I Am Not The One Who Is Confused
I recently heard a modern pop version of the George Jones classic "Tennessee Whiskey." It was good enough, but pales in comparison to the original. That's not really the point. It brings to mind some discussions I had with people back in the day, who had made unwarranted assumptions and thought I was confused. They proceeded from the assumption that country singers always cover songs from pop or rock singers. Not that they don't do original songs, just that it's always that way around.
Dolly Parton not only had a hit with the song "I Will Always Love You" nine years before Whitney Houston, she also wrote the thing. Just like Roger Miller (the "King of the Road" guy) wrote "Me and Bobbie McGee," and he and Charley Pride each had a hit with it before Janis Joplin. Of course, Janis changed "Bobbie" to "Bobby," making the girl into a guy. And Jerry Reed not only played guitar on Elvis' record "Guitar Man," he had written it and had his own hit with it first. Hank Williams, Sr, wrote "move it on Over" and had a country hit with it before George Thorogood was even born.
Sometimes one singer will put a song out first without the second version being an actual cover. A songwriter might be pitching the same song to multiple acts, and one puts it out before another. Country singer John Michael Montgomery beat All-4-One to the punch on the song "I Swear." Stevie Nicks didn't think Fleetwood Mac was going to record "Gold Dust Woman," and pitched it to Waylon Jennings, who recorded it a couple years before they did.
I'm sure there are many other examples. Those are the ones I can think of right now.
Dolly Parton not only had a hit with the song "I Will Always Love You" nine years before Whitney Houston, she also wrote the thing. Just like Roger Miller (the "King of the Road" guy) wrote "Me and Bobbie McGee," and he and Charley Pride each had a hit with it before Janis Joplin. Of course, Janis changed "Bobbie" to "Bobby," making the girl into a guy. And Jerry Reed not only played guitar on Elvis' record "Guitar Man," he had written it and had his own hit with it first. Hank Williams, Sr, wrote "move it on Over" and had a country hit with it before George Thorogood was even born.
Sometimes one singer will put a song out first without the second version being an actual cover. A songwriter might be pitching the same song to multiple acts, and one puts it out before another. Country singer John Michael Montgomery beat All-4-One to the punch on the song "I Swear." Stevie Nicks didn't think Fleetwood Mac was going to record "Gold Dust Woman," and pitched it to Waylon Jennings, who recorded it a couple years before they did.
I'm sure there are many other examples. Those are the ones I can think of right now.
