19 Songs That Literally Everyone Knows, But Can't Name The Artist

"Wait, WHO sings this..." —You

Have you ever found yourself singing along to your favorite tune and then come to the realization, "Wait...I don't even know who sings this?" If you have, don't worry — YOU'RE NOT ALONE!

Paramount Pictures

Recently, Reddit user u/ProducePete pointed out this funny phenomenon in r/Music, saying:

"I was playing a ‘name that tune’ type game the other day, and ‘Tainted Love’ came on. I immediately knew the song but couldn’t for the life of me think of the artist. Turns out it was Soft Cell, and all I could think was, 'Who the hell is Soft Cell?!' Made me wonder, what other songs are out there that everyone knows but couldn’t name the artist?"

Here's "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell, for the record:

Soft Cell / Via youtube.com

And the rest of the community had some other really great examples of other songs they loved where they couldn't name the artist. Here's what they said:

1. "Dancing in the Moonlight"

By King Harvest

"Back in the Napster days, it was almost universally mistagged as being by Van Morrison. It does sound like something he'd sing, and people might have confused it with his song 'Moondance,' but he's never recorded it."
—ScottRiqui

Listen here:

KingHarvestMusic / Via youtube.com

2. "There She Goes"

By The La's

—szrap

Listen here:

CHDEXTER5 / Via youtube.com

3. "Hooked on a Feeling"

By Blue Swede

—Quijanoth

"If you want to feel like you fell into a time machine, listen to the original 1968 BJ Thomas version. It's like a universe where funk never existed."

—tomveiltomveil

Listen here:

Joel Gustafsson / Via youtube.com

4. "Who Let the Dogs Out"

By Baha Men

"Turns out the Baha Men weren’t the originators, but the song is way older than anyone believed, too."

—APartyInMyPants

Listen here:

Karan Thakur / Via youtube.com

5. "Venus"

By Shocking Blue

"Covered by Bananarama in the '80s."

—imnojezus

Listen here:

redbullet / Via youtube.com

6. "She's So High"

By Tal Bachman

"Not a band but he sings the '99 hit."

—demsumsweatyballs

Listen here:

TalBachmanOfficial / Via youtube.com

7. "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)"

By Nine Days

—mykleins

Listen here:

NineDaysVEVO / Via youtube.com

8. "The Promise"

By When in Rome

"Every decade was chock full of them."

—bop999

Listen here:

WhenInRomeVEVO / Via youtube.com

9. "Goodbye Horses"

By Q Lazzarus

"This song is the perfect storm of unknowns. It was a dead-on-arrival song from a reclusive and mysterious singer, yet thanks to being featured in multiple movies and parodies, almost everyone has heard of it. Unknown artists have one-hit wonders. 'Goodbye Horses' wasn't even that."

—Siaten

Listen here:

BossGotheric / Via youtube.com

10. "(I Just) Died in Your Arms"

By Cutting Crew

—Ethan12_

Listen here:

Cutting Crew Music / Via youtube.com

11. "Too Shy"

By Kajagoogoo

—bop999

Listen here:

RHINO / Via youtube.com

12. "Rock and Roll Part 2," also known as “The Hey Song”

By Gary Glitter

"It’s by Gary Glitter, whom many people are unfamiliar with, and it’s probably best it stays like that."

—Apple2727

Listen here:

BATJAX / Via youtube.com

13. "I Melt With You"

By Modern English

"Everyone knows the song; not many know who does it."

—stalinmalone68

Listen here:

4AD / Via youtube.com

14. "Amen Break"

By The Winstons

"The drum track in the 'Amen Break' is sampled in thousands of songs, most notably 'Straight Outta Compton' by NWA."

—MyNameIsRay

Listen here:

Uplifting Waves / Via youtu.be

15. "The Way"

By Fastball

—powdered_dognut

Listen here:

fastball / Via youtube.com

16. “Stuck in the Middle”

By Stealers Wheel

"Most people think 'Stuck in the Middle' is either Tom Petty or Bob Dylan."

—HailCorduroy

Listen here:

Stealers Wheel - Topic / Via youtube.com

17. "You Get What You Give"

By New Radicals

—corran450

"I rediscovered this a month or two ago. This song was the sound of my childhood, LOL. It was literally everywhere, so [it] is tied to so many memories."

—Generic_Pete

Listen here:

NewRadicalsVEVO / Via youtube.com

18. "Bound for the Floor"

By Local H

"Their song 'Bound for the Floor' will get stuck in your head for so long that you'll think you made it up."

—thepeopleperson666

Listen here:

Local H / Via youtube.com

19. And finally, "Flagpole Sitta"

By Harvey Danger

"Everyone knows that song when it comes on, but few know how great that album by Harvey Danger is."

—dunkan799

Listen here:

No Sleep Records / Via youtube.com

Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.