# Solo artists who re-recorded a song from the group they were in **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 2, 2005, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solo-artists-who-re-recorded-a-song-from-the-group-they-were-in/302142 "2005-05-02T22:21:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solo-artists-who-re-recorded-a-song-from-the-group-they-were-in/302142/21 "2005-05-03T01:23:07Z")
The song appears on Idol’s first full release appropriately entitled _Billy Idol_. The running time is listed as 3:19. I was trying to find the “original” version for comparison. The bass line kicks ass. ---
**Author:** ![Crandolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Crandolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crandolph)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solo-artists-who-re-recorded-a-song-from-the-group-they-were-in/302142/22 "2005-05-03T01:33:48Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Well, Todd Rundgren originally recorded “Hello It’s Me” as a member of a late 60’s band called the Nazz. That band never amounted to much. > > He later re-recorded it as a solo artist, and it became a huge hit. “Hello It’s Me” was a hit for The Nazz, who also had a hit with “Open My Eyes.” (Two hits is two better than most; not sure this is “going nowhere.”) Rundgren didn’t sing the Nazz’ hit version, the vocalist Stewkey did (he currently has a new “Nazz” which has rerecorded some of this material, plays it live and has written some new stuff of their own.) On live albums/in concert McCartney certainly does Beatles material. I believe Brian Wilson has recorded some solo stuff from The Beach Boys, which was largely his effort in any event. I think Kenny Rogers rerecorded some First Edition songs, including ones which came out as performed by “Kenny Rogers and The First Edition,” whatever that would mean… Not 100% sure, but I believe Marc Bolan may have redone some John’s Children material. Yes, the songwriter/lead band member thing gets tricky. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solo-artists-who-re-recorded-a-song-from-the-group-they-were-in/302142/23 "2005-05-03T02:59:32Z")
> [@Robot Arm](#): > > _Dream a Little Dream of Me_ was the last hit for The Mamas and the Papas, but it sort of bridged over into Cass Elliot’s solo career. She did not re-record it. They simply re-editted the song from the master. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solo-artists-who-re-recorded-a-song-from-the-group-they-were-in/302142/24 "2005-05-03T03:38:35Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > The song appears on Idol’s first full release appropriately entitled _Billy Idol_. The running time is listed as 3:19. > > I was trying to find the “original” version for comparison. The bass line kicks ass. When I went to download “Dancing With Myself” off iTunes, I was irritated because I wasn’t sure which of the several versions was the one I wanted. And it’s not like it’s the fault of iTunes – it can’t produce a magic mind-reading arrow that says, “Dude, THIS is the one you’re thinking of.” I decided to take the one credited to Billy Idol and Generation X. The running time is listed as 3:16. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solo-artists-who-re-recorded-a-song-from-the-group-they-were-in/302142/25 "2005-05-03T04:49:27Z")
> [@Crandolph](#): > > I believe Brian Wilson has recorded some solo stuff from The Beach Boys, which was largely his effort in any event. **Smile** was a beach boys project, and they eventually recorded one single from it - **Good Vibrations**. Last year, Brian Wilson finally finished the album and released it as a solo work, including a re-recording of **Good Vibrations** without any of the Beach Boys in it. > [@](#): > > I think Kenny Rogers rerecorded some First Edition songs, including ones which came out as performed by “Kenny Rogers and The First Edition,” whatever that would mean… I think **Ruby [Don’t Take Your Love To Town]** Might qualify. **Sting** has recorded a couple of Police songs. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solo-artists-who-re-recorded-a-song-from-the-group-they-were-in/302142/26 "2005-05-03T05:09:28Z")
> [@Sam Stone](#): > > **Smile** was a beach boys project, and they eventually recorded one single from it - **Good Vibrations**. Last year, Brian Wilson finally finished the album and released it as a solo work, including a re-recording of **Good Vibrations** without any of the Beach Boys in it. Actually, they pulled two singles from the original “Smile” sessions: “Good Vibrations” and “Heroes And Villains.” The version of “Smile” from last year was completely re-recorded with different musicians and singers - the whole album, not just “GV.” ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solo-artists-who-re-recorded-a-song-from-the-group-they-were-in/302142/27 "2005-05-03T05:28:01Z")
First a hair-split: _Phil Collins \*\* had not yet left **Genesis** when he re-recorded Behind the Lines_, though it was on a solo album. Second, wasn’t _Smile_ originally supposed to be a **Beatles** album but The Beatles “gave” it to \*\*Brian Wilson \*\* as a thank you for something or other? ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solo-artists-who-re-recorded-a-song-from-the-group-they-were-in/302142/28 "2005-05-03T05:37:56Z")
> [@I Love Me](#): > > Second, wasn’t _Smile_ originally supposed to be a **Beatles** album but The Beatles “gave” it to \*\*Brian Wilson \*\* as a thank you for something or other? No. Nothing of the sort. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solo-artists-who-re-recorded-a-song-from-the-group-they-were-in/302142/29 "2005-05-03T06:23:26Z")
What about Eric Clapton and Layla? Originally released with Derek and the Dominoes - then rereleased on his solo Unplugged album. It is a live performance - but it’s a different solo venture. - Peter Wiggen ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solo-artists-who-re-recorded-a-song-from-the-group-they-were-in/302142/30 "2005-05-03T06:54:37Z")
> [@fishbicycle](#): > > No. Nothing of the sort. Sorry, I was basing that on Fred LaBour’s article in \*The Michigan Daily \* on October 14, 1969. In it he claimed that: > [@](#): > > “The Beatles had been preparing their forthcoming album tentatively entitled _Smile_ when progress bogged down in intragroup hassles and bickering.”\* This article was the same one that some say launched the whole “Paul is dead” rumor. In that article LaBour admits that the “Paul is dead” thing was a hoax, and I thought with that honestly, he may have been accurate in reporting the \*Smile \* angle too. \*I found the text of the article on pages 29-34 of “[Turn Me On, Dead Man](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1418482943/qid=1115103304/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/104-2601996-3449500?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)” by Andru J. Reeve. ---
**Author:** ![Flipshod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f19dbf/32.png) [@Flipshod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flipshod)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solo-artists-who-re-recorded-a-song-from-the-group-they-were-in/302142/31 "2005-05-03T06:56:45Z")
Seems like Sting re-did a couple of Police songs–in his more adult-contemporary solo style. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solo-artists-who-re-recorded-a-song-from-the-group-they-were-in/302142/32 "2005-05-03T07:41:31Z")
**Michael Nesmith** recorded _Listen to the Band_ while he was with **the Monkees** and again during his solo career, but it was not one of the songs that the Monkees recorded as a band (yes, there were a couple of albums that the Monkees actually did _record as a band_). On the last couple of Monkees albums each of the four of them produced their own tracks without working with each other. It was during this time that Michael Nesmith starting putting together what would become **The First National Band** , his backing group once he went solo. From these sessions there were several songs that ended up being rerecorded during his solo career, but I don’t think these songs should really count since he was, essentially, working as a solo artist already even though the Monkees name was still on the release and his songs appeared alongside the songs recorded by the other three. Also, many of these songs were not released as Monkees songs until the _Missing Links_ rarities compilations came out in the late eighties, years after the Michael Nesmith solo releases. Interestingly we can also apply the reverse to Michael Nesmith, as he recorded and released the song _Mary, Mary_ prior to the Monkees then again on the first or second Monkees album (with Mickey on vocals)- although I only know this from liner notes from a Monkees boxed set, I never actually heard the original _Mary, Mary_. **Nick Lowe** originally recorded _(What’s So Funny About) Peace Love and Understanding_ while he was in the band **Brinsley Schwartz**. He then rerecorded it (in the role of **producer** ) with Elvis Costello and the Attractions. He recorded it again (skipping over live recordings) in the studio as a solo artist for a B-side in the early nineties. (I would _love_ to know if any Dopers knew this already!) ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solo-artists-who-re-recorded-a-song-from-the-group-they-were-in/302142/33 "2005-05-03T09:43:28Z")
Well, most of you won’t know her, but **Jenny Morris** re-recorded her biggest hit from when she was in _The Crocodiles_: “Tears”. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solo-artists-who-re-recorded-a-song-from-the-group-they-were-in/302142/34 "2005-05-03T09:57:56Z")
And ditto for **James Reyne** and **Australian Crawl** , the relevant track being _Reckless_. His version was an out-and-out massacre. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solo-artists-who-re-recorded-a-song-from-the-group-they-were-in/302142/35 "2005-05-03T12:30:56Z")
Backwards and in Swedish: The solo album by Friday, the red head from ABBA, _Frida Ensam_ had a Swedish version of “Fernando.” It was such a hit in Sweden that Benny & Bjorn wrote English lyrics for ABBA to record, making a worldwide hit. More Phil Collins: Frida recorded a duet with him “Here We’ll Stay” on her _Something’s Going On_ album. She wanted to release the song as a 45 single, he refused, so she redid the song as a solo released it. ---
**Author:** ![Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bites_when_provoked/32/18073_2.png) [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solo-artists-who-re-recorded-a-song-from-the-group-they-were-in/302142/36 "2005-05-03T12:48:24Z")
Peter Cetera did a really good update on _(You’re the) Inspiration_, which was a Chicago song during his stint as lead singer with them. ---
**Author:** ![Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bites_when_provoked/32/18073_2.png) [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solo-artists-who-re-recorded-a-song-from-the-group-they-were-in/302142/37 "2005-05-03T12:49:57Z")
> [@Bites When Provoked](#): > > Peter Cetera did a really good update on _(You’re the) Inspiration_, which was a Chicago song during his stint as lead singer with them. Oh, and I’m not talking about the Az Yet remix, which I personally thought was a crime. He did a solo version. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solo-artists-who-re-recorded-a-song-from-the-group-they-were-in/302142/38 "2005-05-03T12:59:02Z")
I hesitated about this one, but Dave Mason recorded **Only You Know and I Know** with Delaney and Bonnie and Friends before it was on his solo album. The D&B album was live, but it was recorded first and I believe it was released earlier. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solo-artists-who-re-recorded-a-song-from-the-group-they-were-in/302142/39 "2005-05-03T13:05:59Z")
> [@I Love Me](#): > > Sorry, I was basing that on Fred LaBour’s article in \*The Michigan Daily \* on October 14, 1969. In it he claimed that: This article was the same one that some say launched the whole “Paul is dead” rumor. In that article LaBour admits that the “Paul is dead” thing was a hoax, and I thought with that honestly, he may have been accurate in reporting the _Smile_ angle too. Well, he didn’t die, did he… that about sums up the level of factual accuracy going on in that story. _Smile_ was what Brian had been working on for months when he heard a pre-release acetate of “A Day In The Life.” At this point, he panicked and figured there was no way to top _this_. Combined with the massive intake of drugs at the time, his precarious mental and emotional state and other problems within The Beach Boys, namely Mike Love, Brian abandoned his album project. I hypothesize that The Beatles came no closer to the awareness of _Smile_ than being fans of The Beach Boys like the rest of us, and hearing it reported that it was coming out. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solo-artists-who-re-recorded-a-song-from-the-group-they-were-in/302142/40 "2005-05-03T13:25:11Z")
**Shapes of Things** was originally recorded by **The Yardbirds** as a mid-60’s psychedelic pop song. **Jeff Beck** left the Yardbirds and formed the Jeff Beck Group, with **Rod Stewart** on vocals, and re-recorded the song (Track #1 on JBG’s first album, _Truth_ - one of the best albums ever, easily ranking with Led Zep #1 as a great late-60’s blues-rock transition to the classic rock sound). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solo-artists-who-re-recorded-a-song-from-the-group-they-were-in/302142.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solo-artists-who-re-recorded-a-song-from-the-group-they-were-in/302142.md?page=3)