"Me And Bobby McGee" was written by Kris Kristofferson and first recorded by Roger Miller. Janis Joplin's famous version turned Bobby into a boy.
War got the idea for "Why Can't We Be Friends?" when they were traveling in Japan and found they had a kinship with the citizens even though they didn't speak the same language.
Sheryl Crow's "Soak Up The Sun" isn't as lighthearted as it seems: the song deals with the prevailing head-in-the-sand reaction to climate change.
"Panama" by Van Halen is not about the country or the canal, but about a stripper David Lee Roth met in Arizona.
Aretha Franklin didn't drive, but one of her biggest hits was a car song: "Freeway Of Love."
There's a lot of Americana in "Uncle John's Band" by the Grateful Dead, including references to "Buckdancer's Choice" (an Appalachian folk song) and "Fire And Ice," a Robert Frost poem.
Fagen talks about how the Steely Dan songwriting strategy has changed over the years, and explains why you don't hear many covers of their songs.
Did Marvin try out with the Detroit Lions? Did he fake crazy to get out of military service? And what about the cross-dressing?
Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.
Queen, Phish and The Stones are among our picks for the best band logos. Here are their histories and a design analysis from an expert.
How the American gangsta rappers made history by getting banned in the UK.
Bowie's "activist" days of 1964 led to Ziggy Stardust.