Huey Lewis & The News "Hip to Be Square"

Remember the time San Francisco 49er quarterback Joe Montana sang backup vocals on a song? It happened in 1986 when Montana and Ronnie Lott lent their voices to "Hip to Be Square" from Huey Lewis & The News.

Christina Aguilera "Beautiful"

STORY BEHIND THE SONG:

The song "Beautiful" caused an ugly scene among Christina Aguilera, Pink and the song's writer Linda Perry. Perry originally mulled a solo career of her own and sought to keep "Beautiful" for herself, but later offered it to Pink while producing her Mizzundaztood album. That offer changed when Aguilera stopped by Perry's house one day and sang "Beautiful". Perry immediately fell in love with Christina's demo of the song and decided to let her keep the song--which didn't tickle Pink. Christina also wasn't happy with Perry. She didn't like her original vocals on the demo and wanted to re-record the song, but Perry would not allow it. Perry claimed the roughness of the demo captured the essence of the song's theme: being imperfect and vulnerable and only wanted the original vocals.

Brian McKnight "One Last Cry"

Not only can Brian McKnight make your knees weak with his chocolaty smooth voice, but his musicial skills extend beyond his voice. McKnight can play eight instruments including the piano, guitar and trombone. This man oozes talent. His ballad "One Last Cry" charted in 1993 on multiple radio formats including Adult Contemporary (peaking at #16).

Stevie Wonder "You Are the Sunshine of My Life"

Stevie Wonder gets all the credit for "You Are the Sunshine of My Life", yet his voice is actually the third you hear in the love song. Jim Gilstrap sings the first two lines of the song followed by Lani Groves on the next two. Then, around 45 seconds into the song (which is barely three minutes in length), we finally hear from Stevie. The song soared to #1 on the Hot 100 and Easy Listening/Adult Contemporary Charts in 1973.

George Michael "Kissing A Fool"

According to George Michael, he only needed one take to record the vocals to "Kissing A Fool". The song was the fifth single from Michael's uber-successful Faith album. Released in 1987, Faith was  Michael's solo debut and was the first album from a Caucasian to top the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart.

Christopher Cross "All Right"

SCTV famously spoofed Michael McDonald (played by Rick Moranis) driving across Los Angeles in order to make it to a sound studio to record background vocals on Christopher Crosses "Ride Like The Wind". It's funny because it's true. McDonald again appeared on Crosses 1983 hit "All Right".

Styx "Love at First Sight"

After a weekend bachelor party in Las Vegas, I noticed a familiar face on our flight home: former-Styx lead singer Dennis DeYoung. How do we say "hello" to a guy who clearly didn't want to talk with my hungover group of twenty-something bachelor party-goers? My friend Pat came up with an idea that we all felt was brilliant. It was 2005 and ringtones had just become a thing for cell phones, so Pat downloaded the song "Mr. Roboto" onto his phone and we kept playing the song/ringtone...much to DeYoung's dismay. Since this didn't elicit a response, we decided to communicate using Styx song titles. "Um, babe, could you show me the way to my seat? An aisle seat?!? That's like love at first sight..." Needless to say, DeYoung did not find any of this amusing and refused to acknowledge us.

Bruce Willis "Respect Yourself"

The year 1987 not only saw actor Patrick Swayze transition from actor to singer with "She's Like The Wind", but Bruce Willis also turned up with a hit song on the radio. The star of Moonlighting released an album that contained a remake of "Under the Boardwalk" as well as The Staple Singers' "Respect Yourself". "Under The Boardwalk" was a minor hit, but "Respect Yourself" (which featured The Pointer Sisters) became into a Top 5 hit on the Hot 100.

Pebbles "Love Makes Things Happen"

Pebbles got some help from Babyface in her 1990 ballad "Love Makes Things Happen".

Benjamin Orr "Stay the Night"

When the The Cars broke up in the mid-80s, lead singer Ric Ocasek went on to sing, act and produce several songs and albums. Another vocalist (and bassist) from The Cars was Benjamin Orr who charted a hit song of his own, "Stay the Night" in 1986. A quick listen to the tune and you might think you're hearing an obscure track from Foreigner, but no...it's the voice of Orr.

Train "When I Look to the Sky"

Hot Adult Contemporary radio stations made Train a core artist during the 2000s thanks to a long list of hits including "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)", "Calling All Angels" and "When I Look to the Sky". Like most hits from Train, "When I Look to the Sky" featured the soaring vocals of lead singer Pat Monahan.

Annie Lennox "A Whiter Shade of Pale"

Annie Lennox's 1995 version of "A Whiter Shade of Pale" replaced the signature sound of the Hammond Organ made famous in the original version by Procol Harum. While Procol Harum gave the song a somber mood, Lennox's used a whispy-sounding synthesizer beat that, when matched with Lennox's vocals, gave the tune more of a fairy tale feel. 

The Dirt Band "Make a Little Magic"

During the time The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band cranked out the country-pop song "Make A Little Magic", the band simply went by The Dirt Band. Singer Nicolette Larson provided backup vocals to the 1980 song.

Starship "Set The Night to Music"

A handful of years before Maxi Priest and Roberta Flack turned "Set the Night to Music" into a hit, Starship did the same. The ballad featured Grace Slick on vocals in what would be her last album with Starship.

Mike + The Mechanics "Taken In"

You're hearing the voice of Paul Young singing lead vocals on the soft rock ballad "Taken In" by Mike & The Mechanics. Genesis co-founder Mike Rutherford created the band as a side project in 1985 and the group went on to score a handful of hits.

Rick Astley "Giving Up on Love"

If you were to mute the vocals of "Giving Up on Love", I would think the accompanying music from this 1989 song came straight from an old school Casio keyboard.

Anita Baker "Same Ole Love (365 Days A Year)"

Anita Baker's effortless vocals define the word smooth in "Same Ole Love (365 Days A Year)".

Jim Capaldi - "That's Love"

Steve Winwood's paws are all over Jim Capaldi's "That's Love". This 1983 soft rock ditty featured Winwood playing synthesizer and providing backup vocals (along with his wife, Nicole). Capaldi and Winwood once played together in rock band Traffic. 

Michael Bolton - "Said I Loved You...But I Lied"

Michael Bolton was once the face of Adult Contemporary music.  His 1993 hit "Said I Loved You...But I Lied" pretty much sums up his repertoire: breathy vocals and lyrics that seemed to come from a trashy romance novel.  No lady could resist Michael Bolton (not even Nicollette Sheridan).  This single also represented the last of Michael's trademarked long hair.