Although their album Deep Cuts has been available for a year or more in other parts of the world, Swedish group The Knife have only recently been getting airplay in Australia with their single ‘Heartbeats’. I like it a lot.
Recently, I have heard another song on the radio by Jose Gonzales which I also really like, but at the same time thought to myself that it sounds eerily similar to ‘The Knife’s’ Heartbeats.
After doing a bit of research tonight, I discovered that they are indeed the same song. Both very distinct from each other and equally beautiful, but the same song nonetheless.
Can anyone else think of alternate versions of the same song released close enough together to be considered ‘the same time’?
If you can think of some, would you consider both of them to be very good as I do with the above examples?
Back in the 50s, it wasn’t unusual for white groups to cover popular songs from R&B artists and have a hit with them, sometimes before the original song left the charts.
The most famous example is probably “Blue Suede Shoes,” with Elvis Presley performing and recording it about the same time Carl Perkins had the song on the charts.
In 1974, a record called “Don’t Stay Away Too Long” by British duo Peters and Lee was issued, at least in the UK and in Canada. It sank without a trace, except that my high school music teacher heard it, liked it, and brought it into class, which is why I know it. Within a couple of months, Bobby Vinton put out “My Melody Of Love”, which has the identical structure and melody. It is the same song with different lyrics. I wish I knew the story on this one. There must have been a copyright battle; there should have been charges of plagiarism, but against whom, I’m not sure.
If I’m remembering the story right, Jeff Beck and Stevie Wonder wrote “Superstitious” together with the understanding that Beck would release it first. Before he got it recorded, he had a car wreck(?) and Stevie didn’t wait for him to recover. Beck’s version came out a little later on Beck, Bogert and Appice. By then it was “common knowledge” that the song was a Stevie Wonder composition. I believe there may have even been lawsuits involved.
She and Trisha Yearwood released “How Do I Live”. Rimes’s was used in “Con Air” and got more airplay, so it was something of a scandal in the country music community because Rimes got an award and Yearwood had actually released hers first.
This has happened lately with a pop or R&B version of a song coming out and then a country version. With how pop-y country is these days, they sound very similar.
I didn’t mean to imply otherwise, but can see how it was confusing.
Hank Ballard and Chubby Checker both had versions of “The Twist” in 1960. Ballard sung it first a couple of years earlier, but rereleased it when Checker hit with it.
Really? That seems strange to me. As I understood it the song was released as a pop single to generate money for the production of the musical. It just seems weird that there would be two versions of a song that originated with a musical that had yet to see the light of day. That’s just the story as I have been told. I could be totally wrong.
About 8 or 10 years ago I think Boys 2 Men or BBD and a country singer both released the same ballad at the same time. Hell if I remember what ti was.
Just the opposite, actually. Rimes recorded her version for Con Air, but the director decided he wanted a more mature singer to perform the song. Yearwood recorded it and that is the version that appeared in the film.
Rimes released the song as a single anyway and it was a huge pop success, reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart but only #43 on the Country chart. Yearwood also released her version and reached #2 on the Country chart and #23 on the Hot 100.
Yearwood also won the Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for the song, beating out Rimes’ version which was also nominated. This upset Rimes and her supporters who thought she deserved the Grammy because her version achieved more popular success.
I personally think that Yearwood’s take on the song was much better and her award was well-deserved. But then again, I’m a big Trisha fan and hate, hate, hate LeeAnn Rimes.
You’re probably thinking of All-4-One and John Michael Montgomery. Interestingly, these two artists accomplished this twice.
In 1993, Montgomery had a #1 country hit with “I Swear”. In 1994, All-4-One reached #1 on the Hot 100 with their version of the song. Then in 1995, Montgomery hit #1 on the country chart with “I Can Love You Like That”. The same year, All-4-One took that song to #5 on the Hot 100.
How about Dylan’s and Hendrix’s versions of “All Along the Watchtower”? I know that the Hendrix version is a cover but I prefer that one. What was the time difference in the releases?
This reminded me of “Black Velvet”. I know Allanah Myles made the charts with it, but later I heard a (female) country singer’s version and was told they came out at around the same time. Is that (about) right?
Back in 1975, both Bruce Springsteen and Allan Clarke (ex-Hollies) had versions of “Born to Run” in the Brisbane, Australia top 5. I liked Clarke’s better!
The only top 40 versions of Louie Louie to chart were the Kingsman (as stated) reaching #2 in 1963 and the Sandpipers who peaked at #30 in 1966 (from Joel Whitburn’s Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits - 8th Edition). You are correct in saying that the Raiders recorded the song the next day in the same studio, and may have had some regional success, but there is no evidence to support the fact that the Raiders actually charted nationally on the Hot 100.