I really love “when the levee breaks” by Led Zeppelin, but the original by Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy deserves more recognition.

Kind of a pet peeve of mine, but Tainted Love was originally performed in the 60s by Gloria Jones, a black soul singer. Considering the lyrics of the song, I think it could be interpreted as an interracial love affair, which adds a political dimension to the song that the Soft Cell version seems to lack. I would consider it to be some sort of cultural appropriation even if it’s hard to define. In any case, it doesn’t really sit right with me that Soft Cell and later Marylin Manson had all the artistic and financial success with it while Gloria Jones is mostly forgotten about. Don’t get me wrong, I like all three versions (and there are quite some more even) in a vacuum, but I think it’s worth pointing out this bit of background info.

I don’t like this cover particularly much, but it definitely stays true to the feel of the original.

“Bye bye love” is a pretty funny one by S&G as the lyrics are all about heartache bordering full on depression, but people love to clap along to the upbeat melody.