Who recorded it first
Some Kind of Wonderful
Not a Grand Funk Railroad original — a 1967 Soul Brothers Six single on Atlantic
Because Grand Funk Railroad’s thundering 1974 single is the version on classic-rock radio, the song is widely heard as a Grand Funk original. It is not. “(She’s) Some Kind of Wonderful” was written by John Ellison and first recorded by his own R&B group, Soul Brothers Six, at Atlantic Studios in New York City on March 30, 1967, issued that May as Atlantic 2406. That record reached only number 91 on the US Billboard Hot 100; Grand Funk’s Capitol single reached number three.
The record
Who recorded it first
Released Issued as a 7-inch single on Atlantic (Atlantic 2406) in May 1967, with “I’ll Be Loving You” on the B-side. It was recorded at Atlantic Studios in New York City on March 30, 1967.
Charted Number 91 on the US Billboard Hot 100 — a regional success, particularly in Philadelphia, that barely registered nationally.
Hear The 1967 Soul Brothers Six recording www.youtube.com · Auto-generated upload on the “SOUL BROTHERS SIX - Topic” channel; the description reads “Provided to YouTube by Rhino Atlantic” with a ℗ 1967 Atlantic Recording Corporation line, and the runtime is 2:38, matching the original single’s documented length.The paper trail
Wikipedia’s article on the song gives the recording date, studio, label and catalogue number, and states plainly that it was first recorded by Soul Brothers Six in 1967 ↗, with Grand Funk’s 1974 reading described as the best-known version.
MusicBrainz holds a recording entity for the Soul Brothers Six performance ↗ whose earliest release is the May 1967 US single “Some Kind of Wonderful / I’ll Be Loving You.”
The songwriter’s own biography ↗ places him in Soul Brothers Six as lead guitarist, singer and writer, composing the song on the way to a 1967 session.
Grand Funk’s single is documented on the same page with its Capitol catalogue number, its December 9, 1974 release date and its number-three peak on February 22, 1975 ↗.
Wikipedia: the song, its 1967 original and every charting coverKnow more about the original — or think we’ve got it wrong? Add a source →
Fact-check
Right song, wrong originator
The song is routinely filed as a Grand Funk Railroad original. It is a cover of a soul single that came out on Atlantic in 1967.
Grand Funk Railroad
Their Capitol single, released December 9, 1974, reached number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 on February 22, 1975 and has stayed on rock radio ever since. It is a cover.
Soul Brothers Six
Recorded at Atlantic Studios in New York City on March 30, 1967 and released that May as Atlantic 2406, backed with “I’ll Be Loving You.” It peaked at number 91.
John Ellison
Ellison wrote it and sang lead on the original as a member of Soul Brothers Six. He is credited on every version, including Grand Funk’s.
First recorded by Soul Brothers Six, Atlantic 2406, May 1967 — written by their own John Ellison.
Context
Why the cover swallowed the original
The interesting question is not who wrote it — John Ellison’s name is on every label, including Grand Funk’s. It is why a 1967 Atlantic soul 45 by the song’s own author sank at number 91 while a 1974 rock reading of the same tune went to number three. Part of the answer is format: Soul Brothers Six were an R&B group on a label crowded with bigger R&B names, and their single got regional traction without national push. Ellison has said he believed the record was held back by racial prejudice in radio programming of the era.
The other part is that Grand Funk’s version arrived at the exact moment the band was at its commercial peak, with Jimmy Ienner producing them for a mass pop audience. Once a song lands on classic-rock radio and stays there for decades, the earlier record has to compete with a memory. The original is not obscure — it sits on Atlantic soul compilations and was praised by critic Dave Marsh — but it is outnumbered.
The chronology, step by step
- March 30, 1967 — Soul Brothers Six record “Some Kind of Wonderful,” written by their own John Ellison, at Atlantic Studios in New York City.
- May 1967 — Atlantic issues the single as Atlantic 2406, backed with “I’ll Be Loving You.” It peaks at number 91 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
- 1968 — The Fantastic Johnny C covers it and reaches number 87 on the Hot 100, just missing where the original landed.
- 1974 — Grand Funk Railroad cut it for All the Girls in the World Beware!!!; Capitol releases the single on December 9, 1974.
- February 22, 1975 — The Grand Funk single peaks at number three, and finishes sixth on Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 for 1975.
- Later covers include The Fantastic Johnny C, Huey Lewis and the News (number 44 in 1994) and Toploader (number 76 in the UK, 2002).
The writer sang it first, and still lost the song to a cover.