"Sail" by AWOLNATION had a remarkably slow climb up the Hot 100. It was the first ever song to spend over a year on the chart before entering the top 20.
"Personal Jesus," a song about "being a Jesus for somebody else," was inspired by Elvis and Priscilla Presley.
Madonna didn't write "Papa Don't Preach," which deals with abortion. What drew her to the song was the singer standing up to male authority.
Tone-Loc's "Wild Thing" samples Eddie Van Halen's guitar riff from "Jaime's Cryin'."
"Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band-Aid was the first big group charity single. It was organized by Bob Geldof, who a year later put together "We Are The World" and Live Aid.
"Achy Breaky Heart" was originally recorded in 1991 by The Marcy Brothers as "Don't Tell My Heart." That original version had the lyrics: "Don't tell my heart, my achy, breakin' heart..."
The guy who brought us "Stacy's Mom" also wrote the Jane Lynch Emmy song and Stephen Colbert's Christmas songs.
One of the most popular classical vocalists in the land is lining up a trip to space, which is the inspiration for many of her songs.
The Stax legend on how he cooked up "Green Onions," the first time he and Otis Redding saw hippies, and if he'll ever play a digital organ.
Rick has a surprising dark side, a strong feminine side and, in a certain TV show, a naked backside. But he still hasn't found Jessie's Girl.
When Judd Apatow needed under-appreciated rockers for his Knocked Up sequel, he immediately thought of Parker, who just happened to be getting his band The Rumour back together.
Dean's saga began with "Ariel," a song about falling in love with a Jewish girl from New Jersey.
