The first rap song to make the Hot 100 was "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang in 1979. At the time, many considered rap a fad that would soon pass.
Al Gore chose an inspiring but obscure campaign song when he ran for president in 2000: "Let The Day Begin" by The Call.
"Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us," the title song to the movie Breakin', was a hit and helped breakdancing go mainstream when it was released in 1984. The song has scratches and other hip-hop flourishes, but no rapping, which would have kept it off many playlists.
ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson conceived "Dancing Queen" as a dance song with the working title "Boogaloo," drawing inspiration from the 1974 George McCrae disco hit "Rock Your Baby." Their manager Stig Anderson came up with the title "Dancing Queen."
Vegetarian Fred Schneider of the B-52's got the idea for "Rock Lobster" at an Atlanta disco when a projector displayed images of lobsters on a grill.
The song "Knock On Wood" was confusing to UK listeners because the saying there is "Touch Wood."
They sang about pink torpedoes and rocking you tonight tonight, but some real lyrics are just as ridiculous. See if you can tell which lyrics are real and which are Spinal Tap in this lyrics quiz.
Writing great prog metal isn't easy, especially when it's for 60 musicians.
It took him seven years to recover from his American hit "Fool (If You Think It's Over)," but Chris Rea became one of the top singer-songwriters in his native UK.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers have some rather unusual song titles - see if you can spot the real ones.
A top country songwriter, Barry talks about writing hits for Little Big Town, Tim McGraw and Jason Aldean.
Phone booths are nearly extinct, but they provided storylines for some of the most profound songs of the pre-cell phone era.