"Piano Man" was inspired by Billy Joel's time playing at a piano bar in Los Angeles. The "real estate novelist" was a guy who always talked about writing a book, but spent all his spare time in the bar.
Robin Thicke and his mom, Gloria Loring are the first the first ever mother-and-son to have both tallied top 10 singles on the Hot 100 as solo artists or duos. Loring reached #2 with Carl Anderson in 1986 with "Friends and Lovers" and Thicke topped the chart in 2013 with "Blurred Lines."
"Talk To Ya Later" proved the power of MTV when sales of Tubes albums picked up in markets like Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the network was available.
Kenny Loggins co-wrote the Doobie Brothers hit "What a Fool Believes," which is about a guy who just can't accept that an affair from long ago was meaningless to her.
Carla Thomas became the first woman to achieve a Top 10 hit on the Hot 100 with a song she wrote herself when "Gee Whiz (Look At His Eyes)" reached the chart's top tier in 1961. Thomas was just 16-years-old when she penned it.
Train's guitarist had to Google an instructional video to learn how to play the ukulele for "Hey Soul Sister."
"I'll Be" was what Edwin called his "Hail Mary" song. He says it proves "intention of the songwriter is 180 degrees from potential interpretation by an audience."
Songs where something goes horribly wrong (literally or metaphorically), and help is needed right away.
Billy Joel and Hall & Oates hated making videos, so they chose a director with similar contempt for the medium. That was Jay Dubin, and he has a lot to say on the subject.
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.
Starting in Virginia City, Nevada and rippling out to the Haight-Ashbury, LSD reshaped popular music.