3 Classic Rock Songs That I Wish Were Recorded by the Artists Who Wrote Them

Many classic rock songs over the years were works written by one musician, then given away to another. Often, these creative choices were smart. Sometimes, a musician knows when to write a banger and then give it to someone who could better capture that banger’s energy. In the case of the following three classic rock songs, though, I think their songwriters should absolutely have recorded them instead of giving them away. You might just agree with me on a couple of these tunes.

“Pushin’ Forward Back” by Temple Of The Dog (1991)

Calling Temple Of The Dog and Soundgarden “classic rock” might be pushing it, but I think this particular song is an apt example of what I’m talking about. Temple Of The Dog was a truly incredible alt-rock supergroup, and few of their songs could even be considered objectively “bad.” But, in all honesty, “Pushin’ Forward Back” would have sounded absolutely incredible as a Soundgarden tune. Considering Chris Cornell wrote this track, that could have happened. Instead, he gave it away to his side project.

“Manic Monday” by The Bangles (1985)

Prince famously wrote and gave away quite a few songs during his career. But one of the biggest travesties in that respect, in my opinion, is “Manic Monday”. This classic pop-rock entry on our list of songs would have been absolutely legendary on a Prince release, especially since the mid-1980s really was his rock era. The Bangles did a fine job with it, of course. But once Prince’s demo version was released posthumously in 2019, it was clear that he absolutely should have taken this song and ran with it way back in 1985.

“I’ve Done Everything For You” by Rick Springfield (1981)

This power pop and rock classic was originally recorded and released by the artist who wrote it, but it’s worth mentioning nonetheless. That artist is Sammy Hagar, who wrote and recorded a hard rock version of “I’ve Done Everything For You” back in 1978. Honestly, his version is fantastic, and it was a charting hit in the UK. It has even made it to Hagar’s greatest hits records.

However, the success of Rick Springfield’s version wildly overshadowed Hagar’s original release. Springfield’s version catapulted to No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, while Hagar’s version didn’t even chart in the US. I can’t help but think that if Hagar had kept this one to himself for a bit longer and possibly re-released it once the 80s came around, it would have rivaled the success of Springfield’s version.

(Photo by Jeffrey Mayer/Getty Images)

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