Covered in '80s

In this ongoing series, we highlight 80’s cover tunes or ‘80s songs that have been covered by other artists. Sometimes it’s a win-win: an 80’s song covered by another 80’s artist! Which version is your favorite?

Today the spotlight shines on the song "I Found Someone". Most of you will associate this tune with Cher, who took it to the top 10. The song appeared on her self-titled 1987 record and got a ton of airplay.

While no one took this song higher on the charts than Cher, she was not the first to cover it. Laura Branigan did a version of "I Found Someone", which came from her album, "Hold Me". Her version stalled at #90 on the charts in 1986.

Which brings us to the original writers of this song, Mark Mangold (of the grossly underrated band Touch, which was featured in our "You Were Robbed" post yesterday) and Michael Bolton. Bolton came full circle on this song by producing Cher's version. Here is Mangold's band Touch performing "I Found Someone":

And finally, Michael Bolton performing it:

Covered in '80s

In this ongoing series, we highlight 80’s cover tunes or ‘80s songs that have been covered by other artists. Sometimes it’s a win-win: an 80’s song covered by another 80’s artist! Which version is your favorite?

In 1981, rock band Spider released an album called "Between The Lines" that contained two songs that would climb much higher on the charts later in the decade when covered by other artists starting their solo careers. While I am sure the members of Spider appreciate that their songs eventually became hits for others later on, it was a day late and a dollar short for this band - they split up in 1984 after releasing only two albums.

The Spider song "Better Be Good To Me" was a huge hit for Tina Turner, lifted from her debut solo record, "Private Dancer". She took the song all the way to #5 on the Billboard charts and won a Grammy for it as well.



And now the version we're all familiar with by Tina Turner:

The other tune covered from "Between The Lines" was called "Change", appearing on John Waite's first solo record,  1982's "Ignition". The single fizzled but resurfaced in 1985 on the "Vision Quest" soundtrack, this time going to #50 on the charts.

And now the John Waite version:

Covered in '80s

In this ongoing series, we highlight 80’s cover tunes or ‘80s songs that have been covered by other artists. Sometimes it’s a win-win: an 80’s song covered by another 80’s artist! Which version is your favorite?

"Wicked Game" is the song that put Chris Isaak on the map. First appearing in 1989, it rocketed to popularity thanks to an appearance in the 1990 movie, "Wild at Heart". Oh, and that sizzling video with the topless Helena Christensen probably had a little something to do with its popularity as well.

The song has been covered a number of times by a group of very diverse artists. One of the more recent versions is this acoustic rendition by 11th American Idol winner Phillip Phillips.



A powerful acoustic cover of this song was also done by hard rocking outfit Stone Sour in 2006.



Had enough slow, acoustic stuff? Then check out this rousing rocking version by HIM, from his 2003 album, "Razorblade Romance".

Covered in ‘80s

In this ongoing series, we highlight 80’s cover tunes or ‘80s songs that have been covered by other artists. Sometimes it’s a win-win: an 80’s song covered by another 80’s artist! Which version is your favorite? 

Charlie Sexton is a guitarist and songwriter who has served in Bob Dylan's band and the rock band Arc Angels. But back in the 80s he cut his teeth releasing a string of solo records that have become classics among AOR fans. The closing song on his 1985 album, “Pictures for Pleasure” was called “Space”. While it didn't raise any eyebrows at radio then, the boys in Cheap Trick knew a great song when they heard it. Cheap Trick covered "Space" just a few years later on their megahit album “Lap of Luxury”.