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Song of the Day #5,198: ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’ – Robert Hazard

This next example of an unlikely cover is a little hard to swallow. Can it really be that Cyndi Lauper’s 1983 girl-power anthem was actually first written and recorded by a man?

Indeed it was. Singer-songwriter Robert Hazard wrote the song in 1979 and recorded this demo, though he opted not to put the track on his 1982 self-titled EP. Lauper worked with Hazard to rewrite some of the lyrics from a woman’s perspective and put her own musical stamp on the song. Her debut single, it became a worldwide hit and reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

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Song of the Day #5,197: ‘Valerie’ – The Zutons

I’m enjoying the ‘Songs You Didn’t Know Were Covers’ series so much I’ve decided to stretch it into a third week. I like the idea of “discovering” a new song that isn’t quite new. It’s like meeting an alternate universe version of an old friend.

Today’s song is best known as a 2007 recording by Amy Winehouse for the Mark Ronson album Version. As the album’s title suggests, it features cover versions of songs given a retro makeover in Ronson’s favored Motown style.

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Song of the Day #5,196: ‘Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter’ – R.E.M.

Today’s random selection is a track from R.E.M.’s 2011 album Collapse Into Now, their 15th studio release and the last album they released before breaking up later that year.

Hard to believe it’s been more than a decade since the band split. And any hope of a reunion is likely fruitless, as just last year, Michael Stipe had this to say about the prospect: “We decided when we split up that that would just be really tacky and probably money-grabbing, which might be the impetus for a lot of bands to get back together.”

Honestly, I’d be fine with a tacky, money-grabbing new release from R.E.M.

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Song of the Day #5,195: ‘Heart’s Desire’ – Ron Sexsmith

After my series on second hits by one-hit wonders, frequent commenter Dana suggested I feature some artists who have had long career despite never having a single hit. It’s a good idea I will add to the list.

In the meantime, the Random iTunes Fairy has made one such selection today, offering up a song from Canadian singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith’s 2002 album Cobblestone Runway.

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Song of the Day #5,194: ‘Somebody to Love’ – The Great Society

Today we have our second example of a band kinda sorta covering itself (The Mamas and the Papas’ ‘California Dreamin’‘ was the first).

In this case, the two songs share lead singer Grace Slick, who took ‘Somebody to Love’ to #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 with Jefferson Airplane in 1967. But before that, she recorded the song with her previous band, The Great Society.

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