Katy Perry's song "E.T." came from a beat originally intended for the rap group Three Six Mafia. When her producer accidentally pulled up the beat, Perry asked to use it.
"It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" was inspired by a dream where Michael Stipe conjured up images of people with the initials L.B.: Lester Bangs, Leonid Breshnev, Lenny Bruce and Leonard Bernstein.
Beyoncé married Jay-Z five months before releasing "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)," a song she sang in character as her alter-ego, Sasha Fierce.
The Flaming Lips' "Do You Realize??" was named in March 2009 the official Rock Song of Oklahoma. Four years later, Oklahoma's governor Mary Fallin pulled the tune as the state's official rock song in a move her office said had more to do with priorities than musical taste.
"Walking In Memphis" isn't so much about Memphis, as it is The Hollywood Cafe in Mississippi, where Marc Cohn encountered an old woman named Murial playing piano.
Jack & Diane started off as an interracial couple; Mellencamp took race references out of the song at the request of his record company.
Here's what happens when an opening act is really out of place with the headliner, like when Beastie Boys opened for Madonna.
Despite appearances on Carson, Leno and a Pennebaker film, Williams remains a hidden treasure.
Call us crazy, but we like it when an artist comes around who doesn't mesh with the status quo.
A song he wrote and recorded from "sheer spiritual inspiration," Allen's didn't think "Southern Nights" had hit potential until Glen Campbell took it to #1 two years later.
The lead singer/lyricist for Anberlin breaks down "Impossible" and covers some tracks from their 2012 album Vital.
Long before Eminem, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj created alternate personas, David Bowie, Bono, Joni Mitchell and even Hank Williams took on characters.
