Tiffany, ‘I Saw Him Standing There’ – Terrible Classic Rock Covers

By the mid '80s, Madonna was one of the biggest pop stars on the planet. But many parents objected to her hyper-sexual image and preferred a girl-next-door alternative as a role model for their daughters. Enter 16-year old Tiffany Darwish.

Along with Debbie Gibson, Tiffany was Mall Rock royalty during the latter part of the decade: suburban teenage girls singing for other suburban teenage girls. Tiffany even promoted her 1987 self-titled debut album in malls across the country, performing her songs and signing autographs.

But where Gibson had the songwriting chops to write all of her debut album, Tiffany took the old-fashioned pop-star route by relying on outside writers and leaning heavily on well-known covers. Her first hit single was a chart-topping remake of Tommy James and the Shondells' 'I Think We're Alone Now,' which wasn't particularly good, but at least it wasn't as offensive as the album's third Top 10 single, a total butchering and gender-switched cover of the Beatles' 'I Saw Her Standing There.'

From the synth-dominated arrangement to Tiffany's over-processed vocals that found her straining, and failing, to give the singer some Joan Jett-style grit, 'I Saw Him Standing There' is a total mess. And the less said about the song's drawn-out ending the better.

Not that it mattered much to her fans. The song reached No. 7, and easily offended parents were no doubt thrilled that their kids were listening to such a wholesome young lady and getting some exposure to the Beatles' music to boot. Tiffany managed to squeeze out a few more hits before moving on to an acting career in low-budget movies and reality TV while still occasionally performing on the nostalgia circuit.

Watch the Beatles Perform 'I Saw Her Standing There'