"Surf City" was recorded by Jan & Dean, but written by Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys. It was the first #1 hit Wilson wrote.
Paul McCartney wrote "Blackbird" in Scotland after reading about race riots in the U.S. when federal courts forced the racial desegregation of the Arkansas capital's school system.
"Sunday Girl" was written by Blondie guitarist Chris Stein to cheer up Debbie Harry after her cat had run away whilst they were away on tour. The gray cat was called Sunday Man.
"The Way" by Fastball was inspired by the story of an elderly couple from Texas who drove to a nearby family reunion and kept going. Fastball's bass player imagined them taking off and having fun like they were young. The story didn't end well: the couple was later found dead after they crashed in a canyon.
The first hit song that was used in a commercial before it was released as a single was "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing," which was written for a Coke ad.
Janet Jackson wrote the lyric to "Nasty" in response to random guys calling her "baby."
Julian tells the stories behind his hits "Valotte" and "Too Late for Goodbyes," and fills us in on his many non-musical pursuits. Also: what MTV meant to his career.
In 1986, a Stephen King novella was made into a movie, with a classic song serving as title, soundtrack and tone.
Long before Eminem, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj created alternate personas, David Bowie, Bono, Joni Mitchell and even Hank Williams took on characters.
In the summer of 1990, you could get arrested for selling a 2 Live Crew album or performing their songs in Southern Florida. And that's exactly what happened.
The leader of the Modern A Cappella movement talks about the genre.
