Did you catch David Guetta and Kelly Rowland’s performance of their club hit, “When Love Takes Over,” on last night’s So You Think You Can Dance? As I said a couple of weeks ago, that track was everywhere on my recent trip to San Francisco.

That wasn’t the only time a tune had so hugely dominated a visit to The City by the Bay. In fact, my very first time out there, in 1996, everywhere I went I heard Tori Amos’ “Professional Widow,” specifically the Armand Van Helden mix.

Taken from Amos’ third album, Boys For Pele, the original “Professional Widow” was a dirge verging on the unlistenable, relying heavily on the harpsichord. (I’m an Amos fan, but I’m sure there’s at least one person reading this now cursing me out.) For me, Van Helden’s re-work really saved this one, and I’m sure its popularity — his mix hit #1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart — had a lot to do with the vocal samples he picked, “Honey, bring it close to my lips” and “It’s gotta be big”:

In fact, both of Tori Amos’ career compilations have opted to include the Armand Van Helden remix of “Professional Widow” over the original version. The UK reissue of Boys For Pele features both, but removes “In The Springtime Of His Voodoo” from the tracklisting. That change strikes me as a little odd, since “Springtime” was the next single from the album.

Purchase Tori Amos – “Professional Widow (Armand’s Star Trunk Funkin’ Mix)” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.