"1979" by Smashing Pumpkins is about Billy Corgan entering adulthood. A more accurate year would be 1983, but 1979 was easier to rhyme.
Debbie Gibson was 17 years old when "Foolish Beat" topped the Hot 100. This gave her the honor of becoming the youngest artist ever to write, perform, and produce a #1 single.
The Dixie Chicks got their name from the Little Feat song "Dixie Chicken." In 2020 they became "The Chicks" because Dixie refers to the American South in times of slavery.
One of the moodiest hits of the '90s is "Creep" by Radiohead. It was the group's first single, and to their dismay, it became their biggest hit - it wasn't the song they wanted to be known for.
Ariana Grande's hit "Problem" started off as a track written by One Direction songwriter Savan Kotecha. He gave it the working title of "The Whisper Song," after a 2005 Ying Yang Twins hit.
On Missy Elliott's "Work It," the backward vocal is the previous line, "Put my thing down, flip it, and reverse it," in reverse. She stumbled on it when the engineer played it backward by mistake.
From the lake in "Roundabout" to Sister Bluebird in "Starship Trooper," Jon Anderson talks about how nature and spirituality play into his lyrics for Yes.
Ozzy, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and even Michael Bolton show up in this Classic Metal quiz.
A selection of songs made to be terrible - some clearly achieved that goal.
Into the vaults for Bruce Pollock's 1984 conversation with the esteemed bluesman. Hooker talks about transforming a Tony Bennett classic and why you don't have to be sad and lonely to write the blues.
The drummer and one of the primary songwriters in Grand Funk talks rock stardom and Todd Rundgren.
Chad tells tales from his time as drummer for Nirvana, and talks about his group Before Cars.