The unexpected death of John Hughes on Friday triggered the choice of this particular cover song earlier than anticipated. As recently as May, I’d featured a cover of Yello’s “Oh Yeah” (originally in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off). In March, the honor went to The Dream Academy’s cover of The Smiths’ “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want” (another Ferris track). A bit further back, I shared my all-time adoration for Lick The Tins’ version of “Can’t Help Falling In Love,” which closes out Some Kind Of Wonderful.

I probably would have let some more time pass before considering another Cover Story candidate from Hughes’ movies. But plans change when life asserts itself, so here we are. When I picked up the soundtrack to Pretty In Pink upon its release in the spring of 1986, I couldn’t stop playing it over and over. Literally “over and over,” as I’d purchased it on cassette. While I loved OMD’s “If You Leave” and The Psychedelic Furs’ title song, it was the Danny Hutton Hitters’ cover of Nik Kershaw’s “Wouldn’t It Be Good” that had me rewinding to hear it again. And again.

I didn’t realize it was a cover at the time, though. It wasn’t until several years later that I even heard Kershaw’s version (from his 1984 album, Human Racing), and at at that point the original sounded completely off to me; the Pretty In Pink version had become definitive. “Wouldn’t It Be Good” has been covered several more times in the years since, but the Danny Hutton Hitters were the first to take a crack.

I discovered only yesterday that Danny Hutton was a founding member of Three Dog Night, a band which popularized covers of songs by Laura Nyro, Elton John, Harry Nilsson, and others. No wonder Hutton’s vocal performance in “Wouldn’t It Be Good” connects so strongly, having honed his interpretive skills in his earlier gig. And those backing vocals, arranged like an internal dialogue. Brilliant. I could still listen to this over and over:

Pulling out my Pretty In Pink soundtrack this morning, I took a look at the CD’s liner notes. Pretty basic information (just a single-folded piece), but I’d forgotten that John Hughes had included a message to the listener. It affirms what I said on Friday about his love for music:

“The music in ‘Pretty In Pink’ was not an afterthought. The tracks on this album and in this film are there because [director] Howie Deutch and I believe in the artists, respect the artists, and are proud to be in league with them.”

For reasons unknown (and unfathomable, really), the Pretty In Pink soundtrack is not available for digital download. So if you want to add Danny Hutton Hitters’ “Wouldn’t It Be Good” to your collection, you’ll have to get physical. Isn’t it time you replaced that cassette, anyway?

Purchase the Pretty In Pink soundtrack via Amazon.