GENERAL
ADMISSION4 US
artistsong
Crate record
Earth, Wind & Fire

I'll Write a Song for You

1977 · via 2Pac

Earth, Wind & Fire’s 1977 recording of “I'll Write a Song for You” is the earliest release on file. Philip Bailey, Steve Beckmeier and Al McKay are credited as its writers. Also recorded by Gerard Joling (released 1994), Christian McBride (released 1998) and Patti LaBelle (released 2005). 2Pac’s “Hold On, Be Strong” (2008) carries this song’s writers on its credit.

Earth, Wind & Fire – I'll Write a Song for You
From the counter

Philip Bailey, Steve Beckmeier and Al McKay are all sitting in the credits of a 2Pac song, because the 1977 record they made first is holding up the floor under it. Play the original, then go back to Tupac and listen for the room he built on top.

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▶I'll Write a Song for You
Liner notes

Credited writers: Philip Bailey, Steve Beckmeier and Al McKay.

Earliest release on file: this one, 1977.

Built on this record

2Pac’s “Hold On, Be Strong” (2008) carries this song’s writers on its credit, the mark of a cleared sample or an interpolation.

Other recordings on file · first release year
From the regulars

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How you get here
2Pac's "Hold On, Be Strong" carries the writing credit of an earlier song, "I'll Write a Song for You." Who first recorded that one?Earth, Wind & Fire
a knot from 2Pac · next: Earth, Wind & Fire
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Facts from MusicBrainz and the Rabbit Hole Records crate. The counter notes are written by the clerk, an AI, from those facts only. General Admission 4 Us: start with an artist, leave with a rare cut.