# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/121 "2014-09-26T11:48:50Z")
> [@MissSwitac](#): > > During the Napster days, I was pulling an all nighter stealing music and ran across an mp3 labeled David Bowie/ Don’t You Forget About Me. > Hmm, must be some rare track I’ve never heard of. > Excitedly downloaded it only to hear Simple Minds while I envisioned Judd Nelson walking away with fist thrust into the air. It never happened to me because I knew from the beginning that it was Simple Minds, but if I hadn’t, I think I would have assumed it was a U2 song. “Don’t You Forget About Me” really sounds like a pastiche of everything U2 did up until about 1985. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2014, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/122 "2014-09-27T02:03:58Z")
So, I don’t ever really get any of these songs wrong, but does this guy, Keith Hampshire, sound just like Neil Diamond to anyone else? I didn’t realize he was a British artist, very popular in Canada in the day, but never really cracked the international market. [Big Time Operator.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQCVTJTPTHE) It’s a corny song and so therefore fits in perfectly with Neil Diamond of the day. Am I the only one? ETA: I actually heard this on the radio today! ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2014, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/123 "2014-09-27T06:08:28Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > So, I don’t ever really get any of these songs wrong, but does this guy, Keith Hampshire, sound just like Neil Diamond to anyone else? > > I didn’t realize he was a British artist, very popular in Canada in the day, but never really cracked the international market. > > [Big Time Operator.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQCVTJTPTHE) > > It’s a corny song and so therefore fits in perfectly with Neil Diamond of the day. Am I the only one? > > ETA: I actually heard this on the radio today! Not the music, but as for his voice, he really sounds like Neil Diamond when singing in the lower register. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2014, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/124 "2014-09-27T13:48:46Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > For the longest time, I thought Nick Gilder (“Hot Child in the City”) was a soulful black woman instead of a skinnny white guy. Even after [seeing the video,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=El6iQ2_dvlc) I still thought he was a chick. I also thought “Hot Child in the City” and “Roxy Roller” were sung by a woman until just a few weeks ago! ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2014, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/125 "2014-09-27T20:39:20Z")
For a while I thought [Break my Stride](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy46iOwWQiE) was sung by a woman. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2014, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/126 "2014-09-27T21:59:41Z")
I keep reading the title as **Songs you’ve masturbated to**. Can’t think of any, but… Ew! ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2014, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/127 "2014-09-27T22:38:32Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I keep reading the title as **Songs you’ve masturbated to**. > > Can’t think of any, but… Ew! Relax. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2014, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/128 "2014-09-27T22:45:40Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > Relax. When you want to suck to it. When you want to come. Nothing sexual there! ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2014, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/129 "2014-09-27T23:19:59Z")
I was making a joke. Not a great one, but still. ---
**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 28, 2014, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/130 "2014-09-28T00:28:48Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I keep reading the title as **Songs you’ve masturbated to**. > > Can’t think of any, but… Ew! “Stairway” has a good buildup and climax, if you can hold back for 7:55. 🙂 ---
**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:** [September 28, 2014, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/131 "2014-09-28T01:30:48Z")
As soon as I saw the thread title, I thought of _Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress_. Then I clicked, and there it was in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2014, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/132 "2014-09-28T02:04:52Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > Remember “A Girl Like You” from the _Empire Records_ soundtrack? I swore up and down that was David Bowie. Nope. > [@OneCentStamp](#): > > I thought it was Iggy Pop until I saw the video. Ha, this was going to be mine. I thought it was by David Bowie until I saw it attributed to Iggy Pop online years ago. The singer did sound kind of like Iggy Pop on his [mellower songs](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLhN__oEHaw), but the lyrics seemed a little too clean for Iggy. This was pre-Wikipedia and pre-YouTube, so it took quite a bit of searching to find the actual artist. I felt kind of bad for Edwyn Collins, because I’d heard the song plenty of times without ever hearing (or at least remembering) his name. > [@BlankSlate](#): > > Until just a few years ago, I thought that _Baby Come Back_ was a **Hall and Oates** song. Never even heard of **Player.** Same here, until about a minute ago! ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/133 "2014-10-01T14:42:45Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > That reminds me, I thought Dire Strait’s “Walk of Life” was Bruce Springsteen. Really? I can’t say that I see (err “hear”) that. FWIW if you create a Pandora station off the song On the Dark Side, besides Bruce it’ll play a lot of same-era Bob Seger. Which I can totally understand. Not that you’d necessarily misattribute the song to the OP’s point, but they’re stylistically quite similar. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/134 "2014-10-01T14:56:41Z")
> [@johnspartan](#): > > Really? I can’t say that I see (err “hear”) that. I didn’t really know Bruce’s or Mark’s voice that well when I was a teenager and first heard Walk of Life, but the music itself seemed Springsteen-ish. Plus Born in the USA had been really big and I’m not sure I had ever heard of Dire Straits. Oh, I thought of another song I thought was Fleetwood Mac, [Red Rider - Lunatic Fringe.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqUa_G1h3pw) The music more than the vocals reminds me of Fleetwood Mac. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2014, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/135 "2014-10-02T18:53:26Z")
Not a song, but sometimes when I turn the radio to NPR I’ll think I’m listening to Terry Gross, only to find out that it’s Robin Young. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2014, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/136 "2014-10-02T22:33:07Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > Oh, I thought of another song I thought was Fleetwood Mac, [Red Rider - Lunatic Fringe.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqUa_G1h3pw) The music more than the vocals reminds me of Fleetwood Mac. I thought that was Bryan Adams for quite some time. Later, I found out that I was blaming the man unfairly. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2014, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/137 "2014-10-02T23:21:41Z")
I thought _Lunatic Fringe_ was Golden Earring. \*She Drives Me Crazy \*was surely by the Bee Gees. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2014, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/138 "2014-10-02T23:48:11Z")
> [@Sahirrnee](#): > > \*She Drives Me Crazy \*was surely by the Bee Gees. The [Fine Young Cannibals song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_wzi-kTVOI)? Really? Their singer sounded like nobody else and sang in a much deeper register than the typical falsetto Bee Gees. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2014, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/139 "2014-10-03T01:13:48Z")
> [@DChord568](#): > > Out of all the examples posted here, I would say that this one and mistaking Andy Kim for Neil Diamond on “Rock Me Gently” make the most sense. > > What was particularly weird about the latter example is that Andy Kim had had a couple of previous hits singing in a completely different style that bore no resemblance to Neil Diamond at all. > > If you played them back to back with RMG, there is no way you would guess they were the same vocalist. Andy Kim claimed in Billboard that on his early hits, the tapes were sped up to make his voice sound higher. (Source: The Billboard Book of Number One Hits) Anyway, my contribution to the thread: When I first heard it, I thought Eric Hutchinson’s “Rock and Roll” was a Jason Mraz song. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2014, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381/140 "2014-10-03T02:38:47Z")
I thought “Hold Me” by Fleetwood Mac was an ABBA song. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-youve-misattributed/699381.md?page=8)