"Rosanna" by Toto got its name from the actress Rosanna Arquette, who was dating Toto keyboard player Steve Porcaro.
"Free Fallin'" by Tom Petty is set in Los Angeles, as he mentions Reseda, Mulholland and Ventura Boulevard.
Back To The Future wasn't the only movie where Michael J. Fox rocked out: He sang with Joan Jett in the 1987 movie Light Of Day, with a title track written by Bruce Springsteen.
Lady Gaga says that "Poker Face" is about her personal experience with bisexuality; being with a man but thinking about a woman.
At the end of the Doors song "Touch Me," Jim Morrison chants, "Stronger than dirt!" The line is from an Ajax commercial where a white knight rides around destroying dirt.
Angus Young created the distinctive opening guitar part for "Thuderstruck" by playing with all the strings taped up, except the B. He learned the studio trick from his older brother George Young, who was the rhythm guitarist for The Easybeats.
Wilder's hit "Break My Stride" had an unlikely inspiration: a famous record mogul who rejected it.
The king of Christian worship music explains talks about writing songs for troubled times.
Dennis DeYoung explains why "Mr. Roboto" is the defining Styx song, and what the "gathering of angels" represents in "Come Sail Away."
Phone booths are nearly extinct, but they provided storylines for some of the most profound songs of the pre-cell phone era.
Can you be married in one country but not another? Only if you're part of a gay couple. One of the first famous singers to come out as a lesbian, Janis wrote a song about it.
Chris Stein of Blondie shares photos and stories from his book about the New York City punk scene.