# Songs you've misattributed. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 23, 2014, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381 "2014-09-23T22:42:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2014, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/1 "2014-09-23T22:42:49Z")
a.k.a. “For many years I thought the song \_\_\_\_ was performed by \_\_\_!” I’ve heard _ **Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress** _ many times on the radio. Always assumed it was performed by CCR. It was even in the film _The Big Lebowski_, along with many other CCR songs, dammit! Today I ran across it on youtube, and to my surprise it’s a song by a band called The Hollies. :smack: A couple years ago the song _ **A Horse with No Name** _ was on the radio as we drove to a restaurant. I told my daughter, “I’ve always like this song. It’s by Neil Young.” :smack: ---
**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 23, 2014, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/2 "2014-09-23T23:03:51Z")
Sorry to put the winner so soon in the thread, but I thought “Rikki, Don’t Lose That Number” was by Paper (“The Night Chicago Died”) Lace, instead of Steely Dan. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2014, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/3 "2014-09-23T23:07:23Z")
Interesting thread! I thought that “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress” was performed by Johnny Rivers, not the Hollies. My ignorance has been fought! ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2014, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/4 "2014-09-23T23:11:46Z")
Pop song from the eighties that stood out for me because of my Dad. He’d very indulgently let me listen to my radio station when we’d drive anywhere together. When he died, a song called “My Perogative” was popular. Since 1989 I’d thought this song was by Terence Trent D’Arby. It was only a few months ago while I decided to youtube songs reminding me of that time did I learn it’s by Bobby Brown (ugh). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2014, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/5 "2014-09-23T23:19:14Z")
For ages, I thought that “Twist in My Sobriety” was performed by Annie Lennox. It was pointed out to me on another forum that it was another artist I had never heard of (Tanita Tikaram). ---
**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 23, 2014, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/6 "2014-09-23T23:29:34Z")
For years, I thought that “Stuck In the Middle with You” was Nick Lowe. Turns out it was Stealer’s Wheel, Gerry Rafferty’s band pre-“Baker Street.” ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2014, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/7 "2014-09-23T23:46:24Z")
I spent many years believing that [_Come and Get It_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWbTZuEWjnc) was recorded by the Beatles (turns out it was only _written_ by McCartney). Also many years believing that [_Little Red Riding Hood_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdVVLbe1rfY), with its lead vocalist sounding so much like Mick, was a Rolling Stones record. ---
**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 23, 2014, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/8 "2014-09-23T23:50:40Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I spent many years believing that [_Come and Get It_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWbTZuEWjnc) was recorded by the Beatles (turns out it was only _written_ by McCartney). > > Also many years believing that [_Little Red Riding Hood_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdVVLbe1rfY), with its lead vocalist sounding so much like Mick, was a Rolling Stones record. I thought anything by Van Morrison was Mick Jagger. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2014, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/9 "2014-09-23T23:58:09Z")
I swore up and down that “I’m Not In Love” was by **Paul McCartney** till my sister put me straight. It’s actually from a group called **10cc**. Either way, I still dislike it. ---
**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 24, 2014, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/10 "2014-09-24T00:01:18Z")
Gender misattributions: As a child in the 70s, I thought Johnny Nash’s “I Can See Clearly Now” was sung by a woman. Conversely, I thought the Fleetwood Mac songs sung by Christine McVie (“You Make Loving Fun,” etc.) were sung by a man. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/11 "2014-09-24T00:06:12Z")
1964, 8th grade. My friends and I thought **Lies** (The Knickerbockers) and **World Without Love** (Peter and Gordon) might have been The Beatles. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/12 "2014-09-24T00:06:42Z")
“Waterloo Sunset” was my favourite Beatles song for years… ---
**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 24, 2014, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/13 "2014-09-24T00:11:29Z")
I knew the New Riders of the Purple Sage were kinda sorta a Jerry Garcia side project, and their main singer sounds to me like Jerry, so I always thought it _was_ Jerry. (I might partly have been conflating them with Old and In The Way, which really was a Garcia side-project, though shorter-lived). ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/14 "2014-09-24T00:25:15Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Gender misattributions: > . . . . I thought Terri Gibbs (“Somebody’s Knockin’”) was a guy. Race and country misattribution: I thought Leo Sayer was a tall, skinny, American Black guy. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/15 "2014-09-24T00:31:04Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > “Waterloo Sunset” was my favourite Beatles song for years… And “Destroyer” was the best Rolling Stones song ever when I was 15. ---
**Author:** ![Kimble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimble/32/19185_2.png) [@Kimble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimble)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/16 "2014-09-24T00:45:20Z")
Way back when, my dormmate saw a Budweiser commercial featuring The Sundays’ cover of “Wild Horses.” He asked me who it was by; I told him Edie Brickell and New Bohemians. He liked the song enough to buy their album. :smack: Gender misattributions: Alabama Shakes, Beach House, Silversun Pickups (and probably lots more from my youth that I’ve forgotten) ---
**Author:** ![breezman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@breezman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/breezman)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/17 "2014-09-24T01:04:07Z")
I had to look this song up by the lyrics, but I always thought that [Flagpole Sitta](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBgmC_USeoM) was by Green Day, and not by Harvey Danger (who I’ve never heard of). ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/18 "2014-09-24T01:08:40Z")
Until the Big Bang Theory entered syndication and they started running commercials showing the Barenaked Ladies goofing around with the theme song, I thought it had been performed by They Might Be Giants. ---
**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:** [September 24, 2014, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/19 "2014-09-24T01:11:38Z")
I used to think [Lightning Strikes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyRqdzF8swY)was by the Four Seasons. It’s by Lou Christie. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/20 "2014-09-24T01:12:01Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > a.k.a. “For many years I thought the song \_\_\_\_ was performed by \_\_\_!” > > I’ve heard _ **Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress** _ many times on the radio. Always assumed it was performed by CCR. It was even in the film _The Big Lebowski_, along with many other CCR songs, dammit! Today I ran across it on youtube, and to my surprise it’s a song by a band called The Hollies. :smack: > > A couple years ago the song _ **A Horse with No Name** _ was on the radio as we drove to a restaurant. I told my daughter, “I’ve always like this song. It’s by Neil Young.” :smack: I figured out that “Horse” was America and not Neil Young while the 1970s were still underway, but I did have a few years there where I thought it was a Neil Young song. “Long Cool Woman” is so atypical of the Hollies that one would almost have to figure _someone_ else recorded the song. If one remembers the Hollies, most of what one remembers is from when Graham Nash was the guiding spirit of the group, before he left for CS&N. “Long Cool Woman” came a few years later, when the Hollies were only kinda sorta the same group anymore. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381.md?page=2)