The lyrics for Lesley Gore's "It's My Party" were based on actual events relating to his daughter Judy's sweet 16 party. The teenager threw a tantrum and burst into tears when her mum and dad insisted that her grandparents had to be invited.
Elton John's "Crocodile Rock" borrows a bit from Don McLean's "American Pie." Both songs feature a Chevy, and are about young people who are heartbroken when their music "dies."
"Oh Happy Day" was recorded in a church and sold to raise money for the choir. It's the only genuine gospel song to become a pop hit.
In the UK, Michael Jackson's "Thriller" returns to the chart every Halloween, a tradition started in 2007.
The guys who wrote "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" had never been to a baseball game but knew it was a good song topic.
The Exorcist theme music is a portion of "Tubular Bells," a 25-minute song released by 19-year-old Mike Oldfield.
The drummer and one of the primary songwriters in Grand Funk talks rock stardom and Todd Rundgren.
Based on criteria like girlfriend tension, stage mishaps and drummer turnover, these are the 10 bands most like Spinal Tap.
The story of the legendary lupine DJ through the songs he inspired.
These Three famous songs actually describe how they were written - late into the evening.
In this talk from the '80s, the Kansas frontman talks turning to God and writing "Dust In The Wind."
A top country songwriter, Barry talks about writing hits for Little Big Town, Tim McGraw and Jason Aldean.
