"Piano Man" was inspired by Billy Joel's time playing at a piano bar in Los Angeles. The "real estate novelist" was a guy who always talked about writing a book, but spent all his spare time in the bar.
Bruce Springsteen's "Streets Of Philadelphia" won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1994, beating out Neil Young's "Philadelphia," which was also written for the movie Philadelphia.
"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" was Michael Jaskson's attack on the tabloid press: "They eat off of you, you're a vegetable."
There aren't many songs with a scientist as the main character, but Coldplay's "The Scientist" is one of their biggest hits. The guy in the song is brilliant, but despondent because he's lost his girl after neglecting her for his work.
"Everybody Have Fun Tonight" is a rare hit with the band's name used as a verb: "Everybody Wang Chung tonight." The band says it can mean whatever you'd like it to.
George Harrison's 1971 song "Bangla Desh" was the first major charity single. It was part of a concert held to bring relief to the people of Bangladesh, who were fighting for independence and suffering from a famine.
We ring the Hell's Bells to see what songs and rockers are sincere in their Satanism, and how much of it is an act.
Kevin Godley talks about directing classic videos for The Police, U2 and Duran Duran, and discusses song and videos he made with 10cc and Godley & Creme.
How the American gangsta rappers made history by getting banned in the UK.
He wrote "She Blinded Me With Science" so he could direct a video about a home for deranged scientists.
JJ talks about The Stranglers' signature sound - keyboard and bass - which isn't your typical strain of punk rock.
Newman makes it look easy these days, but in this 1974 interview, he reveals the paranoia and pressures that made him yearn for his old 9-5 job.