Duran Duran's "Wild Boys" is based on the book of the same name by William Burroughs.
The Hollies' 1967 hit "Carrie Anne" featured the first use of a steel drum in a commercial pop record.
The Bangles song "Eternal Flame" was inspired by a display at Graceland that honored Elvis Presley.
The Men Without Hats lead singer wrote "The Safety Dance" after getting kicked out of a bar for dancing too aggressively. The song is literally about being safe to dance if you want to.
The first hit song that was used in a commercial before it was released as a single was "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing," which was written for a Coke ad.
Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" is about the commercialization of Hawaii. On her first trip to the islands, she looked out of her hotel window and saw a parking lot as far as the eye could see.
How a country weeper and a blues number made "rolling stone" the most popular phrase in rock.
The Kiss rocker covers a lot of ground in this interview, including why there are no Kiss collaborations, and why the Rock Hall has "become a sham."
How well do you know this shock-rock harbinger who's been publicly executed hundreds of times?
Writing great prog metal isn't easy, especially when it's for 60 musicians.
Phil was a songwriter, producer and voice behind many Philadelphia soul classics. When disco hit, he got an interesting project: The Village People.
10 Questions for the author of Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces