10 Classic ’80s Hits You Might Not Know Were Covers

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There were a bunch of classic '80s cover songs, but some covers are so good you may not have known they were actually covers.

Scroll through our gallery below, because some of these may surprise you.

Blondie - "The Tide Is High"

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Blondie had a big hit with it in 1980, but The Paragons did it first back in the '60s!

Whitney Houston - “Saving All My Love For You”

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Two of Whitney's biggest hits were covers. It's widely known that "I Will Always Love You" wasn't Whitney's, but you might not have known "Saving All My Love For You" was released in the '70s by Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis.

Toni Basil - “Mickey”

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Toni Basil's one big hit... wasn't even hers! The song was actually originally known as "Kitty." It was a late '70s song by Racey.

Joan Jett & the Blackhearts - “I Love Rock n’ Roll”

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This is one that often surprises most. The song is so closely identified with Joan Jett, but the song was actually done in the '70s by a band called Arrows.

Cyndi Lauper - “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”

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The song that is known as Cyndi Lauper's... isn't Cyndi's. And get this... it was done by a GUY! Robert Hazard released it in 1979.

Animotion - "Obsession"

PSM RECORDS

'80s Hulk Hogan era WWF wrestling fans will remember "Obsession" as the theme song of 'Saturday Night's Main Event' on NBC, but the original was by Holly Knight and Michael Des Barres.

Bow Wow Wow - "I Want Candy"

RCA Records

The song was Bow Wow Wow's lone hit in the '80s, but it was first a big hit for Strangeloves in 1965!

Kim Carnes - “Betty Davis Eyes”

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You know the Kim Carnes version that was a big hit in 1981, but Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon did it in 1974.

Soft Cell - “Tainted Love”

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Soft Cell's mega hit from 1981 was actually a '60s song by Gloria Jones

Heart - “Alone”

A definitely big surprise to close out this list is this Heart hit, which was originally recorded by i-Ten in 1983.

Blondie Cyndi Lauper Heart Joan Jett and the Blackhearts One Hit Wonders Whitney Houston

GenoEditor

Hear Geno on the air weekday afternoons. Geno's passions include fat guy food, concerts, sports, travel to Europe and South America. He loves 80s and 90s music, from MTV hairbands to old school freestyle, alternative rock to TRL era jams. Geno's radio career began in his hometown of Portland, Maine. Since then he's been on the air coast to coast from Boston to Las Vegas, Tampa to California.