Songs Sung by Men, but Written by Women Quiz

Answer: Robyn

"Dancing on my Own" was written by a Swedish pop star named Robyn. Her version was a big hit in Europe, charting in many European countries, but it's not well-known in the United States. Calum Scott did a cover of the song in 2015 and his version became a bigger hit worldwide, charting at number 93 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and charting in at least ten different countries.

The two versions of the song are very different. One could say that musically, Robyn's version focuses on the "Dancing" part, while Calum Scott's slower version of the song seems to emphasize the "On my own" part.

Answer: Dolly Parton

Parton released "Jolene" in 1973. In the song, Dolly is pleading with a woman named Jolene to not take her man. According to the song, Jolene is prettier than Dolly and Dolly's boyfriend has feelings for Jolene ("He talks about you in his sleep"), but Dolly is begging Jolene to realize that she could have whatever man she wants whereas Dolly only wants and can only have the man she currently has.

Nowadays, Dolly Parton is arguably the most beloved country singer of all-time. Jolene is probably now jealous of Dolly, rather than vice-versa.

The White Stripes performed the song live and released their live version of the song as a single. Jack White sang the song with anger and bitterness in his voice, arguably giving the song a more desperate feeling. The White Stripes version was a lesser hit than Dolly's version, but it still charted in seven different countries.

Answer: Joan Baez

Joan Baez wrote the song "Diamonds and Rust" and released it in 1975. In an interview with Mike Ragogna, she said that the song was about Bob Dylan.

Baez opened for Dylan on a 1975-1976 tour. Dylan, not knowing that the song was about him, asked if she was going to sing the song. Baez told him that the song was about her husband while he was in prison, and she then promised she was going to play the song.

However, she had already divorced her husband when she wrote the song. Furthermore, the words "Well, you burst on the scene already a legend, the unwashed phenomenon, the original vagabond" couldn't possibly describe her former husband, but they describe Bob Dylan pretty well.

Judas Priest covered the song in 1977. Baez loved Judas Priest's version of the song.

Answer: Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell released "Big Yellow Taxi" in 1970. The song protests destruction of the environment. She said she wrote the song while she was on vacation in Hawaii. She said she could see beautiful mountains in the distance, but when she looked down, all she saw was a huge parking lot. It upset her, realizing they had to cut down a ton of trees to build that parking lot. So she wrote this song, and it became a hit in her home country Canada and also the United States, Australia, and the Netherlands.

Counting Crows covered the song in 2002 with Vanessa Carlton doing backing vocals. Their version charted in at least ten different countries.

Answer: Memphis Minnie

Memphis Minnie wrote the song in 1929 about the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. Kansas Joe McCoy sang it originally. The song was originally an up-tempo folk song recorded on just acoustic guitar.

Led Zeppelin did a cover of the song for their mega-popular album "Led Zeppelin IV." Their version of the song, despite having the same lyrics, is very different. It is slower and longer, and most of it is just instruments and no singing. The instruments include electric guitar, harmonica, and drums. Led Zeppelin's version mostly has a darker feel to it. At the same time, Robert Plant's vocals offset the darkness to some extent.

"Led Zeppelin IV" has sold over 37 million copies worldwide, meaning that their version of "When the Levee Breaks" is the most well-known version.

Answer: Valerie Simpson

Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson were one of the most successful songwriting duos of all-time. They wrote songs that many other artists covered and some turned into hits. One of those songs was "I Don't Need No Doctor," which was recorded by Ray Charles and then recorded by many other male bands and artists such as Styx, John Mayer, Humble Pie, WASP, and Great White.

Answer: Felice Bryant

The husband and wife duo of Boudleaux and Felice Bryant wrote many songs that the Everly Brothers covered, but one of their most popular songs ever was "Love Hurts." They released the song in 1961. Ever since then, several artists have covered the song.

The most popular version of the song was released by the Scottish rock band Nazareth. Their version went to number eight on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and it went to number one in five different countries.

Answer: Ellie Greenwich

Greenwich, George "Shadow" Morton, and Jeff Barry wrote the song. The Shangri-La's covered it in 1964 and their version was a number one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Chart and in New Zealand, too. Twisted Sister covered the song in 1985 on their album "Come Out and Play." Their version of the song charted at number 53 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 47 on the UK Singles Chart.

Answer: Bobbie Gentry

Bobbie Gentry released an album called "The Delta Sweete," a concept album about life in the Mississippi in 1968. She has since been quoted as saying that no one bought the album. The album has turned out to be more popular than she thought. In 2019, an indie rock band called The Mercury Rev released an album called "The Delta Sweete Revisited" in which they covered every song on Gentry's album.

Answer: Mae Boren Axton

"Heartbreak Hotel" was co-written by Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden. Elvis is also credited but he didn't write any of it. He did, however, sing the song, and it became the first of many hits for him. It charted at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the UK Singles Chart.