"Soul Man" was a new term when the song was written in 1967. As defined by Sam & Dave, the "soul man" was a farmer "comin' to ya on a dusty road."
The chorus in "September" by Earth, Wind & Fire is "Bada-Ya, dancing in September." Group leader Maurice White left it "Bada-Ya" instead of a real word because he never let a lyric get in the way of a groove.
Eminem sampled a song by Labi Siffre on "My Name Is." Siffre, a gay activist, made Em take out some gay humor in the lyric before allowing it.
Producer Bob Ezrin convinced Pink Floyd to put a disco beat and children's chorus on "Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)," which started out as a short interstitial for their album The Wall.
Lionel Richie hosted the American Music Awards the night he recorded "We Are The World."
Country star Slim Whitman's version of the 1920s song "Rose Marie" spent 11 consecutive weeks at #1 in the UK in 1955, a record until 1991 when Bryan Adams’ "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" spent 16 weeks at the top.
The Third Day frontman talks about some of the classic songs he wrote with the band, and what changed for his solo country album.
An interview with Dr. John Covach, music professor at the University of Rochester whose free online courses have become wildly popular.
The writer of "Rainy Night in Georgia" and "Polk Salad Annie" explains how he cooks up his Louisiana swamp rock.
When a waitress wouldn't take him home, Jack wrote what would become one of the Eagles most enduring hits.
Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.
A history of songs dealing with transgender issues, featuring Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Morrissey and Green Day.