"Sloop John B" is a traditional West Indian folk song, and it was a huge hit for The Beach Boys in 1966. They tweaked the lyric, "This is the worst trip since I've been born" to "...I've ever been on" as a wink to acid culture.
"I Got You Babe" makes Sonny Bono the only person to perform on a #1 hit and also get elected to congress.
"I Fought The Law" was a hit for The Bobby Fuller Four in 1965. The Clash released their version in 1979, changing the lyrics "I left my baby" to "I killed my baby."
The most famous pop song featuring a bassoon: "The Tears of a Clown" by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles.
Vincent Price did the spooky narration on "Thriller." He was paid a flat fee of $20,000, turning down a percentage of the royalties that would have paid him far more.
The electronic instruments in "Atomic Dog" represent the coming computer age, which is balanced by the instinctual dog, who barks and pants throughout the song.
The renown Texas songwriter has been at it for 40 years, with tales to tell about The Flatlanders and The Clash - that's Joe's Tex-Mex on "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"
Have you got the smarts to know which of these graduation song stories are real?
In the summer of 1990, you could get arrested for selling a 2 Live Crew album or performing their songs in Southern Florida. And that's exactly what happened.
The man who brought us "Red Skies" and "Saved By Zero" is now an organic farmer in France.
Our chat with Barney Hoskyns, who covers the wild years of Woodstock - the town, not the festival - in his book Small Town Talk.
