When "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" climbed to #1 on the Hot 100, Katy Perry became the first woman to send five songs from one album to the top of the charts. The four previous chart-toppers from her Teenage Dream set were "California Gurls," "Teenage Dream," "Firework"; and, "E.T."
"Oh Happy Day" was recorded in a church and sold to raise money for the choir. It's the only genuine gospel song to become a pop hit.
The Isley Brother's song, "Contagious," peaked at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100. This meant that the band of brothers became the first group to score a Top 50 hit in six consecutive decades on the chart.
"Mrs Robinson" was originally called "Mrs Roosevelt," most likely after First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. It became "Mrs Robinson" when it was considered for use in the film The Graduate.
"Are You Gonna Go My Way" by Lenny Kravitz is from the perspective of Jesus Christ: "I am the chosen I'm the one."
Pete Townshend wrote The Who's "Pinball Wizard" to coax a good review for the Tommy album out of a rock critic who loved pinball. It worked.
Emilio talks about what it's like to write and perform with the Tower of Power horns, and why every struggling band should have a friend like Huey Lewis.
Many unusual folks appear in Grateful Dead songs. Can you identify them?
Fishbone has always enjoyed much more acclaim than popularity - Angelo might know why.
Phone booths are nearly extinct, but they provided storylines for some of the most profound songs of the pre-cell phone era.