Songs You Didn't Know Were Covers Quiz

Answer: Gloria Jones

"Tainted Love" was written by Ed Cobb. He was not the original performer of the song though. The first recorded version of the song came out in 1964 and was sung by Gloria Jones. One interesting thing that you may notice if you're used to hearing any cover version of the song, is that the original goes "I give you all a GIRL could give you" instead of "all a BOY could give you."

This question was meant as a trick question, as I was hoping some people would mistakenly answer "Soft Cell." They recorded the most popular version of the song in 1981. But yes, even their version of the song was a cover. So, Marilyn Manson is a third-generation performer of this song.

Personally, I love all three versions of the song. I grew up on Marilyn Manson. However, my favorite version of this song is actually the original. Gloria Jones doesn't get the credit she deserves nowadays, but the fact is, she created a song (well technically she didn't create it, but her performance of the song originally defined it) that is loved by three generations of people.

Answer: Michael Jackson

Many of us 90s babies grew up listening to alternative rock radio. So, many of us know Alien Ant Farm's "Smooth Criminal." A lot of us did not know that was a cover. It wasn't until college that I learned that "Smooth Criminal" was actually written by Michael Jackson. That blew my mind. I wasn't really into Michael Jackson until I learned that.

It helped even more that I actually much prefer Michael Jackson's version. It also lowered my personal opinion of Alien Ant Farm to know that not only did they only have one hit, their one hit was a cover song. That said, I can still enjoy Alien Ant Farm's version of the song, and there are worse artists who only made it big because of cover songs.

Answer: Lennon / McCartney

Some people refer to him as "Joe Cover" because all he ever did is cover songs. But he did it well. He is likely the only human being in history to cover a Beatles song and have his version be more popular than the Beatles' version. That being said, it's not the only Beatles song where I prefer the cover.

Other Beatles covers that are worth checking out include Styx' "I Am The Walrus" and the Pixies' "Wild Honey Pie."

Answer: I Hate Myself For Lovin' You

"I Love Rock And Roll" was originally by The Arrows. "Do You Wanna Touch Me?" was written by Gary Glitter, who also wrote "Rock And Roll Part 2 (The Hey Song)." "Crimson And Clover" was written by Tommy James and the Shondells. So, the only hit song that Joan Jett ever wrote was "I Hate Myself For Lovin' You," and she wrote it with Desmond Child.

Personally, I don't even prefer any of Joan Jett's covers to the original versions.

Answer: Sam and Dave

"I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down" was written by Homer Banks and Allen Jones. Neither were the first to record it though. The song was originally recorded by Sam and Dave. Their version was a slow, blues song. Costello sped it up and turned it into a rock song.

I actually became fans of Sam and Dave via Costello's version of this song. I am a huge fan of Elvis Costello, and when I found out that this song was a cover, I looked up and listened to the original song on youtube. It wasn't what I expected: Sam and Dave's version of the song is very different. That said, Sam and Dave's version of the song is AWESOME! They owned that song, and I'm proud to be a fan of theirs. If I had to pick a winner for this song, it'd be Sam and Dave. That said, I give Costello credit. He didn't try to do it better than Sam and Dave. He did it his own way. As a result, we essentially have two awesome songs that are called "I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down" and have the same lyrics.

Answer: Bang Your Head (Metal Health)

"Highway to Hell" was written by an Australian band called AC/DC. I'd be surprised if you didn't already know that one; I only made that one a wrong answer because I happen to know it's a song that Quiet Riot covered.

The other two wrong answers were from a British band called Slade. Slade had more hit singles in Europe than any other band except the Beatles. In America they are not well-known, but they were a huge influence on American bands such as KISS, Cheap Trick, Twisted Sister, Nirvana, and of course Quiet Riot. If you are a fan of any of those bands, you should definitely check out Slade.

Answer: Sonny Curtis

"I Fought The Law" was written and recorded by Sonny Curtis in 1959. His version of the song did not become a hit, but over the decades the song has garnered the attention of other musical artists and multiple generations of people have become fans of some version of the song.

The hit version of the song was recorded by The Bobby Fuller Four. Sadly, Bobby Fuller never lived to see his version of the song become a hit. Months before the song peaked at number nine on the Billboard charts, Bobby Fuller was found dead in his car. No one knows why. Perhaps he really did fight the law and the law won.

The song has also been covered by the Clash, Green Day, and Mike Ness (Social Distortion's lead singer. He did it on a solo album). This song is unique in the fact that there are five different versions of the song including the original, and the original version is the least popular version of the song, as well as Sonny Curtis being the least popular artist to record the song. Not many songs have so many covers that are more popular than the original.

Answer: Stevie Wonder

Many of us 90s kids grew up as fans of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Therefore we didn't know that one of our favorite songs was actually a cover. When I learned that it was by Stevie Wonder, the spoken line "Yeah, Stevie knows better, nobody's going to bring me down" made a lot more sense. Ironically, Stevie does not say "Stevie know better;" only Anthony Kiedis says that.

Personally, I LOVE both versions of the song.

Answer: The Carter Family

"When I'm Gone," was first recorded in 1931 by the Carter Family. Originally, the song did not have a cup as a percussion instrument. Lulu and the Lampshades covered the song in a way that they used cups as percussion instruments. This is why the song is sometimes known as "Cups." Lulu and the Lampshade's version of the song went viral, with instructional videos on how to do the cups. Anna Kendrick watched many of these films, and then did her own version of the song in the movie "Pitch Perfect." Anna Kendrick's version of the song is the most successful version.

Answer: Robyn

Swedish singer Robyn wrote the song and released it in 2010. The song became a hit in Europe and was nominated for a Grammy. Calum Scott covered the song in 2015 on "Britain's Got Talent". His version of the song became a bigger hit than Robyn's. I personally prefer Robyn's version.

Neither version was a hit in the U.S., but Calum Scott's version can sometimes be heard at retail stores.

In Robyn's version of the song, the line "I'm not the girl you are taking home" is often misheard as "I'm not the GUY you're taking home." Calum Scott took advantage of this well-known mishear, and since he is a guy, he actually does sing "guy."