In 1984, Cyndi Lauper topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks with “Time After Time.” Fittingly, given its title, the song has been remade by numerous artists, with one cover, by INOJ, returning the song to the top 10, in 1998.
The song is one of 14 that hit the Hot 100’s top 10 in the 1980s and have since been covered… with a remake likewise reaching the chart’s top tier, reinforcing their appeal years after their original runs as hits.x
The first two such occurrences happened within the ‘80s. Lipps, Inc.’s “Funkytown” crowned the Hot 100 for four weeks in 1980, while Pseudo Echo’s version hit No. 6 in 1987. Plus, Willie Nelson’s “Always on My Mind” reached No. 5 in 1982, while Pet Shop Boys’ hi-NRG interpretation rose to No. 4 in 1988. (Elvis Presley first charted with the song, taking it to No. 16 on Hot Country Songs in 1972.)
Following those two remakes, seven covers of ‘80s Hot 100 top 10s hit the top 10 in the ‘90s; three did so in the 2000s; and one did in the ‘10s. Newest on the list is Luke Combs’ version of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car.” Chapman’s original rode to No. 6 in 1988, while Combs’ cover makes its first appearance in the tier, at No. 9, on the May 27, 2023-dated chart.
While Combs’ version adheres to the feel of Chapman’s organic original, Pet Shop Boys’ strategy of transforming a ballad into a dance anthem has helped other Hot 100 top 10s revisit the bracket, making for familiar, if extreme, makeovers. DJ Sammy & Yanou and D.H.T.’s updates of Bryan Adams’ “Heaven” and Roxette’s “Listen to Your Heart,” respectively, offered listeners two options, with each remake released as a ballad and in an uptempo, club-ready mix.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, originals have more often charted higher than respective remakes, with, of the first 13 such double-ups, the original Hot 100 top 10s peaking at higher ranks than their top 10 covers in nine instances.
Also notably, three such remakes are by, or include, artists on the original versions: “Hard To Say I’m Sorry,” by Chicago and then Az Yet, featuring former Chicago lead singer Peter Cetera; “Candle in the Wind,” by Elton John, thanks to his live recording and tribute version to Princess Diana; and “We Are the World,” with writers Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson both having roles in the remake.
Check out the list below of enduring compositions that first hit the Hot 100’s top 10 in the ‘80s and have since returned to the region via remakes. (The rundown includes only straightforward covers, not samples or interpolations.) The songs span from the first No. 1 on the first chart of the ‘80s, by KC and the Sunshine Band, to Combs taking “Fast Car” for its latest chart spin.
