Bob Dylan's most popular song is "Like A Rolling Stone," which tells the story of a wealthy woman whose money and friends fall away. Dylan offers these mockingly encouraging words: "When you ain't got nothing, you got nothing to lose."
Michael Jackson's "Liberian Girl" opens with the South African female singer Letta Mbulu saying the Swahili phrase "Naku penda piya-naku taka piya-mpenziwe." There was some geographic liberty here, as Swahili is not spoken in the West African nation of Liberia.
"99 Luftballons" by Nena is about a Cold War scare when balloons showed up on radar and were mistaken as a nuclear threat.
Devo got the idea for their "Whip It" video from an article about a guy who owned a dude ranch and charged people to watch him remove his wife's clothes with a bullwhip.
"Livin' La Vida Loca" is a Latin pop landmark, but "la vida loca" are the only Spanish words in the lyric - "mocha" is English.
Hugh Laurie, star of the TV show House, had a minor hit in 2011 with "Police Dog Blues," an old Blues song from 1929.
Oliver Leiber talks about writing and producing hits for Paula Abdul, and explains his complicated relationship with his father, the songwriter Jerry Leiber.
These overtly religious songs crossed over to the pop charts, despite resistance from fans, and in many cases, churches.
Nick made some of the biggest videos on MTV, including "The Final Countdown," "Heaven" and "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)."
How the American gangsta rappers made history by getting banned in the UK.
The longtime BS&T frontman tells the "Spinning Wheel" story, including the line he got from Joni Mitchell.
A history of songs dealing with transgender issues, featuring Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Morrissey and Green Day.