Artist	Song
Rihanna	SOS
from A Girl Like Me (2006)
Soft Cell	Tainted Love / Where Did Our Love Go
from 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: Best of the '80s (2000)
Gym Class Heroes & Patrick Stump	Cupid's Chokehold / Breakfast in America (feat. Patrick Stump) [Radio Mix]
from As Cruel As School Children (Bonus Track Version) (2007)
Supertramp	Breakfast in America
from The Very Best of Supertramp (1992)
Kanye West	Stronger
from Graduation (2010)
Yung Berg featuring Twista	Where Do We Go (Featuring Twista)
from Almost Famous / The Sexy Lady - EP (2008)
The Alan Parsons Project	Games People Play
from The Essential Alan Parsons Project (2007)
Beyoncé	Crazy In Love
from Dangerously In Love (2003)
The Chi-Lites	Are You My Woman (Tell Me So)
from The Ultimate Chi-Lites (2006)
Michael Jackson	Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
from The Essential Michael Jackson (2005)
Kanye West	Diamonds from Sierra Leone (Remix) [Featuring Jay-Z]
from Late Registration (2005)
Shirley Bassey	Diamonds Are Forever
from Classics (2004)
Destiny's Child	Bootylicious
from Destiny's Child - #1's (2005)
Stevie Nicks	Edge of Seventeen
from Crystal Visions... The Very Best of Stevie Nicks (Bonus Version) (2007)
Jay-Z	Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)
from Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life (1998)
Stevie Wonder	Pastime Paradise
from Songs in the Key of Life (2000)
Puff Daddy & The Family	I'll Be Missing You (feat. Faith Evans & 112)
from No Way Out (2005)
The Police	Every Breath You Take
from The Police (2007)
Rick James	Super Freak, Pt. 1
from The Definitive Collection: Rick James (2006)
Vanilla Ice	Ice Ice Baby
from To the Extreme (2009)
Warren G	Regulate
from Regulate...G Funk Era (1994)
Michael McDonald	I Keep Forgettin'
from If That's What It Takes (1983)
The Notorious B.I.G., Mase & Puff Daddy	Mo Money Mo Problems (feat. Mase & Puff Daddy)
from Life After Death (2005)
Diana Ross	I'm Coming Out
from Number 1's: Diana Ross & The Supremes (2004)
Trick Daddy	Let's Go
from Thug Matrimony - Married to the Streets (2004)
Ozzy Osbourne	Crazy Train
from The Essential Ozzy Osbourne (2003)
Kanye West	Touch the Sky (Featuring Lupe Fiasco)
from Late Registration (2005)
Curtis Mayfield	Move On Up (Extended Version)
from Curtis (2004)
Ice Cube	It Was a Good Day
from Ice Cube: Greatest Hits (2001)
The Isley Brothers	Footsteps In the Dark, Pts. 1 & 2
from The Essential Isley Brothers (2004)
Puff Daddy & The Family	Been Around the World (feat. The Notorious B.I.G. & Mase)
from No Way Out (2005)
David Bowie	Let's Dance
from Best of Bowie (2002)
Beastie Boys	Slow Ride
from Licensed to Ill (1995)
Jay-Z	Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)
from The Blueprint (2007)
Bobby "Blue" Bland	Ain't No Love In the Heart of the City
from The Definitive Collection (2007)
Lil' Kim	Don't Mess With Me
from The Notorious Kim (2007)
Cypress Hill	What's Your Number?
from Till Death Do Us Part (2004)
The Clash	The Guns of Brixton
from The Essential Clash (2003)

Comment:

You don't have to be a music scholar to recognize that the pulse behind Rihanna's "SOS" isn't one of her own making – it’s from English synth-poppers Soft Cell and their huge early '80s hit, "Tainted Love." This week’s List takes a few major current hits from Rihanna, Gym Class Heroes, and Kanye West and pairs them with the song that they’ve sampled or based the melody on. We also go back a bit – tracing a line from Vanilla Ice to Yung Berg – to find out just where some of the more memorable pop songs in the past two decades originated.

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