"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.
"99 Luftballons" by Nena is about a Cold War scare when balloons showed up on radar and were mistaken as a nuclear threat.
Foreigner got the title for "Double Vision" after watching a hockey game where goalie John Davidson got a concussion. It was announced over the PA system that he was suffering from "Double Vision."
Al Green's commitment classic "Let's Stay Together" launched Tina Turner's comeback when she covered the song in 1983.
David Bowie's "Space Oddity" tells the story of an astronaut who cuts off communication and floats into space. The BBC used it extensively in their coverage of the 1969 moon landing - an odd choice considering the lyrics.
Mary J. Blige introduced three new words with her hit "Family Affair": hateration, holleration and dancerie.
In the name of song explanation, Al talks about scoring heroin for William Burroughs, and that's not even the most shocking story in this one.
If you can recall the days when MTV played videos, you know that there are lots of stories to tell. See if you can spot the real ones.
With the band in danger of being dropped from their label, Alice Cooper drummer Neal Smith co-wrote the song that started their trek from horror show curiosity to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Armed with a childhood spent devouring books, Mike Scott's heart was stolen by the punk rock scene of 1977. Not surprisingly, he would go on to become the most literate of rockers.
Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.
John tells the "St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)" story and explains why he disappeared for so long.