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.
Tom Cochrane wrote "Life Is A Highway" to pull himself out of a funk following an exhausting humanitarian trip to Africa.
Jean-Claude Van Damme was an extra in the video for Ollie & Jerry's "Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us." He can be seen at point dancing in the background.
"I Wish" by Skee-Lo was the first hit song to use the word "baller" in the chorus ("I wish I was a baller..."). That term pervaded pop music over the next several year.
Duran Duran's "Wild Boys" is based on the book of the same name by William Burroughs.
ZZ Top's "Sharp Dressed Man" was the first video that was a sequel. It picked up the storyline of their "Gimme All Your Lovin'" video about a guy who encounters three beautiful women.
The men of Sparks on their album Hippopotamus, and how Morrissey handled it when they suggested he lighten up.
The trail runs from flying saucer songs in the '50s, through Bowie, blink-182 and Katy Perry.
The "All I Want" singer went through a long depression, playing some shows when he didn't want to be alive.
When Dave recorded the first version of the song with his group the Blasters, producer Nick Lowe gave him some life-changing advice.
It wasn't her biggest hit as a songwriter (that would be "Bette Davis Eyes"), but "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" had a family connection for Jackie.
Have you got the smarts to know which of these graduation song stories are real?