Rarer musical gems from before your time that you've discovered

[Ada Lovelace]

My mom created a time capsule for us when my brothers and I were born that she has added to every year of our lives. She's deposited CDs, VHS tapes and later DVDs, newspapers, magazines, baseball cards, books from the New York Times Bestsellers List, popular toys, a few items of clothing, and other pop culture trinkets into our trunks which serve as the capsules. My older brother was born on March 14, 1993, and in addition to eating pie (because he was born on Pi Day, ba dum bum ching! - we're a goofy family) it's a tradition for us to go through and add things to his capsule even though he's now at college and wasn't home to celebrate with us. So I was going through the music from the 1990s before I arrived on the scene and LOVING some of it. He was born the year of Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Beck and I was born the year of Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys. My mom did at least include an awesome Ani DiFranco cd to my capsule, haha. One of the bands I've discovered because of my brother's capsule is Barenaked Ladies. I'd heard some of their more popular songs before but never listened to their albums in whole or knew anything about them. Their name makes them seem like they'd be obnoxious and campy, but some of the songs are actually really thoughtful.

I also just discovered a song titled Promise Me by a virtually unknown artist named Courtney Saunders who performed it for the 2005 movie The Ballad of Jack and Rose. That movie was way too mature for me at the time it was released but I just recently watched it. I also LOVE the soundtrack for the 2004 movie The Garden State. I covered New Slang a while ago, but just listened to the rest of the soundtrack recently. Blissfest for my ears!

So this made me curious to know if any of you have stumbled upon less commonly known songs that were released long before you were born (whenever that was, if you're also young or if you are older). Please share some if you're up for it!!!! Please remove the s from the https of Youtube links so that it won't make the format of the thread go wonky.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVg7mtgEqGY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LCFVWRZ2Q0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weBe-W0mr0Q

 

[keith99]

Do you know hard it is to find songs from before 1953? Let alone well before it!

And because of the huge advances in recording quality anything good has been covered. But here are a few that at least were written and originally released before I was born.

The Battle of New Orleans. Depending on ones tastes it may be obscure.

It is interesting in any case, actually in a time capsule sort of way.

The earliest recording is 1936 by the writer Jimmy Driftwood (stage name).

One verse ends ...give em Hell.

It was recorded in 1959 by Johnny Horton and became a hit. That verse and the start of the chorus was changed to:

Give em... Well we fired our guns...
Hell was a word you could no longer say on the radio

In 1974 it was covered by The Nitty Gritty Dirt band. Hell was back and in some recordings it gives the impression of a 10 year old getting away with saying a naughty word.

Also one change from the original. The gator lost his mind became the gator blew his mind.

One old camp song that may now be obscure (or not, I don't know) is MTA by The Kingston Trio. Their recording is 1959, but the song dates back to a political race in 1949.

A few others that are far from obscure but that I'll mention anyway because the entire genre is unknown to many:

Orange Blossom Special

Will the Circle be Unbroken This one was originally a hymn 1907! converted to bluegrass. Yea Elvis wasn't the first to turn a hymn into a popular hit.

Tennessee Stud (A horse). I can't find when it was written, but also a Driftwood piece so probably older than me.

Foggy Mountain Breakdown. Theme music Bonnie and Clyde. And also the lead in to Earl Scruggs and Bill Monroe. This seems to be their breakthrough song. I met all the above 4 through the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. I'm pretty sure that Earl and Bill guested on the Circle album along with Vassar Clements. 3 of the real heavyweights of Bluegrass.

 

[Ada Lovelace]

Do you know hard it is to find songs from before 1953? Let alone well before it!

Ha. You have a point. For me an archaeological dig into music of the past is a search for gems from the 60s, 70s, 80s and earlier 90s. There are a few songs that predate your existence that I love.

Skylark is exquisitely lovely to me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGLJ3AnwQ7w

I love Ella Fitzgerald, and especially Ella Sings Gershwin. I'm not sure when in the 50s the album was released, but Gershwin's songs were all written well before then.

When I'm Gone was originally written and performed in the 1930s by The Carter Family, and then covered in 2009 by Lulu & the Lampshades. Supposedly Anna Kendrick saw a video tutorial of how to play the cup game to it on Reddit and then performed it for the producers of Pitch Perfect who then decided to incorporate it into the movie. It's why a song originating in the 1930s became hugely popular for my generation. It will probably be one of my favorites, always, for the nostalgic factor.

Remakes of other older songs in movies and TV shows have made me aware of them. I really love Marvin Gaye now because of a song of his, Sunny that was on the show Ray Donovan. I listened to it repeatedly after it was on the show. I love it. It's so endearing.

 

[keith99]

Does this count as a rare gem? Film fans would get it instantly, but outside of film I don't think I've ever heard it.

No. 2 on the AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs special, commemorating the best songs in film. AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d22CiKMPpaY

Funny side note. This is tied to what is likely the most famous misquote in the history of film.

"Play it again Sam' is not in the film. Actually nothing even all that close.

 

[keith99]

Here is one from well before my time, yet I'd wager that the vast majority of posters here have heard the echos (and only the echos).

The song is Keep on The Sunny Side it is still very much alive as a campfire song (of sorts).

I was going through Nitty Gritty Dirt Band songs and saw it. From there one with Johnny Cash. Both with members of the Carter Family and finally to an older recording with just the Carters.

Here's Johnny!

Johnny Cash; The Carter Family - Keep On The Sunny Side - YouTube

And just the Carters:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqIPDyK5Pmo

 

[Ada Lovelace]

I love Johnny Cash!!!!!! I bought his CD My Mother's Hymn Book for my Nana a few years ago, and she thought it was lovely.

I've grown up listening to him and have also loved Keep on the Sunny Side my whole life. I adored the O Brother Where Aren't Thou? soundtrack when I was tiny and first heard the song thanks to it. I remember singing it in the car on the way to preschool back in 2001, and I think it's originally from the 1800s. It's sweet that is has had such endearment for so long.

I just listened to the Elvis version of this song after being mesmerized by it from this dance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7jEmSaabk0

My mom is the one who told me about, ha. I hadn't realized that the song was a cover of an Elvis classic.

 

[keith99]

For Keep on the Sunnyside, 1800s, barely 1899. The Carters had a hit with it in 1929.

Keep On the Sunny Side - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

EDIT: There is a reason they called Elvis 'The King' he had an amazing voice and I could hear him while watching the dance video. I looked it up just to be sure he was the original artist, he was. But it would not have surprised me if he was not, he covered a lot of material and of course did a lot of classic Gospel songs.

One thing I noticed, more than ever, is that his voice is full and rich enough that he does not need to carry a note longer than it should be carried or use any other fancy flourishes to show how good he is. He is simply that darn good.

I really should not have listened to Old Shep.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE8Y_hc4A5Y

Chit Seems Johnny Cash covered it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=km0zHbxvwZQ

Oops this one was a cover by Elvis, Original was red Foley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6URIHQXmPmY

Red is no Elvis, but even so I can hear that Red had a better voice than the recording captured.

 

[Goodbook]

carpenters.

Also...Johnny Cash
Judy Garland
Nina Simone

I was born 1980.
I grew up with 80s pop...but my dad was big fan of american pop and rock n roll of the 50s and 60s. So I know all that music.

Carpenters are timeless.

 

[JustOneWay]

Here is an oldie that I stumbled upon in search of old music. If you don't recognize the name of the artist, Cliff Edwards, perhaps you would recognize his voice as being the voice of Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKtTo4bm12c

 

[Rhovanion]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFAy2LOaIAkhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kJPdJuYPzIhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSiiBl81hCkhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUHdHlLmfhIhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxLZtsoygXIhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aIn3H9jaCI

 

[Dave-W]

Do you know hard it is to find songs from before 1953? Let alone well before it!

Copy that! I was born in '55 so the exact same problem.

Growing up I HATED big band music; but after I got married I started listening to it. I like Opus 1 from Tommy Dorsey, Moonlight Serenade by Glenn Miller.

But going back farther, in my younger days I was a big fan of the psycodelic rock band Iron Butterfly; especially the organ work of Doug Ingle. I found out that he was the son of a Lutheran organ player and was taught Bach from an early age. So I started listening to Bach organ works and saw where Ingle got a lot of his musical ideas from. Then I listened to other Bach music including a wonderful trio of sonatas for Viola daGamba so now I not only like listening to gamba music from various baroque composers, I have a gamba myself.

 

[Ada Lovelace]

Wow, Rhovanian, you're awesome. Thanks for sharing so many videos. Thanks also to everyone else. It's been fun being introduced to songs I'd never heard before and enjoying them so much.

 

[Ada Lovelace]

This song is relatively new but it's a cover of one from like 50 years ago or thereabouts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VWbXQiJbkE

I danced to the Hollywood Mon Amour cover of this song but hadn't ever watched the original until now:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsZIO-vmn3c

And this amazing!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpmILPAcRQo

 

[keith99]

This song is relatively new but it's a cover of one from like 50 years ago or thereabouts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VWbXQiJbkE

Or thereabouts!

Pretty darn close. It was written for Nina Simone who recorded it in 1964 and then covered by Eric Burdon and the Animals in 1965.

Interesting the original was a female lead, the Animals were a male lead and the one you posted is a duet.

Here are Nina and 2 from the Animals. I think the first is earlier and the second is a studio recording with a more full flavor.

I honestly did not know Nina was the original artist I thought it was most likely the Animals, but I've learned that the first hit is often not the first recording. I was going to ask id a remake involving the original artist is really a cover?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsIyY86nCCU&list=PLYGoPw4xULmkGG0D-6aGvDKU-GbK6nCsS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfwN0X8YnWo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWaX3jfNMt8

EDIT: Just finished reading the Wiki on Don't Let Me be Misunderstood. I think the last line might be of interest to you.

Lana Del Rey has also indicated that she will be covering Simone's version of the song on her upcoming 2015 album Honeymoon.

 

[keith99]

As I wandered through you tube I came across Dedicated to the One I Love by the Shirells, the original artists, and was hoping it predated me. Upon looking it up I found it did not. But it pointed my to another song, also younger than me, but such an important milestone that It get a post anyway!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnPlJxet_ac

The first song to go to number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 by a girl group. Let alone an African American girl group.

The Shirells are credited by many with creating the girl group genre.

 

[Blue Wren]

I like Bon Jovi's music, from the 80s.

 

[Blue Wren]

I danced to the Hollywood Mon Amour cover of this song but hadn't ever watched the original until now:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsZIO-vmn3c

I've never heard of a cover, of Flashdance. Link, please?

 

[Darkhorse]

"Tennessee Stud" dates back to the late 1960s, maybe written before that.

"As Time Goes By" was recorded and sold on 78-RPM records. (before my time)

(These are not from Google, but from my own memory)


If you want to hear popular music from the 1900s - 1920s, Mitch Miller and his Gang recorded many of those songs on LP records in the early 1960s.

Many CDs of the Big Band era are available (original recordings).

 

[SoldierOfTheKing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jojuPQXMm44

 

[Goodbook]

My fave Nina Simone song.. cute vid - she could really play piano!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5megQeMuE9U