s still going too–saw him at the fair this summer! ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-song-wrong-artist/519060/19 "2009-11-30T15:21:17Z")
For the longest time I presumed “No Sugar Tonight” was a Creedence Clearwater Revival song. I don’t remember when it was, but it’s only been within the last ten years that I learned of this song being done by The Guess Who. I also thought that “Dancin’ in the Moonlight” was a Van Morrison song. Even Wikipedia acknowledges that the King Harvest version (the only such version I am familiar with) is often mistaken for being a Van Morrison song. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-song-wrong-artist/519060/20 "2009-11-30T16:43:37Z")
I always thought [The Ballad of Jenny Ledge](the ballad of Jenny ledge) \*had \*to be a Steely Dan song but I never could figure out what album it was on. I should have been looking under “T” for Toy Matinee :smack: I haven’t heard any of their other stuff but it sounds to me like they made a concerted effort to emulate SD. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-song-wrong-artist/519060.md?page=2)