Ten More Songs You May Not Know Are Covers: Black and White (#10)

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Remember that series I had a few weeks ago, where I listed ten songs that would probably shock you to learn were actually cover versions? The #1 song was "Piece of My Heart," which was originally recorded by Erma Franklin before Janis Joplin, as a member of Big Brother and the Holding Company, made it into the version that 'everybody' knows. Well, there are more songs. These might not be as shocking...but then again..... #10: Black and White Three Dog Night really was nothing but a cover band. Alfredo mentioned them earlier today with the song "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)," which was originally by Randy Newman. Their biggest hit, "Joy to the World," was originally by Hoyt Axton. So this probably won't surprise you. "Black and White" was a cover. The song dates back to 1954, when a folk singer named Earl Robinson teamed up with David Arkin (the father of actor Alan Arkin) to compose the song "Black and White." The song was written after the US Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education ruling that struck down segregation in public schools. When Three Dog Night covered the song it had previously been covered twice in the preceding year: once by a reggae band called the Maytones and once by a British band called Greyhound. By the time the 70s rolled around the references to the judges ("their robes were black, their hair was white") and the ruling were removed. Of course, now nobody thinks of it as anything except a Three Dog Night song. Black and White Written by David I. Arkin and Earl Robinson Originally recorded by Earl Robinson, 1954 Covered by the Maytones, 1971 Also covered by Greyhound, 1971 Famously covered by Three Dog Night, 1972 Here's the folk version from 1954 in the wake of the Supreme Court decision: