’80s Hit More Popular Than The Original? 🎙️ Simply Red – If You Don’t Know Me by Now
Simply Red’s cover of “If You Don’t Know Me by Now” from 1989 was the band’s second number one song in the U.S. and won the Grammy for Best R&B Song in 1990, but is it more popular than the original written by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff and released by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes in 1972?
🎵 Simply Red – If You Don’t Know Me by Now
🎵 Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes – If You Don’t Know Me by Now
’60s Classic Turned Into ’80s Nostalgia 🎶 The Turtles – Happy Together
The Turtles’ “Happy Together” from 1967 was the band’s only number one song on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It’s also been rewritten and re-recorded for use in advertising. In this video, we compare the original song with one example of how it was transformed into a commercial jingle in the 1980s.
🎵 The Turtles – Happy Together (1967)
📺 Golden Grahams Cereal – So Happy Together (1987)
Is The ’90s Soundtrack Hit Bigger Than The ’60s Original? 🎙️ Urge Overkill vs Neil Diamond
Urge Overkill’s cover of “Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon” was first released on their EP, Stull, in 1992 before it appeared on Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction soundtrack in 1994. The original, written and performed by Neil Diamond, was released on his second album, Just for You, in 1967.
🎵 Urge Overkill – Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon (1992)
🎵 Neil Diamond – Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon (1967)
’80s Songs By Artists With Only One Top 40 Hit On The U.S. Billboard Hot 100 – Vol. 4
Are these artists technically ’80s One-Hit Wonders? Here’s a list of songs released in the 1980s by artists who have only one Top 40 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 (not the airplay-only charts).
🎵 The Icicle Works – Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream) (1984)
🎵 The Fabulous Thunderbirds – Tuff Enuff (1986)
🎵 The S.O.S. Band – Take Your Time (Do It Right) Part 1 (1980)
🎵 Aldo Nova – Fantasy (1982)
🎵 E.U. – Da Butt (1988)
🎵 When in Rome – The Promise (1987)
🎵 Patrice Rushen – Forget Me Nots (1982)
🎵 The Vapors – Turning Japanese (1980)
🎵 Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers – Tomorrow People (1983)
🎵 Thomas Dolby – She Blinded Me With Science (1982)
Did This 2000s Hit Rip Off Another Song? 💰 Coldplay – Viva La Vida
In May 2008, “Viva La Vida” was released by Coldplay. Seven months later, Joe Satriani filed a lawsuit against Coldplay for using “substantial original portions” of his song “If I Could Fly” released in 2004. Coldplay said any similarities are entirely coincidental. In 2009, the case was dismissed upon stipulation, suggesting that an out-of-court settlement may have been reached.
🎵 Coldplay – Viva La Vida
🎵 Joe Satriani – If I Could Fly