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January 20

Never gonna let you go

Why is Never Gonna Let You Go (Sérgio Mendes song) known as a Sérgio Mendes song when it was earlier recorded, separately, by the I think even more famous Dionne Warwick and Stevie Wonder? Just wondering. 2602:24A:DE47:B8E0:1B43:29FD:A863:33CA (talk) 05:50, 20 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe because he wrote it. Also, not Stevie Wonder, but another Steve named Wood. --←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:26, 20 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Uh, no. It says Cynthia Weil (lyrics) and Barry Mann (music) wrote it. However, Mendes's version went to #4 on the Billboard chart (#1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary one), while Warwick's doesn't seem to have charted at all, or at least it doesn't show up in Dionne Warwick discography#Singles. Clarityfiend (talk) 08:19, 20 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

D'oh! You're right. The OP should note that the Never Gonna Let You Go disambiguation page lists five songs with that title. The purpose of a disambig page is not to get overly technical, but merely to use a distinguishing element. And per your reasoning, it makes sense to use Mendes for this one. --←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 08:42, 20 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Ok, thanks, and oh whoops, I misread Stevie Woods as Stevie Wonder in the song article. Ok, the basic answer is that Mendes' version was a chart topper while the earlier two versions were obscure. Mendes' production was quite elaborate and probably technically demanding of the performers. Rick Beato's video linked in the article, where he shows all the jazz-like chord changes in the song, is pretty interesting. 2602:24A:DE47:B8E0:1B43:29FD:A863:33CA (talk) 10:50, 20 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

But your concern is very real. How often do we hear people referring to, for example, "My Way" as "Frank Sinatra's My Way"? Sure, he made a very famous recording of it, but he was neither the writer of it nor the first person to record it. And he grew to hate it. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 21:12, 20 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I've never associated the construction "__________'s <song name>" with the idea of the person being either the song writer or the first to record a song. It simply signifies where the speaker first encountered the song. Which is often (but not always) where most of society encounters a song. The first interpretation of a song that you are exposed to can inform your reaction to other recordings of that same song. And what artist you identify a song with might tell me about your musical tastes and background. --User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 21:34, 20 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Seems to be standard practice to go with the most successful performer, rather than the composers - e.g. other Weil/Mann songs: Walking in the Rain (The Ronettes song), Hungry (Paul Revere & the Raiders song), Uptown (The Crystals song). Clarityfiend (talk) 13:41, 21 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

That's only to be expected. How many people really know who wrote the songs they love? Especially in this day of digital downloads with no liner notes. If Thriller (song) were to be further disambiguated, who would recognize "Thriller (Rod Temperton song)". Or, for a more recent example, Dynamite (David Stewart and Jessica Agombar song). And there's also the fact that many, many, MANY popular songs have multiple authors. --User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 19:33, 24 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

The first time I heard Willie Nelson sing "(You are) Always on My Mind", I wondered why he was covering a Pet Shop Boys song -- and covering it slowly at that. Then I was told that Willie wrote the song, and I felt silly. Today I learned that Willie did not write it either. Sigh... 73.127.147.187 (talk) 09:56, 25 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Willie Neslson did write Crazy, which is almost exclusively known for the Patsy Cline version. --Jayron 32 12:49, 25 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

So true. Willie did sing Crazy, but you are right, most people know Patsy Cline's version.

Many people likely know that Dolly Parton wrote "I Will Always Love You", which was a mega hit for Whitney Houston. Dolly says that Whitney asked her for the publishing rights, and she (Dolly) declined to give that away. Dolly told her interviewer that "I make money every time Whitney sings that song". 73.127.147.187 (talk) 01:20, 26 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

It was nowhere near obscure or a flop for Dolly, but I am still amazed how many people don't know that it wasn't original to Whitney. --User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 14:21, 27 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]