The Men Without Hats lead singer wrote "The Safety Dance" after getting kicked out of a bar for dancing too aggressively. The song is literally about being safe to dance if you want to.
Ray Parker Jr. had to get the word "Ghostbusters" in the title when he wrote the theme song for the 1984 film, which was no easy task. When it came time to sing the title in the chorus, he brought in friends to make it a gang vocal.
The only cover of "American Pie" to chart is by Madonna, whose 2000 version was a minor hit in America but went to #1 in the UK.
Clarence Clemons, who played the sax in Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, had the biggest solo hit of anyone in the group - aside from Springsteen - when "You're A Friend Of Mine" hit #18 in 1985.
One of Tom Petty's most personal songs is "Room At The Top," which he stopped performing because it brought back painful memories.
"We Will Become Silhouettes" by The Postal Service sounds happy and fun, but it's a very bleak song about a nuclear winter. Lead singer Ben Gibbard wrote the lyric while ruminating over 9/11.
The stories behind the biggest hit songs about trucking.
Can you name Def Leppard's only #1 hit in America? Get rocked with this adrenalized quiz.
How a country weeper and a blues number made "rolling stone" the most popular phrase in rock.
The Jayhawks' song "Big Star" has special meaning to Gary, who explains how longevity and inspiration have trumped adulation.
Starting in Virginia City, Nevada and rippling out to the Haight-Ashbury, LSD reshaped popular music.
The Evanescence frontwoman on the songs that have shifted meaning and her foray into kids' music.