"Tenderness" by General Public was partly inspired by the outbreak of AIDS, which at the time was thought to be contagious.
"Rio" by Duran Duran is a metaphor for America, where the band was trying to break through.
When "Theme From Shaft" won an Oscar in 1972, Isaac Hayes became the first African American to win in the Best Song category.
Dexys Midnight Runners' "Come on Eileen" is based on a real girl called Eileen that the band's Kevin Rowland had a relationship with in his early teenage years.
"November Rain" by Guns N' Roses has a literary influence: The lyric is based on a story called Without You by Del James.
The most famous song to prominently feature a French horn is "God Only Knows" by The Beach Boys.
The Evanescence frontwoman on the songs that have shifted meaning and her foray into kids' music.
Paul Stanley on his soul music project, the Kiss songs with the biggest soul influence, and the non-make-up era of the band.
Waters tells the "Gypsy Woman" story, shares some of her songwriting insights, and explains how Dennis Rodman ended up on one of her songs.
Famous songs that lent their titles - and in some cases storylines - to movies.
With the rise of Kindie rock, more musicians are embracing their inner child with tunes for tots - here, we look at pop stars who recorded kids' albums.
Outrageously gifted and just plain outrageous, Millie is an R&B and Rap innovator.