If Jaime Brockett recorded his "Titanic" in '68, it's likely that he had been already been performing for a while. John Bachman was doing his rendition as early as '66, I believe. While he couldn't have heard the recording two years before it was released, he might very well have heard Jaime performing it live (especially if he had spent a summer between school-years in Boston).

Since Jaime was performing in a major city while John was attending school in an off-the-beaten track midwestern college town, it's quite unlikely that Jaime would have seen/heard John and picked the idea up from him. So Jaime Brockett undoubtedly deserves that co- credit with Chris Smither, for originating the idea of making this number into a long story-song.

But my old pal John really made it his own, with significant additions and deletions, etc. Either version was/is a kick, a great combination of storytelling and music.