The B-52's picked chose the location of their song "Private Idaho" because the state had a reputation for being wacky and mysterious. The title was a play on the phrase "Private Eye."
There really is a China Grove (in Texas), but Tom Johnston didn't know about it when he wrote the Doobie Brothers song.
"Surf City" was recorded by Jan & Dean, but written by Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys. It was the first #1 hit Wilson wrote.
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."
Before recording "Boom Clap" herself, Charli XCX offered the song to Hilary Duff. However, the singer's people turned down the tune declaring it wasn't "cool enough for Hilary."
Charlie discusses the songs that made him a Southern Rock icon, and settles the Devil vs. Johnny argument once and for all.
Oliver Leiber talks about writing and producing hits for Paula Abdul, and explains his complicated relationship with his father, the songwriter Jerry Leiber.
The renown rock singer talks about "The House of the Rising Sun" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood."
Newman makes it look easy these days, but in this 1974 interview, he reveals the paranoia and pressures that made him yearn for his old 9-5 job.
The story of the legendary lupine DJ through the songs he inspired.