Avril Lavigne has a perfume named after her song "Black Star." It smells much better than her Sk8er Boi scent, which reeks of Axe body spray and road grime.
"Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" is one of the few Bernie Taupin lyrics that is more about him than Elton John. The song is about giving up glitz for the simple life - not exactly Elton's M.O.
Rupaul was in the video for "Love Shack" by the B-52's. He had a solo hit with "Supermodel" a few years later.
Michael Jackson's "Liberian Girl" opens with the South African female singer Letta Mbulu saying the Swahili phrase "Naku penda piya-naku taka piya-mpenziwe." There was some geographic liberty here, as Swahili is not spoken in the West African nation of Liberia.
"Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers was inspired by the Jack Lemmon movie Days of Wine and Roses.
An unexpected guest vocal: Marianne Faithfull on the Metallica song "The Memory Remains." A star in the '60s, this collaboration helped revive her career.
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.
Medley looks back on "Unchained Melody" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" - his huge hits from the '60s that were later revived in movies.
Was a Beatles song a TV theme? And who came up with those Fresh Prince and Sopranos songs?
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.
Shows like Dawson's Creek, Grey's Anatomy and Buffy the Vampire Slayer changed the way songs were heard on TV, and produced some hits in the process.
