When I was 8 and 9, I just assumed every song I heard on the radio was an original song by the artist. I didn't know artists could cover songs originally performed by other artists. So when I heard Tainted Love by Soft Cell, I just assumed that was Soft Cell's song. It wasn't.
In 1985, I was a big fan of Mötley Crüe's "Smokin' in the Boys Room". 10-year old Mike loved that tune. Here's the video.
Then, one of those ads for a 70s music compilation album came on TV, and it included "Smokin' in the Boys Room" by Brownsville Station. Wha-wha-what???
It was the same song, sung by a different band, over a decade earlier. What was this abomination?
I had discovered the cover song.
