Here’s another case of a late 70s song by a man turning into an early 80s hit by a woman. In this case, swapping the genders in the lyrics also led to a title change for the song.
‘Mickey’ was released in 1982 by American singer Toni Basil, reaching #1 in the United States and cementing the 39-year-old as a classic one-hit wonder. Basil’s career as a choreographer is far more interesting, including co-directing videos for Talking Heads and serving as choreographer on such films as American Graffiti, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Legally Blonde, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
But before it was ‘Mickey,’ it was ‘Kitty,’ recorded by British band Racey in 1979. Racey didn’t find chart success with ‘Kitty,’ though they did have two top five hits in the UK with ‘Lay Your Love On Me’ and ‘Some Girls’ around the same time.
Basil’s cover is pretty much note for note, with the exception of the “oh Mickey, you’re so fine, you’re so fine you blow my mind, hey Mickey” chant she used to kick off the song and match the cheerleading-themed video. To her credit, that chant and video probably had as much to do with the song’s success as anything else.
But that’s a little long
You think you’ve got the right
But I think you’ve got it wrong
Why can’t we say goodnight
So I can take you home, Kitty
When you say you will
It always means you won’t
You’re giving me the chills
Please, baby, don’t
Every night you still leave me all alone, Kitty
Oh, Kitty, what a pity you don’t understand
You take me by the heart when you take me by the hand
Oh, Kitty, you’re so pretty can’t you understand
It’s girls like you, Kitty
What you do, Kitty, do, Kitty
Don’t break my heart, Kitty
Now when you take me by the who’s ever gonna know
And every time you move you let a little more show
There’s something you should lose
So don’t say no, Kitty
So come on and give it to me any way you can
Any time you want to do it, I’ll take it like a man
But please, baby, please, don’t leave me in this jam, Kitty
Oh, Kitty, what a pity you don’t understand
You take me by the heart when you take me by the hand
Oh, Kitty, you’re so pretty can’t you understand
It’s girls like you, Kitty
What you do, Kitty, do, Kitty
Don’t break my heart, Kitty
Oh, Kitty, what a pity you don’t understand
You take me by the heart when you take me by the hand
Oh, Kitty, you’re so pretty can’t you understand
It’s girls like you, Kitty
What you do, Kitty, do, Kitty
Don’t break my heart, Kitty
Oh, Kitty, what a pity you don’t understand
You take me by the heart when you take me by the hand
Oh, Kitty, you’re so pretty can’t you understand
It’s girls like you, Kitty
What you do, Kitty, do, Kitty
Don’t break my heart, Kitty
Meet Me In Montauk 
I wonder how much money the songwriters make when a song like this becomes such a big hit for someone else?