It’s not uncommon for a song to be written by an artist, then handing that song off to a friend in the business because for some reason, the writer never got around to recording the song. We’re not talking about the term ‘cover’ (recording your version of a hit song) but simply writing the song for someone else.
Here are a few famous examples that will blow your mind…
Three Dog Night’s “Joy to the World” was written by country star Hoyt Axton. Trust us, very few people even back then had heard of Hoyt who was a struggling young country singer.
The Bangles song “Manic Monday” and the Sinead O’Connor song “Nothing Compares 2U” were written by Prince.
Although not a perfect example, or no secret, Bernie Taupin wrote nearly every Elton John hit; Elton wrote very few. In that vein, Elvis recorded hundreds of songs – and didn’t write one!
Finally, The Monkees were a 60s phenomenon that sang a ton of hit songs on the show, translating to radio airplay and record sales. Did you know that Neil Diamond, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart (Boyce and Hart), Carole King and Andy Kim wrote all the prominent tunes.
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