5 Songs You Didn’t Know Had Victor Origins

By: Ivan Munoz

It’s always fun discovering the history of a song. Whether that means reading the names of the writers on the back of an album under the song title, or going on a deep-dive through a mixture of books and internet pages learning about an obscure piece of music that just happened to catch your ear. Either way, the pursuit of this knowledge and information can be almost as exhilarating as listening to the song itself, and helps to further your understanding of the world of music while also showing just how deeply connected all musicians are. After all, if we trace our collective roots far enough back, they’d all lead to the same place - it’s proven time and again. With that in mind, here are five popular songs we’re all familiar with that have Victor origins!

1. Sloop John B. 

The song of many titles, Sloop John B. was originally known as either The Wreck of The John B., John B. Sails, or simply I Wanna Go Home, can be traced back to the mid 1600s starting its life as a Bahamian folk song. The Beach Boys Pet Sounds version we all know and love today, though it’s the most recognized version, it is not nearly the first. The first written example of this song can be dated back to 1927 and found in Carl Sandburg’s book American Sandbag. Sandburg, a Victor Artist, was deeply fascinated with these folk songs and we can, in part, thank him for setting this song in stone as it were. Here is the earliest known recording of this song; note how similar the vocal arrangements are to the Beach Boys take on it!

2. The Midnight Special

Creedence Clearwater Revival was always creating timeless songs, but their catalogue would not be complete without John Fogerty’s searing rendition of Midnight Special featuring biting lead vocals, a tremolo-soaked guitar, and texturized harmonies in a rendition of this song that paid tribute to one of music’s all time greats. Not only did CCR show they had a reverence for those that came before them by doing many blues-based roots-rock originals, but they also tipped their hat to the origins of rock and roll by doing a song recorded in 1940 by Victor Artist Lead Belly.

3. Are You Lonesome Tonight?

After returning from his time in the military in 1960, inspired by the favorite song of his manager’s wife, Elvis decided to sing this song as an anthem for his return to music; showing a softer and more sensitive side to the young rocker, known for singing Hound Dog just four years earlier. Elvis, never one to shy away from doing versions of older songs, made no exception with this number, drawing reference from the 1927 version by Henry Burr on none other than the Victor label.

4. I’ve Got You Under My Skin

 Undisputedly, the most significant version of this song is by none other than Old Blue Eyes himself – Frank Sinatra. This song interestingly would make an appearance every ten years or so. Sinatra first sang this song on a radio show in 1946 but it took him 10 years to finally put it to record in 1956. In 1966 The Four Seasons even did a version of the song (which although not nearly as important as Frank’s version, I must admit, it’s a guilty pleasure of mine). However, 30 years before The Four Seasons did a version of an already very famous Sinatra tune, in 1936 the song was penned by Cole Porter, an artist and staff writer at Victor Talking Machine company in Camden, NJ. 

5. Heart And Soul

Remember piano lessons when you were a kid? Remember that annoying duet you’d hear every time two people sat down at a piano? Well look no further than Heart and Soul. This chord progression and melody can be found almost everywhere you turn as it has completely sunken into our collective musical subconscious. It’s almost as if it had always existed  and the songwriters (Victor Artists Hoagy Carmichael and Frank Loesser) simply picked it out of the air and manifested it into reality. There are countless popular versions of this song, the most recognizable being performed by Larry Clinton & his Orchestra with Bea Wain on vocals. The most modern pop take on this song is by the band Train’s Play That Song. And go figure, a hit song in 2020 has its roots in none other than Victor. Pretty Cool!

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About The Author

Ivan Munoz is a musician, bassist, singer, musicians advocate, and member of the Victor Talking Machine Company. Along with this Ivan can be found devoting his time to various musical projects, compositions, and working on musical instruments. Click the photo to learn more!