5 R&B Songs That Became Iconic Classic Rock Hits

Rock 'n' roll was revolutionary when it arrived in the 1950s, but the fiery new genre didn't just spring from nowhere. It took in a wealth of influences, and while some of these, such as blues and folk, have become well known to rock listeners through the subgenres of blues rock and folk rock, rhythm & blues, aka R&B — which was a foundational element in much early rock 'n' roll — is often overlooked by modern rock fans.

Here, we take a look at five R&B songs that had a second life in the hands of a classic rock act. R&B songs began to emerge on the charts in the late 1940s, as a popular Black American genre often characterized by gospel-infused vocals and instrumentals taking their cues from a variety of sources such as jazz and Latin music. These songs were generally danceable, playful, and concerned with themes of youth and love, prefiguring much of the subject matter of early rock 'n' roll. And indeed, as their more guitar-heavy cover versions show, they often suited the setlists of rock groups perfectly, with crossover appeal that has made them timeless.

The Beatles' version of "Twist & Shout" is one of the jewels of their early discography. The song had featured in their live setlists from 1962, alongside early rock 'n' roll classics, as they rose to prominence as a club band in the U.K. and Germany. The song was also recorded for their debut British studio album, "Please Please Me," in 1963. The album was largely recorded in a single all-day session, with "Twist & Shout" being the last of 10 songs that the Fab Four put to wax that day.

John Lennon was reportedly sick that day, and after the long session his voice had grown raw. But after soothing his throat with lozenges and milk, he took to the mic anyway, delivering one of the most riotous vocal performances of his early career. Indeed, his strained vocals add to the song, which was a success as a single on both sides of the Atlantic.

But despite many listeners assuming the hit song was a Lennon-McCartney original, the track was a cover of a song written by American songwriters Phil Medley and Bert Russell and was first recorded in 1961 by the R&B group the Top Notes. Their version is relatively obscure and lacks the dynamism and the strong call-and-response structure of the Beatles hit, but an earlier 1962 version by the Isley Brothers, which hit No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on the R&B chart, sets the template for the Fab Four, and clearly served as their point of inspiration.

"Get Ready" was a huge hit for the Temptations when it was released as a single in 1966, hitting No. 1 on the R&B chart and No. 29 on the pop chart in spring that year. The song was written and produced by the Miracles' Smokey Robinson, who had previously provided the Temptations with the smash hit "My Girl," and featured the spine-tingling lead vocals of singer Eddie Kendricks, whose falsetto adds a pleasing amount of tenderness to the song's bombast and bravado.

Surprisingly, unlike "Twist & Shout," which retained its radio-friendly form when it was in the Beatles' hands, in 1970 "Get Ready" was transformed by Motown's psychedelic jam band Rare Earth into a 21-minute-long epic that became a live favorite and filled the second side of the studio album of the same name. Their version is an exploratory, mind-bending adventure replete with instrumental passages that take it far away from the original, although it contains enough of the infectious melody of the original for a sub-three-minute radio edit to hit No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 when released as a single.

"Got My Mind Set on You" was the biggest Billboard hit of George Harrison's post-Beatles career, peaking at No. 1 in January 1988 and staying on the chart for a total of 22 weeks, outperforming his other No. 1s, such as "My Sweet Lord" and "Give Me Love." His version has remained popular as both a classic rock radio staple and a favorite in the streaming age, but there are likely countless fans who remain unaware that it's a cover rather than a Harrison original.

The original version of "Got My Mind Set on You" was written by Rudy Clark and recorded by the obscure R&B singer James Ray in 1962, with the song featuring on Ray's debut album. Sadly, the song was not a success, and Ray died young from a drug overdose.

Ray's album reportedly landed in Harrison's hands as early as 1964 when he was visiting family in the U.S. "Got My Mind Set on You" undoubtedly made an impression on him, as it remained in his mind for more than two decades before making it into a hit.

The Motown classic "Dancing in the Street" has been covered by countless artists down the years, most notably rock icons David Bowie and Mick Jagger, whose playful version, recorded at the height of their friendship and released to support Live Aid, reached No. 1 in the U.K. and the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1985. Written by William Stephenson, Ivy Jo Hunter, and soul legend Marvin Gaye, the track is an upbeat dancefloor filler that was a huge hit for Martha and the Vandellas, hitting No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964, the highest placement of the group's career, building on their No. 4 hit "(Love is Like a) Heatwave."

"Dancing in the Street" was inspired by the sight of people jumping into the spray of a fire hydrant during a heatwave, but the song also carried a subtle political statement. "This was a very bad time all over the U.S.," Martha Reeves has explained (via uDiscoverMusic). "We were just starting to have different confusions in cities — riots and what-have-you. Because of this, the writers were inspired to get people to dance and be happy in the streets instead of the riots."

Bowie and Jagger weren't the only rockers to make a success of Martha and the Vandellas' classic track. Van Halen, the Mamas & the Papas, the Kinks, and other major rock acts have successfully reinterpreted the song, but arguably none compare to the pitch-perfect original.