http://acclaimedmusic.net/forums/viewto ... ppa#p26173
In celebration of Elvis cutting his very first song, “My Happiness,” one hot July 18th many years ago, I’m posting the earliest song (or awfully close) I can find on YouTube by all of the current AM top 100 artists. It’s open season on cameos, collaborations, and old band names, as I’m going as early as possible, irrespective of other parallels with “My Happiness” (except that all singles here will lead off with the A-side). I am weaseling out of any 100% guarantee that every song here is definitely a first recording, by labeling these “fledgling” recordings (anyway, this is a playlist first and foremost, so the song still has to be found online – so if James Brown cut a song as part of a gospel group once upon a time, if I can't find it, I can only mention it in passing). For solo musicians who have straddled solo and band careers (Zappa, Lennon, MJ), I am going with the first thing they were ever involved with; for one-name bands (Bob Marley, Captain Beefheart), I follow the leader back to his first recording; and old groups count that shared most every band member with the newer, more famous group. Some messiness for this kind of thread is nigh-inescapable, and in fact upon further reflection I've decided to make it messier with some quotes from the artists themselves. Presumably, most every bloody musician here has some demo or two to their name, but I'll mention in passing the ones I know about. The presentation for this thread will be rolled out slower, probably taking until August 16th (the day Elvis died). Enjoy!
The photos give some indication of the availability of the playlist selection's A-side.
Elvis Presley - “My Happiness” b/w “That’s When Your Heartaches Begin” (rec. 18 July 1953)
A-side: (youtube link) ... B-side: (youtube link)
Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley, by Peter Guralnick
In later years he would always say that he wanted to make a personal record "to surprise my mother." Or "I just wanted to hear what I sounded like." But, of course, if he had simply wanted to record his voice, he could have paid twenty-five cents at W.T. Grant's on Main Street [instead of $3.98 at Sun].
...
[Marion Keisker (assistant to Sam Phillips)]
He said, "If you know anyone that needs a singer. . . ."
"What kind of a singer are you?"
"I sing all kinds."
"Who do you sound like?"
"I don't sound like nobody."
I thought, Oh yeah, one of those. . . . "What do you sing, hillbilly?"
"I sing hillbilly."
"Well, who do you sound like in hillbilly?"
"I don't sound like nobody."
...
When he finished ["My Happiness"], he embarked upon "That's When Your Heartaches Begin" ... Here he was not so successful in his rendition, running out of time, or inspiration, and simply declaring "That's the end" at the conclusion of the song. The boy looked up expectantly at the man in the control booth. Mr. Phillips nodded and said politely that he was an "interesting" singer. "We might give you a call sometime." He even had Miss Keisker make a note of the boy's name, which she misspelled and then editorialized beside it: "Good ballad singer. Hold."
AC/DC - "Can I Sit Next To You, Girl" b/w "Rockin' in the Parlour" (22 July 1974)
A-side: (youtube link) ... B-side: (youtube link)
One of the rare occasions of identical overlap with the other thread. Both songs were taken from the EMI Studios/Sydney demo sessions, recorded January 1974. This version of "Can I Sit Next To You, Girl" has never been officially released outside Australia.
Arcade Fire - "Winter for a Year" (rec. 2001) (youtube link)
2001 demo track listing: Winter for a Year / My Mind Is a Freeway / Accidents / Goodnight Boy / Asleep at the Wheel / In the Attic / Can't Let Go of You / You Tried to Turn Away My Fears / Instrumental / The Great Arcade Fire
Rolling Stone, "The Unforgettable Fire: Can Arcade Fire Be the World’s Biggest Band?"
“The first time I saw Arcade Fire, it was in a loft in Montreal,” recalls Tim Kingsbury, the band’s guitarist and bassist. “It was Win [Butler] and Régine [Chassagne], two drummers, this guy Myles playing guitar, and this girl Anita playing the harp. I just remember 30 people sitting on the floor, and Win being supertall and imposing and standing over everyone. The first time I actually talked to him was when he and Régine came to one of my band’s shows. Afterward he came up to me, like, ‘I really liked that second song – but you should probably cut the last verse.’ Just immediately coaching us. I was like, ‘Who is this asshole?'” ... [Richard Reed] Parry says. “There’s no question [Win]’s the leader of this band. Which is fine by me. I’m a Quaker, and consensus is fucking slow and hard. And at the end of the day, the fact that we can all get behind any idea and move forward is a small miracle.”
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.rollin ... 94440/amp/
The Band (all 5 members) --> Ronnie Hawkins [and the Hawks] - "Mojo Man" (rec. 2 February 1962, overdubbed 1963)
https://youtu.be/vUAqpBqxuck
It is possible that all 5 Band members are also on the track "Arkansas."
Extra: Ronnie Hawkins - "Who Do You Love" (March 1963; rec. January 1963) [Dead link]
4 out of 5 members; this song (the B-side to a "Bo Diddley" single) is featured on both Band box sets.
Ronnie Hawkins Talks About "The Boys" -- Then and Now, interviewed by Carol Caffin
Well, when that group came together, they were all young and strong and talented, so what I did was that -- we worked mostly seven days a week, but for sure six, and we practiced five days a week -- it was my rule back then, you know?
...Robbie Robertson came in early on kind of as a roadie-type person, just runnin' errands and listenin' to music and practicin'. He was already into music, he already had little bands, and he was a street-smart, hip kid. So we brought him in first -- Levon [Helm] did, when the Arkansas boys decided to go back.
...The sad thing about gettin' popular and makin' a little money is they stopped workin' and stopped practicin' and started partyin' and chasin' women and drugs and everything there is to do that makes a young man think he's doin' somethin.' But see, they stopped playin' as a unit and individually, almost, except for Rick [Danko] ... They would invite 30 people out for sushi in L.A. and pick up the tab. I mean, you can't do that -- not unless you got a hit record goin'! [laughs] But anyway, they wasted too much money and had too much fun ... Well, they left behind some unbelievable music.
https://theband.hiof.no/articles/Ronnie ... Bite5.html