“California Girls” was released by the Beach Boys in 1965 and reached #3 on the Hot 100 chart.  Brian Wilson claims to have written the music for the song during his first experiment with LSD.  It is the first Beach Boys song to feature vocalist Bruce Johnston, who was filling in for Wilson at live shows.

The song was famously covered by David Lee Roth in 1985 (this version would also reach #3) and has been referenced by many other artists, including Gretchen Wilson’s 2005 answer song, which borrows the title (and little else) from the original.

Borrowing even more liberally, Katy Perry’s “California Gurls” (NOTE: Video is extremely suggestive) was released in 2010 and immediately clogged up the airwaves on its way to #1.  The line “I wish they all could be California girls” was removed from the album version of the song after the Beach Boys threatened to sue.

I can’t find any decent covers of Perry’s version (perhaps because there is so little of value to work with), so here’s a pretty sweet Metallica mash-up.

“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” was written by prolific Motown duo Ashford & Simpson and originally recorded as a duet by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell (although Terrell’s nerves prevented them from actually recording the song together; Gaye’s portion was added to hers later on).  This version of the song reached #19.

Ashford & Simpson convinced Diana Ross to record the song as a solo, even though she had already done it as part of a Supremes/Temptations team-up.  Motown chief Berry Gordy was not initially fond of the 6-minute drastic departure, but was eventually persuaded to release a shorter version of the recording, which promptly went to #1.

“Groove Is in the Heart” was released in 1990 from Deee-Lite’s debut album, World Clique.  An instant dance club hit, the song eventually crossed over and made it to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The song is based on a sample from Herbie Hancock’s “Bring Down the Birds” among others.  Most interestingly, the stuttering “I” in the chorus was not sung by anyone in the band, but made from Eva Gabor’s vocals in the Green Acres theme.

Not surprisingly, the song is a favorite of the YouTube cover set, getting pretty good ukulele and solo a cappella (or “multitrack”) treatments.

Originally recorded as a demo for popular girl-group The Shirelles, The Angels’ “My Boyfriend’s Back” was released in 1963 and sold a million copies while spending three weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The song has been covered extensively, including nearly immediate versions by rival groups The Chiffons and Martha and theVandellas.  Less faithful renditions have been logged by The Raveonettes, The Spazzys, and Me First and the Gimme Gimmes.

Released in 1992 at the height of the grunge era, “Sex Type Thing” was the first single from Stone Temple Pilots’ debut album, Core.  Fueled by the genre’s popularity and the song’s distinctively disturbing video, it reached #23 on the Modern Rock chart.

Influenced by the rape of his girlfriend, lead singer Scott Weiland crafted the lyrics in first person from the rapist’s point of view.  This unconventional and dark approach caused a bit of controversy.  Perhaps dulled by the mindless pop of the late-’80s, some listeners seemed incapable of picking up on the song’s ironic tone, leading Weiland to comment to Rolling Stone, “I never thought that people would ever seriously think that I was an advocate of date rape.”