Anyone delving into the rich vein of 60s songwriting will find numerous classic songs that were recorded by other artists before being immortalised in one peerless, definitive version.
Such examples include I Heard It Through The Grapevine, written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for Motown Records in 1966 and released by both Gladys Night & The Pips and The Miracles, before Marvin Gaye transformed it into a soul classic in 1967. Another example is Suspicious Minds, an absolute flop of a single when released by its writer Mark James in 1968, before being handed to Elvis Presley who promptly turned it into one of his biggest ever hits.
