# Songs...Wrong Artist...Oops! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 1, 2003, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-wrong-artist-oops/165695 "2003-04-01T13:39:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [April 1, 2003, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-wrong-artist-oops/165695/21 "2003-04-01T21:48:44Z")
“Horse with No Name” by Neil Young. And “Goodness Gracious, Great Balls of…HEY LADY” by Jerry Lewis was my first thought when I saw this thread’s title. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-wrong-artist-oops/165695/22 "2003-04-02T00:53:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bordelond \* > \*\*One of my long-standing cases of mistaken identity was Jimmy Buffet’s “Come Monday”. For the longest time, I thought it was James Taylor. \*\* Hmm, I thought that was by James Taylor until just now. > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Annie-Xmas_ > **And “Goodness Gracious, Great Balls of…HEY LADY” by Jerry Lewis was my first thought when I saw this thread’s title.** That’s awesome. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![fizgig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f04885/32.png) [@fizgig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fizgig)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-wrong-artist-oops/165695/23 "2003-04-02T02:03:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Annie-Xmas \* > \*\*“Horse with No Name” by Neil Young. > > \*\* Damn’ right it is! ---
**Author:** ![Lyllyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@Lyllyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lyllyan)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-wrong-artist-oops/165695/24 "2003-04-02T02:38:16Z")
I had a long conversation with my 16 year old daughter the other day that “Kalifornication\*” was not done by Nirvana, as she previously believed. And yes, I blame the P2P folks. \*Red Hot Chili Peppers ---
**Author:** ![Dragonblink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Dragonblink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragonblink)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-wrong-artist-oops/165695/25 "2003-04-02T03:26:39Z")
Due to a mislabelled file, I _still_ have trouble remembering that “Detachable Penis” is _not_ by Primus. ---
**Author:** ![magog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/fbc32d/32.png) [@magog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magog)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-wrong-artist-oops/165695/26 "2003-04-02T03:46:47Z")
My wife and I were in the car listening to I’m A Believer (the original, not the new one by Smashmouth). She thought it was the Beatles, and I thought Monkeys. Well, I knew it was The Monkeys, and said so. The song ended, and the announcer was like, “Ah, you got to love the Beatles.” Great… ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-wrong-artist-oops/165695/27 "2003-04-02T04:00:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dwc1970 \* > \*\* > When I heard a song by Buck Cherry I thought it was AC/DC (both of whom I hate anyway). > \*\* so did I , but I wasnt sure, since at the time the station i heard it on wasnt an AC/DC format. I have, however mistaken Aerosmiths version of “Back in the Saddle Again” for AC/DC. ---
**Author:** ![widdershins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@widdershins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdershins)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-wrong-artist-oops/165695/28 "2003-04-02T04:05:04Z")
The Buck Cherry & AC/DC confusion is understandable. Buck Cherry has said that AC/DC is their greatest influence, and they listen to the entire _Back In Black_ album before every show. Buck Cherry, noisy and dumb, but I still like the song “Lit Up”. There was a thread about wrong artist mix-ups a few months ago where I named several I had wrong. And even found out I had some of my corrections wrong. ---
**Author:** ![FallenAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@FallenAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallenAngel)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-wrong-artist-oops/165695/29 "2003-04-02T12:38:42Z")
For years I thought Sister Golden Hair Surprise was by Steely Dan. I was so relieved when I found out it was by America, because I had real trouble acknowledging to myself that there could ever possibly be a Steely Dan song I like. Not that I’m a big America fan, but at least they’re not Steely Dan. Cripes. ---
**Author:** ![TelcontarStorm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ab097/32.png) [@TelcontarStorm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TelcontarStorm)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-wrong-artist-oops/165695/30 "2003-04-02T15:07:01Z")
For years I walked around in ignorance thinking **Young Girl** (as in… Get out of my mind) was done by Jonny Mathis. ---
**Author:** ![mkl12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@mkl12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mkl12)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-wrong-artist-oops/165695/31 "2003-04-02T16:43:24Z")
I thought Chicago’s “Hard to say I’m sorry” was by the Bee Gees. ---
**Author:** ![scott\_evil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@scott\_evil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scott_evil)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-wrong-artist-oops/165695/32 "2003-04-02T21:43:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fingolfin \* > \*\* > And one of my friends thought that disco song **I Believe In Miracles** by Hot Chocolate was David Bowie!! \*\* The strange irony here, is that the song is indeed by Hot Chocolate, but it’s called **You Sexy Thing**. (And ever since _The Full Monty_, I can’t stand the song, because it makes me think of unattractive men stripping.) While we’re on David Bowie, when the single **A Girl Like You** (Edwin Collins) came out, many, many people thought it was by Bowie. I remember hearing this discussed on the radio several times. ---
**Author:** ![Flamsterette\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@Flamsterette\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flamsterette_X)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-wrong-artist-oops/165695/33 "2003-04-02T22:12:21Z")
Speaking of mislabelled files on file-sharing networks… **Spoz** once [blogged](http://spoz.blogspot.com) that he’d forgotten to check just once that an Eminem WinMX video was indeed what he wanted. It wasn’t… it was a Christina Aguilera video listed as Eminem. (and apparently at least 12 users had it listed as that) 😕 :eek: Later, he told me it spent a grand total of 5 seconds on his system before he deleted it. Then again, he’d taught his father to download stuff off of WinMX… and his father got fooled by the same trick. As he described it to me in an email on Nov. 25 (date easy to remember since it’s my beloved brother’s birthday :D): > [@](#): > > "… and no… I wuzn’t kidding about the fake Eminem thing… (damn annoying, too…) > > I discovered my father got fooled by the same trick, too… he wuz trying to download **[Jean-Michel]** Jarre remixed by Kraftwerk… but, instead… somehow got Lenny Kravitz… (and this wuz from a multi-point download… all users claiming it wuz wot he thought it wuz…) > > weird stuff…" (bolded bit in square brackets mine) Definitely some very bizarre stuff happening there! F\_X ---
**Author:** ![ptr2void](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ptr2void/32/3406_2.png) [@ptr2void](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ptr2void)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-wrong-artist-oops/165695/34 "2003-04-02T23:17:11Z")
My wife thought “Wheel in the Sky” by **Journey** was **Roberta Flack** … ---
**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:** [April 3, 2003, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-wrong-artist-oops/165695/35 "2003-04-03T14:13:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by fizgig \* > \*\*Damn’ right it is! \*\* Nope. That was America’s first hit. To give credit where it’s due, the “Goodness Gracious Great Balls of…HEY LADY!” line is from a Pit thread that made Threadspotting. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=62082&highlight=Jerry+Lewis](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=62082&highlight=Jerry+Lewis) ---
**Author:** ![Fingolfin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eada6e/32.png) [@Fingolfin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fingolfin)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-wrong-artist-oops/165695/36 "2003-04-03T14:17:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ptr2void \* > \*\*My wife thought “Wheel in the Sky” by **Journey** was **Roberta Flack** … \*\* :eek: LOL! ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-wrong-artist-oops/165695/37 "2003-04-03T14:34:28Z")
Erm … well, I thought \Dancin’ in the Moonlight\ was a Van Morrison song, too. I’m sure I have a lot of other misperceptions about who sings what song but I can’t think of any others right now. Anyway, yeah the file-sharing mislabels are annoying. But it’s also hard to find the correct info online. For example, I was trying to find the original performer of Everlasting Love, so I did a lyrics search and it was credited to both U2 and Gloria Estefan, who both covered the song but neither were the original performers and neither wrote the song. I found it interesting that all these lyric sites have a disclaimer about the songs being the property of the songwriter yada, yada, yada but none actually credit the writer. They usually list it as if the performer wrote it, which I am sure then leads to more people being confused. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-wrong-artist-oops/165695/38 "2003-04-03T15:34:03Z")
I know a number of people who think that “Sister Golden Hair” is performed by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. (It’s not - it’s America.) Despite being a huge fan of Queen, the first time I heard Another One Bites the Dust I thought it was Aerosmith. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-wrong-artist-oops/165695/39 "2003-04-03T20:45:25Z")
“Crumblin’ Down” sure sounded like the Stones to me. Anything by Eddie and the Cruisers sounds like Bruce to me. ---
**Author:** ![bjohn13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@bjohn13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bjohn13)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-wrong-artist-oops/165695/40 "2003-04-04T05:07:46Z")
I used to confuse two songs thinking Pink Floyd was the artist: “Lunatic Fringe” by Red Rider and that Also Nova tune that starts with a helicopter at the beginning. I always used to think the ELO tune “Don’t Bring Me Down” was by the Beegees. “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress” by the Hollies has been thought to be CCR by many, including me. I used to confuse two songs with Pearl Jam…both one hit wonders. “Just Let Me Be” by the Arch Angels and “The Church of Logic, Sin, and Love” by The Men. And, my all time biggest gaff…I always thought “The Way That You Use It”, the them from _The Color of Money_ was by Joe Cocker. After all, I had everything in the Clapton library…and that song wasn’t in it. For years, I thought Rick Springfield’s “Don’t Talk to Stranger” was by the Doobie Brothers. And, finally…I always used to think that anything by Thin Lizzy (“The Boys Are Back”, “Jailbreak”) was by the Bachman-Turner Overdrive. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-wrong-artist-oops/165695.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-wrong-artist-oops/165695.md?page=3)