# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/61 "2009-10-02T22:43:29Z")
Until just a few days ago, I would have sworn that song “[The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Future's_So_Bright,_I_Gotta_Wear_Shades)” was by [Huey Lewis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huey_Lewis). The guy on the radio said it was [Timbuk3](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timbuk3) and I was thinking I better call the radio station and tell them about their mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/62 "2009-10-02T22:51:01Z")
For a long time I thought that “The Break Up Song” was done by Bryan Adams. I had never heard of Greg Kihn until long after his popularity had died. A long time ago I had only heard one, maybe two Cat Stevens songs, so when I heard “Peace Train” I had no clue who did it, and the only person I could think of was actor Burgess Meredith :o. I was not familiar with David Bowie’s work, and thought that “Modern Love” was sung by Billy Joel. And finally, I’m sure I’m not the only person who thought that “I’m No Angel” was Bruce Springsteen and not Gregg Allman. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/63 "2009-10-02T23:34:51Z")
Okay, really stupid mix-ups time. _One Bad Apple_, I thought was **The Jackson 5** and not \*\*The Osmonds. \*_A Little Help From My Friends, I thought was **Ray Charles** and not **Joe Cocker**. Superman, I thought was **Elton John** , not **Five for Fighting**._ ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/64 "2009-10-02T23:42:16Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > For a long time I thought that “The Break Up Song” was done by Bryan Adams. I had never heard of Greg Kihn until long after his popularity had died. _I_ thought it was by John Cougar, up until a couple months ago. ---
**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 3, 2009, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/65 "2009-10-03T02:50:21Z")
How about a “half-mistaken” song? After hearing it on the classic rock station a few times, I was sure that Journey’s “[Feelin’ That Way/Anytime](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jaqvi4tpCNI)” was actually a collaboration between Journey and Chicago. Not being a big Journey fan I was utterly unfamiliar with Gregg Rolie’s voice. I was vaguely aware that he’d been Journey’s lead singer before Steve Perry joined the band, but I’d never heard anything he sang lead on. So hearing the song on the radio, I thought the piano work sounded very Chicagoesque, and the way Rolie enunciates the words on his parts of the song sounds _very_ similar to the way Peter Cetera enunciates. The lack of horns probably should have tipped me off, but I didn’t discover my mistake until I found a video of the song on YouTube. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/66 "2009-10-03T03:27:03Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Always thought that Aimee was by the Eagles instead of Pure Prairie League (Pure Prairie _who_?) Ah, still love that song. Bonnie Tyler’s oft been compared to Rod Stewart, the raspiness, eh? I’ve never been mistaken about the other songs in this thread, but Madelaine Peroux and Billie Holiday can mess me up occasionally. Pearl Jam and Creed? I like what I’ve heard of Pearl Jam, and the Creed dude sure sounds like Eddie Vedder. Right? (I’m not so hip, so be gentle.) ---
**Author:** ![Claude\_Remains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Claude\_Remains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claude_Remains)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/67 "2009-10-03T04:30:33Z")
Nevermind ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/68 "2009-10-03T21:17:22Z")
> [@Claude\_Remains](#): > > Nevermind Wow. Who did you think it was by before you found out it was Nirvana? ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/69 "2009-10-03T21:30:07Z")
> [@Savannah](#): > > Pearl Jam and Creed? I like what I’ve heard of Pearl Jam, and the Creed dude sure sounds like Eddie Vedder. Right? (I’m not so hip, so be gentle.) Back when Creed was popular, their singer was mocked by non-fans for being a sort of poor man’s Eddie Vedder. So it’s not just you. I seem to remember Vedder himself making some wry comment like “Too bad you can’t copyright your voice.” ---
**Author:** ![C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/70 "2009-10-03T21:59:33Z")
“Lies” by a group called The Knickerbockers is a very accurate rip off of the Beatles. The lead singer even sounds like John Lennon. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/71 "2009-10-03T22:05:36Z")
Thinking of Pearl Jam, a few months ago I was called upon as the resident Pearl Jam expert to settle a disagreement between someone who was certain that “Runaway Train” was a Pearl Jam song and someone who was equally certain it wasn’t. The latter was correct, it was by Soul Asylum. IMHO it doesn’t even sound like Pearl Jam, but “Runaway Train” was a hit in 1993 and this person may have just remembered everything from that year as being more or less Pearl Jam. ---
**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:** [October 3, 2009, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/72 "2009-10-03T23:34:11Z")
Foster Sylvers’ [Misdemeanor](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmieLz7VUm4) – I thought it was the Jackson 5. Of course. As a child, I thought Dire Straits’ “Sultans of Swing” was Eric Clapton – but I guess more for the music than for the singing. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/73 "2009-10-04T03:53:22Z")
> [@interface2x](#): > > On first glance, a lot of people have mistaken the song [Fireflies by Owl City](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI4JLa0hbUw) for Ben Gibbard’s side project [The Postal Service](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMOkfI7wCrI). The guy’s vocals are very much like Gibbard’s at times, I must admit. That is pretty freaky. The video even bears a vague resemblance to The Postal Service’s [We Will Become Silhouettes](http://quietube.com/v.php/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEILFf2XSrM). (Not so much as between the Apple commercial and Such Great Heights, though). ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/74 "2009-10-04T05:51:23Z")
Not any specific song, but I can’t tell Mark Knopfler’s and Chris Rea’s voices apart, so any time I hear a song by one or the other that I don’t know I generally assume it’s the other one. For the longest time I thought Rea had been the lead singer of Dire Straits and gone solo or something. > [@](#): > > Pearl Jam and Creed? I like what I’ve heard of Pearl Jam, and the Creed dude sure sounds like Eddie Vedder. Right? (I’m not so hip, so be gentle.) Well, the difference is that one doesn’t suck. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/75 "2009-10-04T06:46:32Z")
> [@Savannah](#): > > I’ve never been mistaken about the other songs in this thread, but Madelaine Peroux and Billie Holiday can mess me up occasionally. That’s understandable. Madeleine Peyroux seems to be channeling Holiday to a frightening degree at times. For those not familiar, I couldn’t find it on YouTube, but here’s a video that [uses the music](http://vimeo.com/6216640) “Getting Some Fun Out Of Life.” It’s not necessary to watch the video, just listen. It’s very Billie Holidayish. Recently my husband and I were watching a movie, I can’t remember what, but a song came on and we both said, oh that’s Madeleine Peyroux! When we watched the credits, it was…uh…Billie Holiday. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/76 "2009-10-04T08:37:49Z")
I’m still not sure if _Ground Control to Major Tongue(Tom)_ is sung by Bowie or some person named Peter Schilling. When I was a kid it sounded like he was saying Major Tongue. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/77 "2009-10-04T08:50:03Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > I thought for a long, long time that Jimmy Buffet’s “Come Monday” was James Taylor. > [@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). WTF? Well, my ignorance has been fought on two counts today! ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/78 "2009-10-04T09:05:51Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > This won’t mean much to most people, but for years [this song was mislabeled](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf_tmRnK4yM) as being a duet between **Annie Lennox** and **Kate Bush**. I went to the link without seeing who posted this. When I saw it was Happy Rhodes, I came back to the thread to verify that it was indeed Equipoise pimping her odd, never-heard-of-her favorite artist again. As I did this, the song continued to play. At some point, I rolled my eyes and sighed, as I realized. . . I liked it. I bookmarked it. Since I was being so judgmental and ornery(even if you didn’t know it), I thought I should 'fess up and tell you about your little victory in the battle to bring awareness of Happy to the masses. Thanks for the link. And yeah, I can see where folks would get Kate Bush and Annie Lennox out of that. For like 20 years, I thought Tina Turner did the female vocals in _Gimme Shelter_, until I read/heard somewhere it was Merry Clayton. So ingrained was my belief that I had to look into it and verify it for myself. I love the internet. If it had been around when I was young, I might never have had that incorrect belief in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/79 "2009-10-04T09:26:43Z")
> [@Lord\_Mondegreen](#): > > WTF? Well, my ignorance has been fought on two counts today! No, wait. On reflection I remember that “Come Monday” was Jimmy Buffet (although a surprise when I learned that), but I really thought that Paul Williams sang the famous version of “Just An Old-Fashioned Love Song.” ---
**Author:** ![Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239/80 "2009-10-04T10:32:31Z")
Oh my God, can you people really not know _Come Monday_ was a Buffett song? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-would-have-sworn-were-sung-by-somebody-else/512239.md?page=5)