"1979" by Smashing Pumpkins is about Billy Corgan entering adulthood. A more accurate year would be 1983, but 1979 was easier to rhyme.
There's a lot of Americana in "Uncle John's Band" by the Grateful Dead, including references to "Buckdancer's Choice" (an Appalachian folk song) and "Fire And Ice," a Robert Frost poem.
A section of verse lyrics in Rihanna's "SOS" is made up of titles from '80s hits - check out the part that starts, "Take me on, I could just die up in your arms tonight."
"Jeopardy" by The Greg Kihn Band got the Weird Al treatment with "I Lost On Jeopardy." Kihn and Jeopardy game show announcer Art Fleming both appear in the video.
ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson conceived "Dancing Queen" as a dance song with the working title "Boogaloo," drawing inspiration from the 1974 George McCrae disco hit "Rock Your Baby." Their manager Stig Anderson came up with the title "Dancing Queen."
Don McLean's "American Pie" starts in mono and gradually goes to stereo. It isn't full stereo until the end of the song, which is over 8 minutes long.
Shears does very little promotion, which has kept him secluded from the spotlight. What changed when Cyndi Lauper had a hit with his song? Not much, really.
The "A Thousand Miles" singer on what she thinks of her song being used in White Chicks and how she captured a song from a dream.
Kooper produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, played with Dylan and the Stones, and formed BS&T.
These Three famous songs actually describe how they were written - late into the evening.
Cain talks about the divine inspirations for "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Faithfully."
The former Metallica bassist talks about his first time writing a song with James Hetfield, and how a hand-me-down iPad has changed his songwriting.