"Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers was inspired by the Jack Lemmon movie Days of Wine and Roses.
The Goo Goo Dolls got the title for their song "Iris" from a country singer named Iris DeMent. The word doesn't show up in the lyric; lead singer Johnny Rzeznik said he was "trying to be pretentious and arty by calling it that."
Lorde was 16 years and 11 months old when "Royals" topped the Hot 100. In doing so she became the youngest ever solo artist to write and perform a #1 hit.
The 1984 Anthrax song "Metal Thrashing Mad" popularized the phrase "thrash metal," a faster version of heavy metal. "Thrash" dates back to 1982 though, when Metallica put the lyric "thrashing all around" in their song "Whiplash."
It wasn't one of her biggest hits, but "La Isla Bonita" (from 1986) emerged as one of Madonna's top songs in the age of streaming thanks to widespread usage on TikTok. Creators who visit an island or just want that mood often use it as a soundtrack.
The Kate Bush song "Why Should I Love You?" is a collaboration with Prince. He completely re-worked her demo, so Bush spent a lot of time piecing it back together to keep her imprint.
The Celtic music maker Loreena McKennitt on finding musical inspiration, the "New Age" label, and working on the movie Tinker Bell.
Charlotte was established in the LA punk scene when a freaky girl named Belinda approached her wearing a garbage bag.
How well do you know your David Bowie lyrics? Take this quiz to find out.
An original member of Depeche Mode, Vince went on to form Erasure and Yaz.
The powerhouse producer behind Janet Jackson's hits talks about his Boyz II Men ballads and regrouping The Time.
