Madonna "Don't Cry for Me Argentina"

When your name is Madonna and you get handed one of the world's most recognized songs ("Don't Cry for Me Argentina"), what do you do? Since we're talking about Madonna, we can easily guess she will push the envelope and do something completely different to the song. Of course, that's exactly what she did. Madonna took the sleepy ballad famous for being delivered on a balcony and morphed it into a high-octane Latin-flavored dance tune. Not only did Top 40 radio stations take notice and put Madonna's "Miami Mix" of the song in heavy rotation, but dance clubs, discos and even Adult Contemporary radio stations embraced the high-energy take on the classic song. Critical reception to the song helped justify the decision to cast the controversial Madonna as Eva Peron in Evita. In Madonna's four-page letter to the movie's writer/director Alan Parker in 1994, she cited the video to "Take A Bow" as part of her audition for a role Madonna once told Vanity Fair that she was "born to play". 

Lisa Stansfield "Change"

Please don't call British pop singer Lisa Stansfield a one-hit-wonder. Yes, most of us remember "All Around the World", but she also turned in a multi-format hit in 1991 with the upbeat song "Change". This dance club favorite was a hit across the globe and even was remixed again in 2006.

k.d. lang "If I Were You"

While not a big hit in the States, "If I Were You" charted well in Lang's home of Canada. Surprisingly, the song became a big hit at the clubs in 1995 and 1996. I know...I couldn't believe it either.

JR "Goin' Krazy"

So you're telling me that Jose Feliciano of "Feliz Nevidad" fame scored a dance hit called "Goin' Krazy" using the pseudonym JR? Alrighty then. The song played at nightclubs throughout the world during the summer of 1994 and (surprisingly) on Adult Contemporary radio stations.

Kenny G - "Havanah"

"I danced the night away to Kenny G," said someone in 1997.  While Kenny G and dance clubs don't usually go hand-in-hand, an exception was made in 1997.  Kenny's smooth jazz single "Havanah" was remixed and turned into a dance floor, um, smash.  In fact, the song hit #1 on Billboard's Dance Club Play.  Wow.