"Tenderness" by General Public was partly inspired by the outbreak of AIDS, which at the time was thought to be contagious.
One of the first hit songs used in a major marketing campaign was "Start Me Up" by The Rolling Stones. Microsoft paid $3 million to use it in commercials for Windows '95.
Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits wrote "Private Dancer," which went to Tina Turner when he realized it wasn't a song for a man to sing.
"Mercedes Boy" by Pebbles is about a real guy she fell in love with - they both drove Mercedes when she wrote it.
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.
"Open Arms" was a pioneering power ballad. Stadium rock bands like Journey shied away from slow songs, but when they reluctantly agreed to record the song, it became their biggest chart hit.
Are classic songs like "Over The Rainbow" and "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in the public domain?
Starting in Virginia City, Nevada and rippling out to the Haight-Ashbury, LSD reshaped popular music.
The evolution of the symbol that was Prince's name from 1993-2000.
Charlotte was established in the LA punk scene when a freaky girl named Belinda approached her wearing a garbage bag.
Sheryl Crow's longtime songwriting partner/guitarist Jeff Trott reveals the stories behind many of the singer's hits, and what its like to be a producer for Leighton Meester and Max Gomez.
Michael tells the story of "Send Me On My Way," and explains why some of the words in the song don't have a literal meaning.