drmusic wrote:Gladys Knight's hit "Midnight Train to Georgia" was originally "Midnight Plane to Houston"
Recorded by the composer Jim Weatherly
http://youtu.be/J3_JQr6RqWs
I can't say enough good things about Gladys, but I think she got one thing wrong. "Her" (with the Pips) version of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" made #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks, but was almost never played after Marvin Gaye's version was released a year later, holding the #1 spot for 7 weeks running. Which almost makes it fit in the "Obscure Originals" category.
What Gladys got wrong is her argument, in her autobiography, that her version was actually the greater accomplishment, and, by extension, the "better version" of the song. Along with a bunch of allegations that Berry Gordy would do anything to make other Motown artists more successful than The Pips. Because the Pips kept challenging his royalty payments.
If you take Ego out of the picture for a minute, I think that it is pretty obvious that for someone to score a huge hit so soon after an original big hit of the same song generally means that the second version must be a lot better than the original. And, to my ear, it certainly is in this case.
