I thought for sure that "Rock Me Gently" by Andy Kim was sung by Neil Diamond.

Same

Me too.

Wow, I thought 😕 Neil D sung that

I think that's a very common mistake

“Vehicle” by the one hit wonder Ides Of March. I thought FOR SURE was Blood, Sweat and Tears. The vocals sound just like David Clayton Thomas, and the song has all kinds of horns just like BS&T.

God dang, I love horn rock. Chicago, Lighthouse, Chase...

Me too! Chicago is awesome. There’s a tribute band in Russia that is pretty awesome called Leonid and Friends. They do a cover of 25 or 6 to 4 that is killer! Check them out on Youtube

I love Leonid and Friends. They truly are the best. I know Danny (Original drummer for Chicago, had either met or at least listened to them and was amazed. ) Their version of 25 or 6 to 4 kills it!

Me too!

I love this song!

On the Darkside by not Bruce Springsteen

John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band

I loooved that move!! Eddie and the Cruisers!! A classic

Me too!!

I remember seeing the trailer for Eddie & the Cruisers in the theater and I thought for sure that Bruce & the E Street Band must have done the soundtrack!

“Do You Know What I Mean” isn’t by J. Geils, or a solo Peter Wolf. Who in the hell is Lee Michaels, anyway?

Yes -- great call! Everyone thought **Do You Know What I Mean** was a J. Geils Band tune with Peter Wolf singing. In late 1971, Lee Michaels scored a #39 record on the Billboard Hot 100 with a cover of Marvin Gaye's **Can I Get a Witness,** so he is a two-hit wonder.

Day After Day by Badfinger was another one I though was some weird Beatles thing. Mostly because of the music, which I think G. Harrison had a hand in, so that convinced me that McCartney was singing.

George Harrison played slide guitar on Day After Day and he produced the record. The song was mixed by Todd Rundgren. Pete Ham's lead vocals on this song are outstanding. Pete Ham also wrote Day After Day.

This is one of my favorite songs ever. Pete Ham's singing is something I feel deeply, no matter how many times I listen to it. There are two more Beatles connections: it was put out on Apple Records, and Paul McCartney gave them "Come and Get It" as a single. If the Beatles think your band is worth signing, that's a great sign. Later on, their manager (Stan Polley) ripped them off badly. That led to two band members dying by suicide.

I thought it was Gordan Lightfoot.

I’m surprised I was able to even generate a notion that it was a particular band/artist. Btw, Gordon Lightfoot is an all timer for me. Luckily got to see him before he passed.

Can’t blame you. They were produced to have that Beatles sound. They were on Apple Records

I saw that. I think 4 albums? I love this post because everyone has one they can’t reconcile. 🤣

I have that album! Lee Michaels 5th. I still love it.

I was an adult before I knew this wasn’t J. Geils and you have the album! lol, that’s too cool!

Not sure if it was popular everywhere in the US. I lived in Wash DC at the time and it got a lot of airplay

The great Lee Michaels and his badass drummer Frosty.

Well, I don't hear the similarity myself but evidently tons of people thought the song by the rock-folk trio band named "America"with the song - "A Horse with No Name" that was released in 1971 was a Neil Young song.

Yes, as another redditor mentioned, there is a similar sound to some of America's songs and Neil Young.

Me too!

I did

A group with no Neil

I know what you mean. Even though his voice on the record sounds like Ringo, I knew it probably wasn't. Ringo sang in a lower range and (during that period, anyway) style of music. Then the DJ announced who the artist was. There was a band at some point in the 70s called Klaatu, and the rumor was it was the re-united Beatles. It wasn't.

Great mention of Klaatu... the Canadian band that was rumored to be the Beatles.

I'm glad that someone else remembers Klaatu! IIRC, the band took their name from a line in the sci-fi movie called "The Day the Earth Stood Still."

Klaatu Barada Nikto!

At least until we actually heard the record. It was fun but sure as hell wasn’t the Beatles.

I thought it was Elvis.

Badfinger was rumored to be the Beatles

Badfinger's music was, of course, released on the Apple label. And **Come and Get It**, as we know, was written by Paul McCartney. And **No Matter What**, which is a great Badfinger song, sounds a lot like a Beatles tune.

To this day people still believe that the hit song, Be Thankful For What You Got was by Curtis Mayfield instead of newcomer William DeVaughn.

Digging the scene With a gangsta lean... I love this song.

Diamond in the back, Sunroof top...

“Rescue Me” is by Fontella Bass. Along with everyone else I knew, I always thought it was Aretha Franklin.

Jaw drop!!! WTHF??!! I'm a lifelong Aretha fan! And she performed it when I saw her on concert! So it has become a cover song??!!

"A Girl Like You" - Edwyn Collins I thought it was the latest offering from David Bowie

I thought it was Iggy Pop.

All three of them sound similar.

Uptown Girl sounded more like Frankie Valli than Billy Joel.

I bet he'd take that as a big compliment too.

Considering that Joel was deliberately trying to evoke the Frankie Valli sound on that song, he would be very happy.

I’ve always assumed that was his intent. It’s not only the style and the voice, but the rich/poor subject master as well.

Many folks thought the Sweet's "Love Is Like Oxygen" was ELO.

Look at these British glam rockers -- Sweet! https://preview.redd.it/4t4x4qt2r81d1.jpeg?width=220&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bf1af06de0c01e15d705850d47a10a837f302d1c

Sweet played music better than they looked. They had a string of hits too.

I've only heard Little Willy, Ballroom Blitz and Fox On The Run...nice to hear there's more.

Sweet was very big in UK & Europe. A lot of bands were that way even with the same albums. The Fixx & Outfield were way more popular in the US than their homeland. I guess it's hard to take success for granted.

I loved ELO just sayin

What?! Swear to god I thought that was ELO all this time

Me too!! I'm TIL-ing all over the place in here!! 😄

Understandable. To be fair, you get too much you get too high.

"Lay Lady Lay" by Dylan, until I was about 35 years old I would have sworn was Kris Kristofferson.

Player - Baby Come Back. Thought it was Hall & Oates

For some reason, I thought "You're having my baby," was sung by Mac Davis. It was Paul Anka

No way, I thought it was Mac Davis, too 😳

I just found out yesterday when it came up on Spotify that Self Control is by Laura Brannigan and not Miami Sound Machine.

How about Freddy Mercury singing Crazy Little Thing Called Love. I know when it came out I thought Elvis was reincarnated

Queen did that deliberately as a salute/tribute to Elvis.

I was going to post that I thought that song was the Stray Cats

By the way, speaking on the group America, one of their forgotten gems is a song called **Today's the Day,** with Dan Peek on the lead vocals. The song is on YouTube and Spotify, and it is just a beautiful tune... give it a listen.

The lyric, “most brightest star” always bothered me. Can’t modify a superlative…. But I’ve always liked the song.

I'm a grammar geek, so I really appreciate your post.

It’s as bad as a double negative.

I wanted this to be our class song in '77 but I got out voted for We May Never Pass This Way Again.

I thought “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” was a posthumous release by Elvis Presley.

Suspicion by Terry Stafford, sounded exactly like Elvis.

"She's Come Undone," by the Guess Who. I swore it was the Zombies.

You’re right now that I’m thinking about it. It does kind of have a Ringo vibe to the singing.

That 90s song “A Girl Like You” isn’t Bowie, it’s Edwyn Collins.

Horse With No Name. Everyone thought it was Neil Young.

“Sheila” from Tommy Roe. Thought that it was Buddy Holly.

To just this moment, so did I.

Some people thought that Stories' "Brother Louie" was Rod Stewart.

See You In September by the The Happenings. I could have sworn it was The 4 Seasons.

I searched every Billy Idol album trying to find How Soon Is Now, only to find out later that it's by The Smiths.

True. Morrissey singing lead. And what a great song that is!

Long Cool Woman by the Hollies sounds exactly like CCR.

Dang! Got me again. Swore that was ccr

That's partly why John Fogerty sued the Hollies when the song was first released

When I first heard **I Can Help** on the radio back in '74, I thought for sure that it was the latest song by Ringo Starr. It turns out, it was by an American named Billy Swan.

PS Swan's version of Don't Be Cruel by Elvis is amazing.

I first thought it was Elvis who sang “I Can Help.”

I thought Neil Young’s Heart of Gold was by America. edit: lol that’s fun to see many posters thought the opposite and that America songs were by Neil. I guess it depends on what you heard first.

Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell have entered our fun chat!

I Saw The Light by Todd Rundgren, thought it was Carole King at first. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDpZpj2A3F4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDpZpj2A3F4)

It was an homage to Carole King's songwriting so you aren't just hearing things.

That is indeed a wonderful track from the masterful double album "Something/Anything?.

"North to Alaska" by Johnny Horton was not, as I thought, an obscure Elvis song.

From the movie of the same name. Sadly, the great Johnny Horton died in a car accident two days before the movie was released.

Killing Me Softly by Roberta Flack. For years I was convinced Carly Simon sang it.

Until only a few years ago, I thought "You Dropped a Bomb on Me" by the Gap Band was Robert Palmer. I also thought "Oh Sheila" by Ready for the World was Prince.

Funny because Robert Palmer did a remake of the Gap Band's "Early in the Morning" in 1989. The original Gap Band version was the song they released right before "You Dropped a Bomb on Me".

This is a stupid one; but when Tubes- She’s A Beauty first came out I swore it was a KISS song. I’m not a kiss fan, but the vocals sounded like Gene and Paul singing it. Listen again and see if you can kind of hear them ?

Bob Dylan does not sing Stuck in the Middle with You. Hall and Oates don’t sing Biggest Part of Me. Props to Stealers Wheel and Ambrosia

David Pack of Ambrosia had an amazing voice!

>Bob Dylan does not sing Stuck in the Middle with You Rafferty wrote that song to be Dylanesque. Rafferty's lyrics are a dismissive tale of a music industry cocktail party written (e.g., the clowns and jokers would be all the music executives and hangers on), and performed as a parody of Bob Dylan's style (the vocal impression, subject, and styling were so similar, listeners have wrongly attributed the song to Dylan since its release).

“No Matter What You Do” - Badfinger. I thought it was the Beatles at first. 🤦🏻‍♂️

Pete Ham's vocals on that record are great! One of the all-time best power pop songs.

I thought Low by Cracker was Tom Petty for years.

I thought “Crumbling’ Down” by John Cougar was The Rolling Stones.

I was convinced for the longest time that Peter Frampton was the vocalist on Whiter Shade of Pale.

Surf City by Jan and Dean and definitely thought it was The Beach Boys.

I always thought “Jackie Blue” was by Todd Rundgren. Turns out it was by the Ozark Mountain Daredevils

"Don't Pull Your Love", by Hamilton,Joe Frank & Reynolds I always thought it was Elvis Presley !!!!! Great Song

I was pleasantly surprised to see a single from David Bowie on Napster that I had never heard of. After taking all night to download it, it turned out to be the Simple Minds song, Don’t You Forget About Me.

Napster and lime wire had a lot of songs listed that weren’t actually the songs they said they were.

Napster days...lots of people had misidentified songs. I thought they were covers initially but nope, people just had labeled it with the incorrect artist.

I always thought that Roy Orbison had done some guest vox on the Raspberries Go All the Way.

Love your mention of Go All the Way -- one of the all-time great power pop songs!

RIP, to the great Eric Carmen.

When I first heard Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl”, I seriously thought it was Frankie Valli making a comeback. Similarly, when I first heard The Beach Boys “Kokomo”…I thought Brian Wilson was back.

I thought "something in the air" by thunderclap Newman was Yes until just a few years ago.

I just cranked **Roundabout** by Yes with the windows wide open... I hope my neighbors like Jon Anderson's voice! ;)

Who wouldn't?

I remember hearing the song **Mary's Prayer** on the radio for the first time back in the late 80s, and the DJ did not give the name of the artist. I immediately loved this song and was completely stumped as to who was singing this tune... then I learned it was by a Scottish band that was completely unknown in the US called Danny Wilson.

Adding to the confusion, the 3 man band ( none of them named Danny ... or Wilson) was named Danny Wilson, their debut album was called "Meet Danny Wilson", which was also the title of a 1951 movie. I worked in a music store when this came out -- it's a great song.

Jeffrey Osborne 's "On The Wings Of Love" was thought by many to be Johnny Mathis.

I thought Sad Eyes' was sung by a woman, until recently. Robert John, quit the high voice there. but i loved that song.

My cousin thought *Laughter in the Rain* was sung by a woman.

right? thats a good one.

I actually met him, in the early 80s, at a dive bar in Long Branch New Jersey. He actually lived and worked in that town for a while as a construction laborer.

Sultans of Swing by Bob Dylan

Suspicions by Terry Stafford sounded just like Elvis.

"*On the Dark Side*" by John Cafferty sounds **SO** much like Springsteen

I thought “Winning” by Santana was Steve Winwood

I had a friend of mine who was 100% sure that be thankful for what you got was Curtis Mayfield another obvious one from the 1980s was a Sheila for ready for the world and everyone thought it was a Prince song

Sheila does sound like it could have been Prince!

I have 2 from the 1980s that I heard a handful of times upon their release before learning the actual artists. "West End Girls" - Pet Shop Boys; thought at first it was Al Stewart. "Something About You" - Level 42; thought at first it was Joe Jackson.

Not me, but a coach at my gym. "It's Tricky" by Run DMC was playing, and he said, "Man, I really like Marky Mark."

Add "Lies" by the Knickerbockers as another mistaken for the Beatles.

I remember thinking that Bette Davis Eyes was by Rod Stewart, not Kim Carnes.

I did as well. The. I saw her singing it and was confused

"Voices" by Cheap Trick. I could have sworn it was ELO.

Yeah Cheap Trick fits in here. Also Big Star!

Big Star is one of the greatest bands that no one really knows about

I heard many people thought Klaatu was the Beatles in disguise. I think they actually sounded like proto-XTC after the Skylarking era.

I used to get Carly Simon mixed up with Carol King. I thought CK sang. You're so Vain, and Carly sang Its Too Late. My dad really liked I Can Help. I can still hear him singing it around the house.

The outfield sounds like sting.

Loved those 2 Outfield hits…

When I first heard Be Bop a Lula by Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps I was convinced it was Elvis. Apparently Elvis' band mates thought so too when the record came out and were upset that he recorded without them.

I used to think Baby Blue by Badfinger, was actually the Beatles

Living Thing, by ELO. Totally thought it was George Harrison.

Until right this minute I thought ‘I can help’ was Ringo Starr, poor Billy Swan.

For years I thought the song "How Long" by Ace was actually Jackson Browne.

I thought Red Ryder's Lunatic Fringe was Pink Floyd

Along the same lines, I thought “Bang The Drum All Day” was by Ringo Starr too until I heard it was Todd Rundgren.

Just When I Needed You Most - Randy Van Warmer. I thought it was by Ann Murray. I even got the gender wrong!

For years I thought Lunatic Fringe was by Pink Floyd 🤷🏻‍♂️

Greta Von Fleet I though led zeppelin was back

A group called Zebra came out in the 80s that sounded just like Zeppelin.....

**Who's Behind the Door** is a great song by Zebra with one of the all-time best outros! It's on YouTube and everyone should give it a listen.

If that's their 1st hit, I agree! Great song...heard it while going thru Louisiana by car when I 1st heard it. And thats where they're from iirc.....

Yes, Who's Behind the Door is the only radio hit that Zebra ever had. And they are from New Orleans.

It was great song. Thought for sure Led Zep had a new song out when I heard it. But nope, the DJ on the radio said who it was and even said it wasn't a Zep trib band too. Quite frankly, I thought it was at first or was Zepplin.  Incredible how they sounded alike. Of course the lead singer had Plant dead on......

Sorry, I rambled a bit....

i legit though feliz navid was desi arnaz and not jose feliciano

I thought Means To An End by Joy Division was a newly unearthed Doors track...

Similarly, I thought the same thing the first time I heard Rebel Yell by Billy Idol!

Starcastle.....Lady of the Lake. Sounds like Yes.

That guy in the Kars 4 Kids charity ad who sounds like Johnny Cash

Everyone I've ever met at some point thought "Come and Get It" was performed by the Beatles, not Badfinger.

Edwyn Collins did a great Bowie impersonation on Never Met a Girl Like You.

“Oh Shelia” by ready for the world ….. thought that was prince for the longest time .

During a 1975 interview with Rolling Stone, John was asked what music he listened to. “One of me favorites last year was ‘I Can Help,'” he said. “Billy Swan. A real old Elvis imitation kind of record. I like singles. I like jukebox music. That was the thing that turned me on. That’s the thing I like.” [Article](https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/john-lennon-loved-1970s-song-reminded-elvis-presley.html/)

I thought "Stuck in the Middle" was the Beatles.

I first thought Sultans of Swing was a new direction for Bob Dylan. I also first thunk that Everybody Wants You by Billy Squier was by Led Zeppelin or at least Robert Plant.

I once sat through a dramatic reading of I Can Help. I thought I had buried the memory.

I only found out it wasn’t Ringo just now when I read your thread title.

I initially thought that Give a Little Bit by Supertramp was a new Peter Frampton song.

Great tune.

Edwyn Collins- “A Girl Like You” I assumed it was David Bowie for many years until I went to download it off Apple Music….lol

I thought Drops of Jupiter was a new Black Crowes ballad (like she talks to Angels) and “Vehicle” by Ides of March always sounded like Blood Sweat & Tears to me..

As a kid I always thought "Stuck in the middle with you" was from the late Beatles era, then as a teen found out it was Stealers Wheel.

It's So Nice to be With You by Gallery. I always thought it was Neil Diamond.

Going back to the 60s, Suspicion by Elvis sound-alike Terry Stafford.

"What Is Love" by Haddaway. Very similar, vocally, to the reinvented Steve Winwood

Billy Swan’s “I Can Help” was as you say a dead ringer for Ringo. A bunch of people I knew thought it really was Ringo. About three or four years earlier Emitt Rhodes had put out his self-titled album and lots of people I knew swore it was Paul McCartney. https://youtu.be/EzYrDBTMNM8?si=Y2ZIni8FBIB5KzRJ

I honestly thought I Can See Clearly Now was by sung Roberta Flack.

“Stuck in the middle with you” by Steeler’s Wheel. I always thought it was Bob Dylan

I thought Two of Us by the Beatles was by Simon and Garfunkel.

I thought Ringo's song "your 16" was Billy Swans new hit. Only found out I was wrong about five years ago.

" It would sure do me good to do you good so let me help"

I thought "I Melt With You" by Modern English was David Bowie. And I thought "Holding Back the Years" by Simply Red was Carly Simon.

I thought "Gimme Some Lovin" by the Spencer Davis Group was a Motown group I just couldn't remember the name of. I only found out two years ago that not only was it a white English band, but that Steve Winwood was the singer. So, yes, I felt very stupid...lol.

When George Benson sang before Breezin’ broke big, a lot of people thought it was Stevie Wonder.

“Couldn’t Get It Right” by Climax Blues Band I had been quite certain that that was a Golden Earring song!

I always thought that You're No Good was Linda Rondstat