In 1981, Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love” hit No. 1 on the U.K. Singles Chart and became the year’s best-selling single. In 1982, it reached No. 8 in the U.S. and stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 for 43 consecutive weeks, setting a record at the time. It also topped the charts in 17 other countries, making it a global sensation, and it has remained a beloved ’80s anthem ever since.
Soft Cell was a one-hit wonder, but what a masterful hit it was. Even the music video for “Tainted Love” is a wild throwback to the decade. Ah, the bizarreness of the ’80s:
‘Tainted Love’ was a cover of a B-side soul single
Many of us who grew up singing this song in the ’80s didn’t know the song was a cover, largely because the original was never a hit. British soul artist Gloria Jones recorded “Tainted Love” in 1964 and used it as a B-side single on the 1965 song “My Bad Boy’s Comin’ Home.”
Jones’ version differs from Soft Cell’s in several ways. First, it used real instruments, no synthesizers. (The synthesizer wouldn’t become mainstream in music until the 1970s.) Also, the lyric “I’ll give you all a boy could give you” uses the word “girl” instead. But mostly, it just has a boppy ’60s soul vibe instead of a dramatic ’80s pop vibe, which makes a world of difference.
Check it out:
The Jones version never really went anywhere, and the song sat buried in obscurity until Soft Cell ’80s-ified it.
Other hit songs you might not know were covers
“Tainted Love” certainly is not the first or last famous song that most people didn’t know was a cover. Here’s a non-comprehensive list of other obscure songs that became a hit when someone else covered them:
“Blinded by the Light”
This one’s a bit odd in that the original artist is arguably much more famous than the cover artist who made the song a hit. “Blinded by the Light” was originally recorded by Bruce Springsteen on his debut album in 1973, but it was the Manfred Mann’s Earth Band version in 1976 that went to No. 1 on the charts. That’s the version most of us know (the one that has people hearing “wrapped up like a douche” instead of “revved up like a deuce”).
“Girls Just Want to Have Fun”
Cyndi Lauper’s great female anthem was actually first written and recorded by a man. Watch Robert Hazard’s 1979 version:
“Red, Red Wine”
UB40 came along with “Red, Red Wine” during the dancehall reggae phase of the ’80s, but guess who originally recorded it? Neil Diamond. In 1967. Who knew? (His version is slower and sadder. You can listen to it here.)
“Mickey”
The ’80s pop hit “Mickey,” by American singer Toni Basil, was actually a slightly altered cover of a song called “Kitty” by the British band Racey. Basically, “Kitty” became “Mickey,” but other than that, same song.
That’s just a small sampling—there are so many more! Here’s to the musicians who created the originals, and to the cover artists who made them famous.
