Buck Dharma of Blue Oyster Cult wrote "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" after he was diagnosed with a heart condition and started thinking about his own mortality.
Don McLean's "American Pie" starts in mono and gradually goes to stereo. It isn't full stereo until the end of the song, which is over 8 minutes long.
Enrique Iglesias' single "Bailando" was the first ever Spanish-language song to reach one billion views on YouTube.
"Fight The Power" was written for the Spike Lee movie Do The Right Thing. It opens the film and serves as the motif.
Katy Perry's song "E.T." came from a beat originally intended for the rap group Three Six Mafia. When her producer accidentally pulled up the beat, Perry asked to use it.
Celine Dion's 1998 festive tune "The Magic of Christmas Day (God Bless Us Everyone)" came from an unlikely source. It was penned by Dee Snider of the heavy metal band Twisted Sister.
Do their first three albums have French titles? Is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" really meaningless? See if you can tell in this Fact or Fiction.
Harry Wayne Casey tells the stories behind KC and The Sunshine Band hits like "Get Down Tonight," "That's The Way (I Like It)," and "Give It Up."
Dan cracked the Top 40 with "Ritual," then went to India and spent 2 hours with the Dalai Lama.
Was a Beatles song a TV theme? And who came up with those Fresh Prince and Sopranos songs?
The Christian rapper talks about where his trip to Haiti and his history of addiction fit into his songs.
When you free your mind, your ass may follow, but you have to make sure someone else doesn't program it while it's wide open.