Dido helped shut down a Neo-Nazi Web site after learning it was using "White Flag" to promote its hateful messages. Owners of the site had misinterpreted the track as racist and thought they represented their white supremacy views.
George Harrison's 1971 song "Bangla Desh" was the first major charity single. It was part of a concert held to bring relief to the people of Bangladesh, who were fighting for independence and suffering from a famine.
Paper Mate paid for Autograph's "Turn Up The Radio" video in exchange for prominent placement of their erasable pen.
Thomas Dolby wrote "She Blinded Me With Science" so he could direct the video, which was inspired by silent films and set in a "home for deranged scientists."
The French part in Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer" explains that the killer is going after a girl, like Norman Bates in the movie Psycho.
The Goo Goo Dolls got the title for their song "Iris" from a country singer named Iris DeMent.
The men of Sparks on their album Hippopotamus, and how Morrissey handled it when they suggested he lighten up.
It wasn't her biggest hit as a songwriter (that would be "Bette Davis Eyes"), but "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" had a family connection for Jackie.
"Mony Mony," "Crimson and Clover," "Draggin' The Line"... the hits kept coming for Tommy James, and in a plot line fit for a movie, his record company was controlled by the mafia.
An interview with Dr. John Covach, music professor at the University of Rochester whose free online courses have become wildly popular.
The longtime Eagle talks about soaring back to his solo career, and what he learned about songwriting in the group.
Some songs get a second life when they find a new audience through a movie, commercial, TV show, or even the Internet.
