Wish someone would give you a little respect? Want to keep the French from colonizing Central America? You know what song and what doctrine to turn to, but do you know who actually wrote them? Here are the surprising, famous names behind 10 creations.
1. “Respect” (Otis Redding)
You have to respect Aretha Franklin’s pipes, but she didn’t pen her signature song. Crooner Otis Redding wrote the tune as a bluesy plea to a woman for his third record, 1965’s soulful Otis Blue. Redding released the song as a single, and it even reached the top five on Billboard’s R&B chart and number 35 on the Pop Singles Chart. While Redding’s version is pretty great, the song didn’t achieve immortality until Franklin recorded her chart-topping 1967 cover. The first time Redding heard Franklin’s cover, he simply said, “She done took my song.”
Have a listen to Redding’s version:
2. “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there!” (Barry Manilow)
Before Barry Manilow became a star, he put his Juilliard education to use by writing advertising jingles. In addition to the enduring State Farm jingle, he also cranked out “I’m stuck on Band-Aid, ‘cuz Band-Aid’s stuck on me!” Here’s Manilow doing a medley of some of his jingles:
3. “A Boy Named Sue” (Shel Silverstein)
Johnny Cash’s beloved tune came from a surprising source: poet Shel Silverstein. Although Silverstein is best remembered for his children’s poetry, he also penned songs for stars like Loretta Lynn, wrote plays, and was a mainstay at the Playboy Mansion. Here’s the poet and the Man in Black horsing around and playing part of the song as a duet on Cash’s show:
4. Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (Peter Sagal)
Did you watch Dirty Dancing’s futile attempts at putting Baby in a corner and think, “This film feels incomplete. What we need is a prequel. Not just any prequel, though. One set in Havana!”? Apparently someone did.
When producers decided to film a sequel for a 2004 release, they didn’t just crank out a fresh story, though. Instead, they reworked a screenplay that NPR’s Peter Sagal, the host of Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me had written in the early 1990s. Sagal’s original screenplay dealt with the true story of a young American girl who witnessed the Cuban revolution, but the version that made it to the screen sucked out all of the politics and replaced them with dancing.
As you might have guessed, the film was a flop, but even though not a single line of Sagal’s dialogue made it to the screen, he got a story credit. Read more about Sagal’s experience in our 2008 interview with him.
5. The Monroe Doctrine (John Quincy Adams)
Think Redding got robbed of his credit? John Quincy Adams got an even worse deal. Adams wrote the Monroe Doctrine while working as Secretary of State under James Monroe in 1823. Adams’ concept that any further acts of colonization or meddling by European powers in the Western Hemisphere would be viewed as acts of aggression against the U.S. helped shape American foreign policy through the Cold War, but few people remember his contribution. Since Monroe introduced the doctrine during one of his State of the Union addresses, it bears his name, not Adams’.
6. “It’s Raining Men” (Paul Shaffer)
Believe it or not, the Weather Girls didn’t write their own material. Stalwart songwriter Paul Jabara and David Letterman’s bandleader, Paul Shaffer, actually co-wrote the number-one dance hit. In a 2009 interview with USA Today, Shaffer quipped, “You’ve got to be a really straight man to write a song like ‘It’s Raining Men.’”
7. “Gettin’ Jiggy wit It” (Nas)
It’s a good thing Nas has hip-hop street cred to burn, because he co-wrote Will Smith’s 1998 dance single “Gettin’ Jiggy wit It.” Smith’s track may not make anyone forget Nas’ Illmatic album, but it did spend two weeks atop the Billboard charts.
8. “Never Learn Not to Love” (Charles Manson)
This Beach Boys track, a cut from their 1969 album 20/20, would probably have been doomed to obscurity if not for its backstory. In 1968 Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson was pals with an eccentric struggling singer-songwriter named Charles Manson. Yep, that Charles Manson. Manson gave Wilson a song called “Cease to Exist,” and Wilson retooled the lyrics and the melody to create “Never Learn Not to Love.”
What does a song by one history’s most infamous lunatics sound like? Surprisingly bland! Have a listen:
9. “Me and Bobby McGee” (Kris Kristofferson)
Janis Joplin’s signature song was actually the result of another great songwriter’s struggles. In the mid-1960s Kris Kristofferson was desperately trying to make it as a songwriter, but he was stuck working as a helicopter pilot for oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. He banged out a tune about how liberating it felt to have nothing left to lose, and his star began to rise.
Country singer Roger Miller and folk rocker Gordon Lightfoot both scored minor hits with the song, but it didn’t become a smash until Joplin recorded her own cover, which was part of her posthumously released Pearl (1971). Here’s the man singing his own country version tune:
10. “Islands in the Stream” (The Bee Gees)
This chart-topping duet for Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton came from the minds of disco icons. The Bee Gees originally wrote the song as an R&B track – various rumors postulate that it was written with either Marvin Gaye or Diana Ross in mind – but handed it over to Rogers instead. Smart move: the song topped the country and pop charts, went double platinum, and was the best-selling single of 1983. The Bee Gees still occasionally play their tune when they perform live, though:
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Hi
Another good option for this list would be Celine Dion’s “The Magic of Christmas Day (God Bless Us Everyone” which was actually written by Dee Snider, lead singer of Twisted Sister.
posted by Martin on 7-13-2010 at 5:08 pm
Sorry, Mental Floss, but this is sort of fail…
People who write songs for other people? Are songwriters. They generally get songwriting credit.
Ghostwriters write books/articles/speeches/maybe even songs for people who then claim that they wrote the books/articles/speeches/songs themselves. The ghostwriter rarely gets credit. (Been one for many years now, so I know what I’m talking about.)
Interesting article, just a misleading title!
posted by evee on 7-13-2010 at 5:19 pm
Hey Evee. We’re aware of ghostwriters. It’s just a cutesy title, like if we did a story on people who made a fortune in the candy industry and called it “Sugar Daddies: 10 People Who Made a Fortune in the Candy Industry.” We wouldn’t be saying they were actual sugar daddies. Though some of them might have been. I’ll look into it.
posted by Jason English on 7-13-2010 at 5:36 pm
I’m really bummed about the authorship of the Monroe Doctrine.
As for the Charles Manson connection…that is just plain creepy.
posted by Kelly on 7-13-2010 at 5:50 pm
Oh, Evee. The title is merely implying that the individuals behind some well-known (and some not) songs are a little surprising. No one was trying to insult you by using the term “Ghost Writers”. Your comment just seemed like the “fact police” were on duty again.
posted by Casper the friendly ghost on 7-13-2010 at 7:08 pm
I think you should have included the fact that Michael Bolton co-wrote the KISS song “Forever” with Paul Stanley. That was an interesting pairing, in my humble opinion.
posted by Jennifer Vernon on 7-13-2010 at 7:25 pm
While John Quincy Adams did certainly contribute to the Monroe Doctrine, James Monroe was its author. Monroe asked for input from his cabinet and Adams did have the most foreign experience out of those men. But Monroe spend over 5 years as a diplomat in France and England, during a time when relations with both countries were strained, before becoming president. Adams on the other hand at spent time in Russia, with his friend the czar. His foreign experience doesn’t even come close to Monroe’s. Monroe was highly intelligent and had a clear vision for the United States. He is the true author of the Monroe Doctrine.
posted by Janet on 7-13-2010 at 9:34 pm
I’d love to see manson on a beach boys cover holding a surfboard….
posted by -Mr. Stranger on 7-14-2010 at 1:09 am
I think what’s even creepier is that Manson auditioned for “The Monkees.” It would give a whole new meaning to “here we come walking down the street…”
posted by Tim S. on 7-14-2010 at 5:37 am
People always think that Whitney Houston wrote “I Will Always Love You”, when in fact it was the enigmatic Dolly Parton who wrote those words. Credit where it’s due
posted by Jack on 7-14-2010 at 7:06 am
@Janet
I have to disagree that John Quincy Adams’ foreign experience doesn’t come close to that of Monroe. Adams was minister to the Netherlands, Portugal and Russia. He also served as the minister to the Court of St James (ie minister to Great Britain), the same foreign post that Monroe held. On top of all that, he was the chief negotiator in the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812.
Monroe was no slouch in foreign affairs. But Adams’ breadth of experience gave him a better view of the world as a whole.
John
posted by John on 7-14-2010 at 7:21 am
I absolutely love Otis! So, I knew he originally did ‘Respect’. While I usually don’t care for remakes I have to acknowledge that Franklin’s version is superior. But I don’t think anyone can come close to Otis’ ‘Coffee and cigarettes’ or ‘Dock of the bay’ classic.
posted by kim on 7-14-2010 at 8:18 am
Tim S, that’s an urban legend. He probably WOULD have auditioned had he not been in jail at the time, however.
One known gentleman that did audition for them was Stephen Stills… but his bad teeth cost him.
posted by Sandy Wood on 7-14-2010 at 9:21 am
I don’t know about you guys, and I do like Barry Manilow to a certain degree, but I’d be pretty ticked if I paid for a ticket to his concert (which I’m guessing would not be cheap) and he did almost five minutes of commercial jingles, his or not. But maybe that’s just me.
posted by Jim on 7-14-2010 at 10:24 am
@ Jim
I agree that Adams had a lot of foreign experience. I just think that Monroe’s is superior. He was the diplomat to France and England at a time when the United States had very strained relationships with those counties. And he was so good that people in both countries loved him. The United States didn’t have any problems with the Netherlands, Portugal or Russia when Adams was there – he didn’t have to tip-toe the line between peace and war with those countries while there. Also, Adams wasn’t the only American diplomat to help bring about the Treaty of Ghent.
Regardless, Monroe was the author of the Monroe Doctrine. He wasn’t the puppet of John Quincy Adams. He was a highly intelligent man who wanted to make America’s boarders safe and wanted European countries to leave us alone.
posted by Janet on 7-14-2010 at 12:18 pm
Interesting to think which is the “real” version of a song. Respect has always made more sense from a woman’s point of view. But of course was not originally written that way. Love both Arethea Franklin and Otis Redding – but it is clearly Arethea’s song.
posted by Elizabeth on 7-14-2010 at 12:22 pm
After the success of A Boy Named Sue, a music publisher looked around for an answer record. Singer (and Gong Show judge) Jaye P. Morgan had a minor hit with a Martin Mull-penned tune called A Girl Named Johnny Cash.
posted by Capital Cat on 7-14-2010 at 2:57 pm
This one is pretty well known, but thought I’d mention “All Along the Watchtower” which was made famous by Jimi Hendrix is a Bob Dylan original. Dylan has admitted that while he wrote it, the song belongs to Hendrix. Also, I can see said watchtower from my bedroom window. (Very Palin-esque I know)
posted by Ben on 7-14-2010 at 3:58 pm
What goes around, comes around.
One of Barry Manilow’s biggest hits, “I Write the Songs” wasn’t written by Manilow.
It was written by Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys.
posted by Rance on 7-14-2010 at 4:21 pm
Shel Silverstein also wrote numerous other songs that went on to be hits for others, including the Irish Rovers (“The Unicorn”) and Dr. Hook (“Cover of the Rolling Stone”, “Sylvia’s Mother”, and others) — in fact, he wrote all the songs for their second album, “Sloppy Seconds”.
-”BB”-
posted by Bicycle Bill on 7-14-2010 at 4:47 pm
“Crazy” by Patsy Cline was written by a little-known Nashville songwriter named Willie Nelson.
posted by Patten on 7-14-2010 at 5:23 pm
That could be an entire article in itself: Songs that you didn’t know were cover songs.
Soft Cell – Tainted Love
Quiet Riot – Cum on Feel the Noize
Eric Clapton – Cocaine
Joan Jett – Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah!)
Marvin Gaye – Heard it Through the Grapevine
Whitney Houston – I Will Always Love you
There are tons more
posted by Mathishard on 7-14-2010 at 9:34 pm
Kris Kristofferson said in an interview that at the time he wrote Me and Bobby McGee his wife had thrown him out and he was squatting in an abandoned house. He had very few possessions and one night he came home and found that someone had stolen everything he had including his guitar. Hence he had nothing left to lose.
posted by SpaceCowgirl on 7-15-2010 at 1:58 am
Mathishard,
Slade did Cum on Feel the Noize; JJ Cale wrote Cocaine; Gladys Knight and the Pips did the earliest version of Grapevine that I know of, though I can’t recall who wrote it; and Dolly Parton wrote and recorded I Will Always Love You. I’m stumped by the other two you listed, though the long version of the Soft Cell song you listed included the Supremes’ Where Did Our Love Go?
posted by Mark Farrell on 7-18-2010 at 12:53 pm
I really like how Otis wrote the song. I like listening to it more than the fanfare of Aretha.
Also, that Bee Gees version sounds like it’s at a Karaoke bar
posted by Andy on 7-19-2010 at 12:24 am
Charles Manson also wrote a song that later appeared on Marylin Manson’s first album. The track is called “My Monkey”.
posted by Eric on 7-19-2010 at 3:19 pm
I’ve got this situation in reverse. I really love the song “Black Diamond” by one my favorite bands, The Replacements, and a few years ago I found out that it was written by one of my least favorite bands, Kiss. Maybe they didn’t write it, but the Mats still do it better.
posted by Chandler on 7-21-2010 at 10:18 pm
I agree with Evee, the term Ghost Writers is very misleading. Its like writing an article called Horse Trainer and you open it and its about dogs. Yes, its that different.
Another note: it kind of reminds me of the time Flavorpill had the 10 or so greatest writers of all time and put Kendra Wilkinson on it who in fact had a GHOSTWRITER, she isn’t even an author.
Silly kids
posted by urMAMA on 7-27-2010 at 1:15 pm