Musical Dice -- Mistaken Identity
Welcome to the music section of my Musical Dice website! For you music trivia enthusiasts, and those who love to learn about the stories behind the music, you've come to the right place! I love sharing my knowledge of music trivia, so that's why I created this section.
Sometimes when you hear a song, you seem sure as who did the song, only to find that not only were you wrong, but in all likelihood, others had made the same mistake, because the song sounded like the artist you thought it was. This article is dedicated to songs which people had mistakenly thought that one artist did the song, but another artist did the song instead, and that the mistaken identity was understandible. Also, this article lists songs that one would think is done by one artist, but another artist did the song, but (as far as I know) the mistaken identity wasn't made.
"Ebony Eyes" -- Bob Welch, not Steve Miller
This was the song that inspired this article. The song was the subject of debate at the poker table, recently, where some of the poker players thought it was the Steve Miller Band who did this song. I had to correct them, stating that it was Bob Welch who made this song a hit in 1978 (#14). The mistaken identity was understandable because when I was 18 or so, I had made the same mistake.
"Do Anything" -- Natural Selection, not Prince
A co-worker of mine had heard the song playing on my computer, and thought the song was done by Prince. Curiously, like Prince, the group Natural Selection hails from Minneapolis Minnesota. Also curiously, around the same time that Natural Selection had this hit that eventually reached #2 for 2 weeks in 1991, Prince had a hit of his own called "Cream," which spent 2 weeks at #1 not much later.
"Reflections Of My Life" -- The Marmalade, not the Hollies
I admit, I'm the one who made this mis-identification. This song had really struck a chord in me, when I first heard the song back in 2000. Back then, I was living in the Bay Area, and was getting very unhappy with the way things were going at the time, and the song reflected how I felt at the time. I thought the song was by the Hollies because the harmonies are very similar to those of the Hollies. I knew it wasn't any of the Hollies' top ten hits, but I couldn't find which song of theirs it was. It wasn't until 2011, when I happened to be downloading songs from 1970, and I came across this song title. I had never heard of the song, and was curious to find out how it sounds, and much to my amazement, it was the very song I'd been searching for over a decade ago! Apparently, it was a top 10 hit, but for the Marmalade (#10 in 1970). To further complicate things, the Hollies themselves had a big hit in 1970 ("He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother," which reached #7 for them that year).
"Brown-Eyed Girl" -- Van Morrison, not Mick Jagger
This is what you get when you try to cross Mick Jagger with Neil Diamond. ☺ The groove resembles a Neil Diamond groove from the 60's, while the vocals sound like Mick Jagger, or so my mom and my sister thought. No, this was Van Morrison's first top ten hit as a solo singer. The song reached #10 in 1967.
"Eve Of Destruction" -- Barry McGuire, not Mick Jagger
I first heard this song as a parody of environmentalists on the Rush Limbaugh show. What I heard was Paul Shanklin, master of polittical parody spoofs. It would be a few years later that I'd hear the original song written and sung by Barru McGuire. My stepmom made the mistake of thinkig this was sung by Mick Jagger. It is plausible that Mick Jagger would sing something like this, but it was Barry McGuire who took this song to #1 for a week in 1965.
"I Want You" -- Savage Garden, not Roxette
When I first heard this song in 1997, my first thoughts were, "Wow, this is a fresh new sound for Roxette, who hadn't had a hit in five years." Of course, I didn't know at first that this song is actually done by an Australian duo, Savage Garden, and not the Swedish duo Roxette. I thought the male vocal sounded like Per Gessele, the male vocalist in Roxette, and I thought the female backup vocals were Marie Fredericksson, the female vocalist in Roxette. I soon learned that it was Savage Garden who actually did the song, taking it to #4 in 1997. It landed at #22 for the year among the top songs of 1997. Coincidentally, Roxette had the #22 song of 1989 with "Listen To Your Heart."
"Don't Pull Your Love" -- Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds, not Elvis Presley
Obviously, these guys don't look like Elvis Presley, but when you just hear a song, sometimes for a song like this, it's not too hard to see how a co-worker of mine made this mistake. He was very surprised when I told him that this song was done by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds, but I told him "You know how many Elvis sound-alikes there are out there." Nonetheless, it was a great song that Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds took to #4 in 1971.
"Oh Sheila" -- Ready For The World, not Prince
At the time, the summer of 1985, I was taking a running class at Santa Monica Community College, and we'd sometimes go offsite to do our runs. Back in the day, I didn't have a car, and the teacher would drive some of us, myself included to these off-sites. On this particular day, the teacher was driving me and a few other students to Will Rogers State Park (yes, the same place where George Michael did his imfamous thing in the men's room, years later), and "Oh Sheila" came on the radio. The teacher said that the song was sung by Prince, talking about his protoge, Sheila E. I started to correct her, for I knew that was wrong, but she argued me down, Under the circumstances, I thought it would be best not to get into a debate with her over this, since she was nice enough to give me a ride. But yes, it was the Detroit-based group Ready For The World, who took this song to #1 for a week in 1985, and not Minneapolis-based Prince.
"Desire" -- Andy Gibb, not the Bee-Gees
I really wasn't that far off, when you think about it. After all, Andy Gibb was the younger brother of the Bee-Gees, and it was them on backup vocals, and in fact, they originally recorded this song, which appeared on their 1979 album "Spirits (Having Flown)." Furthermore, if I had caught the lower half of American Top 40's Year-End Survey for 1980, I wouldn't have made this mistake. For "Desire" by Andy Gibb landed at #57 for the year. All I knew at the time, when I bought the Bee-Gees' greatest hits album, was that this song was not on it, and I was a bit disappointed. I did learn the truth just a few months later, that it was Andy Gibb who reached #4 with this song in 1980.
"Brass In Pocket (I'm Special)" -- The Pretenders, not Linda Rondtadt
Back in early 1980, when I first heard this song, I was still pretty much illiterate when it came music of the rock era. I didn't know Chrissy Hynde from Linda Ronstadt. By then, I had heard of some of Linda Ronstadt's songs, and assumed that this was one of them. It wasn't until around June of 1980 when I really started getting into the music. It was still later when I learned the truth about this song. This is another song that had I caught the lower half of 1980's Year-End countdown on American Top 40, I would have learned about this song too, for it landed at #75 for the year. Not bad at all, considering the fact that the song only reached #14 in 1980.
Now here's a list of songs where I haven't seen someone mistake for someone else, but it would be plausible for one to think that someone else did the songs.
"Glad All Over" -- The Dave Clark Five, not the Beatles
Come on, doesn't this sound like a Beatles song? It was actually the first hit for the Dave Clark Five. And it came at a time that the Beatles were having their break-out year, and I strongly suspect that the fact that this sounds like a Beatles song was done on purpose. The Dave Clark Five climbed to #6 with this song in 1964, and landed at a healthy #23 on the year-end list of the top songs of the year.
"Suspicion" -- Terry Stafford, not Elvis Presley
Just above the Beatles sound-alike song, "Glad All Over," on 1964's top songs of the year, at #22, stood this Elvis sound-alike song. In reality, 1964 was the first year in Elvis Presley's career since he started having hits, that he failed to hit the top ten. But one could argue that Elvis's presence could still be felt with this #3 hit from Terry Stafford in 1964.
"Rescue Me" -- Fontella Bass, not Aretha Franklin
This was a #4 hit for Fontella Bass in late 1965, more than a year before Aretha Franklin started having top ten hits herself. Didn't Aretha later do a version of this song?
"Bus Stop" -- The Hollies, not the Beatles
Just like with the Dave Clark Five's first hit, "Glad All Over," this song, the Hollies' first hit, may have been intentioned to sound like the Beatles. But they soon established their own sound after this hit, which reached #5 in 1966.
"Show And Tell" -- Al Wilson, not Lou Rawls
While Lou Rawls had multitudes of hits, and Al Wilson basically had just this one hit, Al Wilson was able to reach #1, which this song did for a week in 1974, while the best Lou Rawls was able to do as #2 for 2 weeks in 1976 (with "You'll Never Find (Another Love Like Mine)").
"Rock Me Gently" -- Andy Kim, not Neil Diamond
One time, when I sang this song karaoke, the dee-jay, beforehand, said that the singer of this song sounds like Neil Diamond. I see SOME similarities, which is why I'm including this song on this list. It did spend a week at #1 in 1974.
"Sideshow" -- Blue Magic, not the Stylistics
It is especially easy to mistake this group for the Stylistics, especially since the Stylistics sound so much like this group, and in fact, the Stylistics scored their biggest hit, also in 1974 ("You Make Me Feel Brand New" which was #2 for 2 weeks in 1974). "Sideshow" peaked at #8 in 1974, but only landed five spots lower on the year-end list because it stayed around a relatively long time.
"Let It Whip" -- The Dazz Band, not Earth, Wind & Fire
I was dating a girl at the time this was a hit in 1982, and she called this song a cheap Earth, Wind & Fire imitation. I do see some similarities between the two bands, which is why this song is included on this list. It climbed to #5 in 1982.
"I'll Be Your Shelter" -- Taylor Dayne, not Tina Turner
By the time I heard this song for the first time, I already knew it was Taylor Dayne. But still, I couldn't help but notice how close to Tina Turner, the vocals sound. A few months later, I learned, that may have been on purpose. The song was written by Diane Warren, and it was intended for Tina Turner to record it. Diane thought her song was going to appear on Tina Turner's album that came out in 1989, but when it didn't appear on the album, Diane was furious, and called Taylor Dayne, who was also working on an album, and asked if she'd record the song. Taylor Dayne did, and in doing so, sounded a lot like Tina Turner, probably because Diane Warren had told her that the song was actually supposed to be recorded by Tina Turner. Taylor Dayne took the song up to #4 on the chart in 1990. BTW, just prior to "I'll Be Your Shelter," Taylor Dayne had scored her first and only #1 hit with another Diane Warren composition. That song: "Love Will Lead You Back."
"Beautiful In My Eyes" -- Joshua Kadison, not Elton John
It was a dee-jay that made the comment that this song sounds like an Elton John song. A later Elton John song, maybe, which is why I'm including this song here. It reached #19 for Joshua Kadison in 1994, and it came out just prior to Elton John's contributions to the movie "The Lion King," like "Can You Feel The Love Tonight." I think if the Joshua Kadison song had come out afterwards, it wouldn't have gotten anywhere at all. Timing is so important in the music business, isn't it?
Before I conclude this article, I think it's only fair that I mention another song, in which another kind of mistaken identity was made, not only by me, but countless other people, I'm sure. This has to do with the 1970 #8 hit "(If You Let Me Make Love To You, Then) Why Can't I Touch You" by Ronnie Dyson. I'm sure I'm not the only one who thought this was a black woman singing this song. It actually is a black man singing this song! He sounds just like a diva on this song, doesn't he?
As always, if you have any comments on this article, or if you think I missed something here, please let me know by emailing me at musicaldice323@gmail.com. Until next time! ☺