When "Baby Love" reached the top spot, The Supremes became the first Motown act with two #1 hits on the Hot 100.
"The Way" by Fastball was inspired by the story of an elderly couple from Texas who drove to a nearby family reunion and kept going. Fastball's bass player imagined them taking off and having fun like they were young. The story didn't end well: the couple was later found dead after they crashed in a canyon.
The Bangles song "Eternal Flame" was inspired by a display at Graceland that honored Elvis Presley.
"Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" is about a guy Jim Croce met in the National Guard, which Jim joined to keep him out of Vietnam. Leroy went AWOL, but got caught when he tried to pick up his paycheck.
The B-52's picked chose the location of their song "Private Idaho" because the state had a reputation for being wacky and mysterious. The title was a play on the phrase "Private Eye."
The 311 song "Amber" is likely about Nicole Scherzinger, who was dating the band's lead singer Nick Hexum.
Wilder's hit "Break My Stride" had an unlikely inspiration: a famous record mogul who rejected it.
One of the most dynamic bass player/songwriters of his time, Chris is the only member of Yes who has been with the band since they formed in 1968.
Nick made some of the biggest videos on MTV, including "The Final Countdown," "Heaven" and "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)."
Some songs get a second life when they find a new audience through a movie, commercial, TV show, or even the Internet.
In the name of song explanation, Al talks about scoring heroin for William Burroughs, and that's not even the most shocking story in this one.
Rickie Lee Jones on songwriting, social media, and how she's handling Trump.
A monthly update on our latest interviews, stories and added songs
©2020 Songfacts®, LLC