"The Best" by Tina Turner was originally recorded by Bonnie Tyler; Turner's hit version added a bridge and a saxophone solo by Edgar Winter.
Lyrically, Elvis Costello's "Watching The Detectives" was inspired by American detective shows; musically, it was inspired by The Clash.
Thirty years after Jimi Hendrix played "Fire" at Woodstock, Red Hot Chili Peppers played it at Woodstock '99, but this time the unruly crowd actually set fires and looted.
"Midnight Train To Georgia" was originally "Midnight Plane To Houston," but was changed to sound more R&B.
Joni Mitchell wrote "Woodstock" - the most popular song about the festival - but didn't attend the event because she was booked on The Dick Cavett Show.
Zac Hanson was just 11 years and 7 months old when "MMMbop" topped the Hot 100, making him the youngest group member to co-write and perform a US #1 single.
"When seeds that you sow grow by the wicked moon/Be sure your sins will find you out/Your past will hunt you down and turn to tell on you."
His song "Into The Night" is one of the most-played of all time. For Benny, it took him to hell and back.
Here's what happens when an opening act is really out of place with the headliner, like when Beastie Boys opened for Madonna.
It took him seven years to recover from his American hit "Fool (If You Think It's Over)," but Chris Rea became one of the top singer-songwriters in his native UK.
Some songs get a second life when they find a new audience through a movie, commercial, TV show, or even the Internet.
The former Dead Kennedys frontman on the past, present and future of the band, what music makes us "pliant and stupid," and what he learned from Alice Cooper.