Cheap Trick hated the ballad "The Flame" but recorded it because they needed a hit, and the song delivered, going to #1.
"Everywhere" wasn't a huge hit for Fleetwood Mac, but it's one of their most popular songs in the streaming era. It was written and sung by Christine McVie, who wrote these kind of catchy tunes in contrast to mystical Stevie Nicks songs like "Rhiannon" and "Gold Dust Woman."
"Your Time Is Gonna Come" became the first Led Zeppelin song to be covered when Sandie Shaw recorded it in 1969.
The Ozzy Osbourne song "Mr. Crowley" is about Aleister Crowley, a British practitioner of dark magic in the early 1900s.
In the INXS song "Devil Inside," the devil represents chaos. "Every time you think something's right, he comes in and changes everything," Michael Hutchence said.
The White Stripes song "We're Going To Be Friends" is very innocent, but Jack White feared it would be interpreted cynically. It wasn't, and was even adapted into a children's book.
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.
The trail runs from flying saucer songs in the '50s, through Bowie, blink-182 and Katy Perry.
The Jayhawks' song "Big Star" has special meaning to Gary, who explains how longevity and inspiration have trumped adulation.
Songwriters have used cards and card games to make sense of heartache, togetherness, and even Gonorrhea.
Roger reveals the songwriting formula Clive Davis told him, and if "Eight Miles High" is really about drugs.
Shows like Dawson's Creek, Grey's Anatomy and Buffy the Vampire Slayer changed the way songs were heard on TV, and produced some hits in the process.