"Mercedes Boy" by Pebbles is about a real guy she fell in love with - they both drove Mercedes when she wrote it.
The first version of The Beatles' "Helter Skelter" was a 27-minute jam, so you can imagine what Ringo was going through pounding away on drums. To convince the guys he needed a break, he screamed, "I've got blisters on my fingers!" This was included on the fadeout.
"Toxic" was the most-searched song on Google in 2004 and helped Spears become the most-searched artist that year, a title she held from 1999-2001.
With his song "The G.O.A.T.," as in Greatest Of All Time, LL Cool J popularized that saying in hip-hop. He credits the boxer Muhammad Ali, who called himself "The Greatest," as inspiration.
Props to Aretha Franklin: her song "Respect" introduced the term "propers" as a sign of proper respect.
Shaggy wrote his swaggering hit "Boombastic" after learning what "shag" means in the UK.
Rise Against frontman Tim McIlrath explains the meanings behind some of their biggest songs and names the sci-fi books that have influenced him.
A band so baffling, even their names were contrived. Check your score in the Ramones version of Fact or Fiction.
When you have a song called "Fire," it's tempting to set one - these guys did.
Eddie (played by Johnny Depp in the video) found fame fleeting, but Chuck Berry's made-up musician fared better.
Michael tells the story of "Send Me On My Way," and explains why some of the words in the song don't have a literal meaning.
On Glen's résumé: hit songwriter, Facebook dominator, and member of Styx.