Vega originally wrote “Tom’s Diner” in 1982 and it found its first release in 1984 on a compilation. She was signed to A&M Records that same year and this track was then included on her 1987 sophomore album Solitude Standing.

Audiophiles began using the track as a way to test stereo speakers for clarity. Later, “Tom’s Diner” would also play a key role in the birth of the MP3 player – it was used for analyzing different sound spectrums when creating the compression algorithm for the MP3 file format.

In 1990, the British duo DNA added music to Vega’s vocals without getting permission from A&M. After BBC Radio played their version, Vega’s label threatened to sue for copyright infringement but an agreement was made where DNA was paid less than $8,000 and their ‘remixed’ version became property of A&M. It became an international hit, reaching the top 5 in several countries, including the US. It is estimated the remix earned A&M and Vega ‘hundreds of thousands of dollars’.

Vega wrote a fantastic essay about the creation of this song here. She echoes some of the same statements in the beginning of an acapella performance of it in this video.