10 Hits You Didn't Realise Sampled Other Songs

9. Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger - Daft Punk

2021's announcement by French electronic duo of their retirement came as a blow to their impressively large fan-base, but it's safe to say that Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter have assured their musical legacy thanks to a string of hits and influential videos.

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger, released in 2001, marked one of Daft Punk's many commercial high-points – a later, live version earning them a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording. The single hailed from their second studio album, Discovery, which reached number two in the UK charts, twenty-three in the US and went triple-platinum in their native France.

This was also a boon for the now sadly-departed Edwin L. Birdsong, whose extraordinary track, Cola Bottle Baby, was sampled for the Daft Punk hit. Birdsong, who retains a small, if dedicated number of fans, was musically active during the '70s and '80s, during which time he released five albums of fascinating 'experimental disco,' which are only now starting to earn the appreciation that they deserve.

Cola Bottle Baby features on Birdsong's self-titled, 1979 long-player, but absolutely all of his music is worth tracking down.

Contributor

Chris Wheatley is a journalist and writer from Oxford, UK. He has too many records, too many guitars and not enough cats.