# Songs you totally thought were by somebody else **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [July 22, 2024, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-totally-thought-were-by-somebody-else/1004612 "2024-07-22T15:19:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-totally-thought-were-by-somebody-else/1004612/61 "2024-07-25T17:28:18Z")
It been a couple years since I tuned in. As I recall he (or whomever was hosting in his place) had guests that someone with only a casual interest in 60/ 70s rock and roll wouldn’t be familiar. Sorry I can’t recollect more ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-totally-thought-were-by-somebody-else/1004612/62 "2024-07-25T17:31:49Z")
Thanks for that. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-totally-thought-were-by-somebody-else/1004612/63 "2024-07-25T18:54:45Z")
To be fair, most Santana songs sound like they’re done by someone else, until you get to the guitar solo. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-totally-thought-were-by-somebody-else/1004612/64 "2024-07-25T23:13:44Z")
Oops, a typo! I meant that the KISS song was a remake of the original ARGENT version. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-totally-thought-were-by-somebody-else/1004612/65 "2024-07-26T02:01:10Z")
I don’t think I’d heard the NY Groove song until it was used in ( the outstanding) Fall of the House of Usher. I thought it was an old Queen song that I’d somehow missed. Ace doesn’t sound like Freddie Mercury but overall it has a very Queenlike vibe. I agree with most of the entries so far. One that I usually mention is The Ballad of Jenny Ledge, which I was “positive” was Steely Dan ( it’s Toy Matinee) until it became easy to find out online. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-totally-thought-were-by-somebody-else/1004612/66 "2024-07-26T02:50:56Z")
I don’t remember that Kiss song either, and they were big in mine and my sister’s young years and beyond. She had a KISS belt buckle. I think she was in sixth grade. She had The Destroyer album. I think she got the album and belt buckle for her birthday. I think I took a picture of her with both. I saw them a couple of years later in Tucson, floor seats, festival seating, real close…The Love Gun Tour. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-totally-thought-were-by-somebody-else/1004612/67 "2024-07-26T19:51:24Z")
> [@saucywench](#): > > Also, covered by Kiss. Covered by Ace Frehley, not Kiss. They each did their own solo album in 78 and Ace’s was the only decent one. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-totally-thought-were-by-somebody-else/1004612/68 "2024-07-26T19:56:05Z")
I should have noticed Ace’s picture is the only one on the album and his name is in the right top corner. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-totally-thought-were-by-somebody-else/1004612/69 "2024-07-26T23:01:03Z")
“New York Groove” was also the only tune from any of those solo albums that charted. Let’s just say the label shipped more than anyone could possibly have wanted, even if they had been good records. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2024, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-totally-thought-were-by-somebody-else/1004612/70 "2024-07-27T00:21:27Z")
I wouldn’t say it was a great album, but to my younger self, it was solid and I listened to it quite a bit. Would I listen to it today? Well, I just ran through it in Spotify in about 4 minutes and it brought back lots of memories. I’ll do the same in a few years…maybe. Music is my nostalgic vice. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2024, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-totally-thought-were-by-somebody-else/1004612/71 "2024-07-27T01:39:51Z")
I just asked Hubster who did that song above, “Lies.” He, with no hesitation said, “The Knickerbokers.” Damn, you can’t trip him up on 60’s 70’s music. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-totally-thought-were-by-somebody-else/1004612/72 "2024-09-05T15:26:07Z")
As a child in the late '70s, I thought “Sultans of Swing” was an Eric Clapton song (it’s Dire Straits, of course). And…until this moment, I was _sure_ “Winning” was Steve Winwood. It’s _so_ early '80s Winwood! Wow. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-totally-thought-were-by-somebody-else/1004612/73 "2024-09-05T16:27:30Z")
For the longest time I thought “GTO” was a Beach Boys song. Nope, it was recorded by a band called Ronnie and the Daytonas, an apparent one hit wonder. In my defense they were clearly imitating the Beach Boys’ style. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2024, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-totally-thought-were-by-somebody-else/1004612/74 "2024-09-05T16:42:22Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > _Brown Eyed Girl_ was Mick Jagger on loan from the Stones. OTOH, when I first heard “Games People Play” (which was very late, only a few years ago on an oldies station. I knew a later reggae cover by a band whose name escapes me, but not the original version), I thought it was a lost classic by Van Morrison that had escaped my knowledge. No, it was a Joe South song. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/vDeVonv3kY0/maxresdefault.jpg "Games People Play (Remastered 2002)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDeVonv3kY0) ETA: the reggae version was by Inner Circle. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-totally-thought-were-by-somebody-else/1004612/75 "2024-09-05T16:47:36Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > I thought “Sultans of Swing” was an Eric Clapton I thought that back then, too. His voice is very Clapton-like. Up until recently, I thought _It Ain’t Over Til It’s Over_ by Lenny Kravitz was Smokey Robinson or someone like that. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-totally-thought-were-by-somebody-else/1004612/76 "2024-09-05T16:49:00Z")
I thought “Won’t Back Down” was Dylan. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-totally-thought-were-by-somebody-else/1004612/77 "2024-09-05T16:50:17Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Actually, I’m pretty sure it was Miley Cyrus. Not Hannah Montana? Where has she been lately? I’ve won a lot of beers in bars in asking, “Who sings this song?” when _Flagpole Sitta_ comes on. Give ya a hint, it’s not Green Day. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2024, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-totally-thought-were-by-somebody-else/1004612/78 "2024-09-05T16:50:30Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I thought “Won’t Back Down” was Dylan. Tom Petty’s voice was the perfect cross between Dylan’s and Roger McGuinn’s, his idols. Though I read in an essay by Petty the other day that the Heartbreakers were meant to be a cross between the Byrds and the Stones, though he sounded nothing like Jagger. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-totally-thought-were-by-somebody-else/1004612/79 "2024-09-05T17:14:44Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > I’ve won a lot of beers in bars in asking, “Who sings this song?” when _Flagpole Sitta_ comes on. Give ya a hint, it’s not Green Day. I’ve actually got their CD, but I still drew a blank when trying to think of the band’s name, and had to use Google to jog my memory. But I knew it wasn’t Green Day. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-totally-thought-were-by-somebody-else/1004612/80 "2024-09-05T17:16:22Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > the reggae version was by Inner Circle. Bad Hund, what you gonna do when they come for you? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-totally-thought-were-by-somebody-else/1004612.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-totally-thought-were-by-somebody-else/1004612.md?page=5)