There are so many iconic groups, like The Beatles, that are known for penning their own chart-toppers. But sometimes, it takes an extra mind to make the magic happen. Here are four killer rock hits that came from an outside source.
“I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” by Aerosmith
This song is Aerosmith’s only No. 1 hit, and they were not the ones to pen it. “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” was actually written by Dianne Warren. You might know her for other huge songs like Celine Dion’s “Because You Loved Me”.
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According to an interview Warren did with Billboard, she “never thought” Aerosmith would do her song.
“I wasn’t in the studio when they were recording,” she explained. “So it went from me teaching Steven Tyler the song at the piano to someone sending me the CD and hearing the finished record. I was blown out of my chair; it was so great.”
“(Don’t You) Forget About Me” by Simple Minds
Even though this song by Simple Minds basically made The Breakfast Club what it is, it actually came from an outside source.
This one was written and composed by Keith Forsey and guitarist Steve Schiff. They wanted an anthem that would act as the characters’ farewell to each other.
“It was: don’t forget, when we’re back in the classroom, you’re not just a bad guy and we’ve got other things in common,” Forsey told The Guardian.
“All Along The Watchtower” by The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Bob Dylan has a version of this song out that’s equally respected, if not more so. However, Jimi Hendrix’s version was what got people hooked in the beginning.
Hendrix once said of “All Along The Watchtower”: “All those people who don’t like Bob Dylan’s songs should read his lyrics. They are filled with the joys and sadness of life. I am as Dylan, none of us can sing normally. Sometimes, I play Dylan’s songs and they are so much like me that it seems to me that I wrote them. I have the feeling that Watchtower is a song I could have come up with, but I’m sure I would never have finished it…”
“I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
This song was actually written by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker, and released by their band The Arrows in 1975. It ended up becoming a much bigger hit for Joan Jett & The Blackhearts when they put out their version in 1981.
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