Katy Perry's breakout hit, "I Kissed A Girl," was surprising to those familiar with her past: Her parents were pastors and she started off singing Christian music.
The most intense song we know that deploys a cowbell is "Killing In The Name," the most popular song by Rage Against The Machine. Their drummer kept a cowbell on his kit and used it in some of their recordings.
The Strokes admitted to purloining Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' "American Girl" for their hit "Last Nite."
"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 idea for "The Man Comes Around" came to Johnny Cash from a dream he had where he was in Buckingham Palace and the Queen said to him, "Johnny Cash, you're just like a thorn tree in a whirlwind."
16-tear-old Lorde wrote the lyrics to "Royals" at home in just half an hour. She was inspired by the "ridiculous, unrelatable, unattainable opulence" that runs through such albums as Kanye West and Jay-Z's Watch the Throne and Lana Del Rey's Born To Die.
Chris Stein of Blondie shares photos and stories from his book about the New York City punk scene.
The Prince-penned "Manic Monday" was the first song The Bangles heard coming from a car radio, but "Eternal Flame" is closest to Susanna's heart, perhaps because she sang it in "various states of undress."
From "Some Day My Prince Will Come" to "Let It Go" - how Disney princess songs (and the women who sing them) have evolved.
Collaborating with T Bone Burnett, Leslie Phillips changed her name and left her Christian label behind - Robert Plant, who recorded one of her songs on Raising Sand, is a fan.
Revisit the awesome glory of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees: cheesily-acted videos, catchy guitar licks, long hair, and lyrics that are just plain relatable.
An original member of Depeche Mode, Vince went on to form Erasure and Yaz.