On Wednesday, NPR completed a month-long series about the evolution of music formats. After tackling 8-tracks, cassettes, vinyl, and CDs — and the loyalists to what many others have moved on from — the fifth and final segment surveyed the music delivery system du jour, the downloadable, non-physical MP3.

That piece reminded me that Suzanne Vega’s “Tom’s Diner” had a central role in the birth of the MP3. In 1988, German engineer Karlheinz Brandenburg used Vega’s acapella track from Solitude Standing to fine-tune the music compression system he and his collaborators in the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) were working on. Because of Vega’s role in the format’s invention, some have given her the title of “Mother of the MP3.” (MP3 is the adopted shortened form of MPEG Audio Layer III.)

While that’s definitely an interesting tidbit of music history, “Tom’s Diner” is better and more widely known in its remixed form, which arrived in 1990 after two British DJs calling themselves DNA took Vega’s acapella and placed it atop a sampled Soul II Soul beat. Originally an unauthorized bootleg, Vega heard the remix and liked it so much that her label, A&M, gave the track an official release that fall.

Credited to DNA featuring Suzanne Vega, “Tom’s Diner” reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 on December 22, 1990, where it remained for three weeks:

The popularity of “Tom’s Diner” brought on all sorts of cover versions, twists, and homages. Seizing yet another unexpected opportunity, Vega collected these various takes (including one by R.E.M. and Billy Bragg, recording as Bingo Hand Job) on Tom’s Album, released in September 1991. I still vividly remember the rainy evening I bought that CD in college, back then the format of choice. (Nikki D’s “Daddy’s Little Girl” remains a fave from the compilation.)

“Tom’s Diner” continues to be sampled to this day, most often in rap. Vega, who’s currently revisiting her back catalog by recording intimate versions for her Close Up series, issued a new “Tom’s Diner” single last October with stems for remixes, hoping to inspire a new generation of DJs to order off the menu.

Purchase Suzanne Vega – “Tom’s Diner” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.