# Songs you would have sworn were sung by somebody else. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 1, 2009, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239 "2009-10-01T15:36:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/21 "2009-10-01T19:27:59Z")
Thought Aerosmith’s “Dream On” was by Led Zeppelin or Robert Plant or something. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/22 "2009-10-01T19:31:42Z")
> [@randwill](#): > > “Suspicion” is sung by Terry Stafford, not Elvis Presley. > [@jayjay](#): > > This confusion is not helped by the existence of “Suspicious Minds”, which was actually sung by Elvis. Actually Elvis recorded “Suspicion” first, on his 1962 album _Pot Luck_. When Terry Stafford’s cover was a hit two years later, Elvis’s own recording was released as a single, but it flopped. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/23 "2009-10-01T19:34:03Z")
> [@42fish](#): > > Somehow, I initially read this as “Living La Vida Loca” and wondered how anyone could think that sounded like U2. I meant the song by Coldplay (?), is that their name? I just think of them as those “watered-down U2 clones.” ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/24 "2009-10-01T19:45:15Z")
When I saw _Donnie Darko_ I was sure the Gary Jules version of _Mad World_ was actually Michael Stipe of R.E.M… And count me as another who thought _Rescue Me_ was sung by Aretha Franklin. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/25 "2009-10-01T19:47:05Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Due to the Muppet Show, I spent most of my childhood and adulthood believing that Paul Williams had sung “Just An Old-Fashioned Love Song”. A DJ attributed it to Three Dog Night only a year or two ago and it shocked the hell out of me (I actually had to look it up before I’d believe the DJ hadn’t made a mistake). Just to make you feel better, the song was written by Paul Williams and he recorded his own version of it the same year that TDN’s version was released. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/26 "2009-10-01T19:50:59Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Yes! It’s not just me. I was actually kind of embarrassed when I first posted it because usually I’d never mistake the Stones for Springsteen, or vice versa. But didn’t it sound so Springsteen esque? It took me so long to find that song’s name because I kept googling snippets of the lyrics plus “Bruce Springsteen” because I was just so sure it was him singing. Yeah, it was a friend of mine who gave me a burnt copy of the Sopranos soundtrack. When I saw the Rolling Stones next to the song’s title, I figured she probably just got it mixed up. But then, like you, I Googled the lyrics, and sure enough, I realized it was indeed the Rolling Stones. I was flabbergasted, because it’s nothing like what you would think a Rolling Stone tune would sound like. I was almost certain that they had to have had Springsteen guesting on that. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2009, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/27 "2009-10-01T20:03:29Z")
I always thought “Lightning Strikes” was by the Four Seasons. It’s actually by Lou Christie. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/28 "2009-10-01T20:07:34Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I always thought “Lightning Strikes” was by the Four Seasons. It’s actually by Lou Christie. Oh yeah, Lou Christie is a good one. He wasn’t called the poor man’s Frankie Valli for nothing! 😃 A long time ago, I thought “If I can’t have you” was by Diana Ross, not Yvonne Elliman. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/29 "2009-10-01T20:10:36Z")
_Surf City_ sounds like the Beach Boys except it’s Jan and Dean. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/30 "2009-10-01T20:26:36Z")
What do you mean, “Rescue Me” isn’t by Aretha Franklin? 😉 **cochrane** said: > [@](#): > > I had never thought this myself, but America’s "A Horse With No Name’ has often been misattributed to Neil Young. Wow, and here I was thinking Neil Young was a member of _America_. :smack: “Horse With No Name” is a big part of that, but also “Ventura Highway”, and “Sandman”. Apparently Dewey Bunnell sounds a lot like Neil Young. **thelurkinghorror** said: > [@](#): > > Thought Aerosmith’s “Dream On” was by Led Zeppelin or Robert Plant or something. Count me in on that one. **The New and Improved Superman** said: > [@](#): > > I meant the song by Coldplay (?), is that their name? I just think of them as those “watered-down U2 clones.” The _Coldplay_ vocalist, Chris Martin, sounds a lot like Bono. Found this: > [@](#): > > U2 has been an important influence on Martin both musically and politically,[12] in which he wrote for Rolling Stone magazine’s “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”,[13] in the section on U2, saying: “I don’t buy weekend tickets to Ireland and hang out in front of their gates, but U2 are the only band whose entire catalog I know by heart. The first song on The Unforgettable Fire, “A Sort of Homecoming”, I know backward and forward – it’s so rousing, brilliant, and beautiful. It’s one of the first songs I played to my unborn baby.” Martin also comments on Bono’s effect on his own charity and political involvement he is even known to joke with friends referring to himself as “Crono”.[12] > **[Chris Martin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Martin)** > > Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and producer. He is best known as the vocalist, pianist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. > Born in Exeter, Martin went to University College London, where he formed Coldplay with Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman and Will Champion. The band signed with Parlophone in 1999, finding global fame with Parachutes (2000) and subsequent albums. He has won seven Grammy Awards and nine Brit Awards as part o... I was sure that “Poker Face” was “that new Madonna song”. Probably because of the Autotuner. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/31 "2009-10-01T20:27:58Z")
“Cat’s in the Cradle” is by Harry Chapin and not Cat Stevens (or Yusuf Islam). ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/32 "2009-10-01T20:35:35Z")
> [@Meltdown](#): > > For a long time I thought “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress” was by Credence Clearwater Revival, until someone pointed out to me that it was by the Hollies. Me too. I was familiar with The Hollies’ [Bus Stop](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=It75wQ0JypA), and I still find it hard to believe these two songs are by the same band. > [@Flip\_Pancake](#): > > I thought ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ was by the Rolling Stones. This was the one I came in to post. The fact I never even heard the name “Van Morrison” until I was well into my 20s didn’t help. > [@BlankSlate](#): > > And count me as another who thought _Rescue Me_ was sung by Aretha Franklin. Not helping matters is the fact that Pizza Hut [featured Aretha singing a variation of that song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNq4McvXALk) in commercials advertising their then-new delivery service (“Come on Pizza Hut, deliver me!”) ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/33 "2009-10-01T21:08:21Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > I was sure that “Poker Face” was “that new Madonna song”. Probably because of the Autotuner. That and putting both artists in your CD rack can give the rest of your music syphilis. ---
**Author:** ![Jettboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@Jettboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jettboy)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/34 "2009-10-01T21:15:32Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > “Cat’s in the Cradle” is by Harry Chapin and not Cat Stevens (or Yusuf Islam). Why on earth would anybody have thought that? Harry Chapin, known for _“Cat’s in the Cradle”_ as well as _“Taxi”_, sounds absolutely _nothing_ like Cat Stevens. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/35 "2009-10-01T21:19:44Z")
I’m not even saying how many of these I have been wrong about! ---
**Author:** ![whole\_bean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@whole\_bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whole_bean)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/36 "2009-10-01T21:23:25Z")
> [@Jettboy](#): > > Why on earth would anybody have thought that? Harry Chapin, known for _“Cat’s in the Cradle”_ as well as _“Taxi”_, sounds absolutely _nothing_ like Cat Stevens. Sure he does, at least as much as many of these other examples. It’s not like Chapin has a Barry White bass and Stevens/Islam sings in a falsetto. They have similar enough voices to make the mistake. Throw in the ‘Cat’ business and Steven’s larger presence and the mistake was almost inevitable. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/37 "2009-10-01T21:38:08Z")
I’ve told this story before, but… back in 1978 or 1979, when Bonnie Tyler came out with her first hit single, “It’s A Heartache,” I probably heard it dozens of times before I realized it wasn’t Rod Stewart. And the Commodores’ first big hit, “Machine Gun,” sounded exactly like the kind of synthesizer instrumental Billy Preston was famous for (“Outa Space,” “Space Race,” etc.). It took me a while to catch on that wasn’t Billy Preston. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/38 "2009-10-01T21:42:50Z")
> [@whole\_bean](#): > > Sure he does, at least as much as many of these other examples. It’s not like Chapin has a Barry White bass and Stevens/Islam sings in a falsetto. They have similar enough voices to make the mistake. Throw in the ‘Cat’ business and Steven’s larger presence and the mistake was almost inevitable. Yeah, I think at some point I confused the two. Plus on top of that I think Cat Stevens has done a version of “Cat’s in the Cradle,” but not _the_ version. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/39 "2009-10-01T21:45:58Z")
When I first heard “Gemini Dream”, by the Moody Blues, I was convinced that it was the Electric Light Orchestra. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/40 "2009-10-01T22:04:50Z")
> [@Meltdown](#): > > For a long time I thought “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress” was by Credence Clearwater Revival, until someone pointed out to me that it was by the Hollies. I was under that impression for some time as well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239.md?page=3)