Romainian-born, Germany-based Michael Cretu had been a fixture in the German music scene long before the success of "Sadeness — Part 1." When he produced a cover of "Everlasting Love" for pop singer Sandra, Cretu mixed in a faint Gregorian chant at the beginning of the track. But with "Sadeness," Cretu wanted to take the concept further, combining old gothic recordings with contemporary dance beats to create "Sadeness" under the moniker Enigma.

The song became a global hit and went on to become one of Virgin Record's best sellers for a number of years.

In a conversation with Soundcheck host John Schaefer, charts guru and frequent guest Chris Molanphy helps explain the unexpected — and long-lasting — popularity of the 1990 song as part of the series That Was A Hit?!?

This segment originally aired on May 27, 2014.

"What's kind of nuts about 'Sadeness' itself is that in addition to being a hit single, it sold a truckload of albums," explains Molanphy. "It sold for years — it was on the Billboard charts here in American for five years."

But the song's popularity lead to a number of lawsuits when it became clear that Cretu had not cleared the rights for a number of samples. But despite legal trouble, Enigma wasn't a one-hit wonder: he went on to release The Cross of Changes, a double platinum album and continues to produce music today.