The Strokes admitted to purloining Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' "American Girl" for their 2001 hit "Last Nite." "Yeah, we ripped it off," lead singer Julian Casablancas said.
The Austin Powers theme is "Soul Bossa Nova," written by Quincy Jones in 1962 - the same year the first James Bond movie was released.
The Simon & Garfunkel song "Mrs. Robinson" was originally called "Mrs. Roosevelt," most likely after First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The title was changed when it was considered for use in the film The Graduate, where Anne Bancroft's character is Mrs. Robinson.
The rockabilly sound was big in the late 1950s, when Buddy Holly was popular. One of the biggest hits in that genre was the #1 "Party Doll" by Buddy Knox, which used a cardboard box filled with cotton as the drums.
The comedian Steve Martin had a hit in 1978 with "King Tut." The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, who Martin would open for on tour, were his backing band on the song.
Rudolf, Bob Dylan and the Singing Dogs all show up in this Fact or Fiction for seasonal favorites.
Katy Perry mentions McDonald's, Beyoncé calls out Red Lobster, and Supertramp shouts out Taco Bell - we found the 10 restaurants most often mentioned in songs.
Who writes a song about a name they found in a phone book? That's just one of the everyday things these guys find to sing about. Anything in their field of vision or general scope of knowledge is fair game. If you cross paths with them, so are you.
We've heard of artists putting their hearts into their music, but some take it literally.
How did The Edge get his name? Did they name a song after a Tolkien book? And who is "Angel of Harlem" about?
Wilder's hit "Break My Stride" had an unlikely inspiration: a famous record mogul who rejected it.
