Buck Dharma of Blue Oyster Cult wrote "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" after he was diagnosed with a heart condition and started thinking about his own mortality.
"Up Around The Bend" by Creedence Clearwater Revival had a different meaning to British listeners. In England, to go "Around the bend" means to go crazy.
The Boyz II Men hit "It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday" is an a capella cover of a song from 1975 by G.C. Cameron that was used in the movie Cooley High to express the feeling of parting ways with high school friends.
The Split Enz song "Six Months In A Leaky Boat" is about the journey explorers made from Europe to colonize Australia and New Zealand, where the band is from.
After OutKast sang "Shake it like a Polaroid picture," on "Hey Ya," Polaroid issued the statement, "Shaking or waving can actually damage the image."
"Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO was only the second #1 hit on the Hot 100 with "Party" in the title. The first was Lesley Gore's "It's My Party."
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.
Howard explains his positive songwriting method and how uplifting songs can carry a deeper message.
What's the deal with "Summer of '69"? Bryan explains what the song is really about, and shares more of his songwriting insights.
Tom talks about the evolution of Cinderella's songs through their first three albums, and how he writes as a solo artist.
The lead singer/lyricist of The Beach Boys talks about coming up with the words for "Good Vibrations," "Fun, Fun, Fun," "Kokomo" and other classic songs.