Colbie Caillat sang "Bubbly" when she auditioned for American Idol in 2004, but was sent packing. Three years later it became a big hit when she released it as her first single - the song spent 19 weeks at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
When the Christian band DC Talk covered Nirvana's "All Apologies" at concerts, they would change the line "Everyone is gay" to "Jesus is the Way."
After the Beastie Boys sampled a bunch of Led Zeppelin songs, Robert Plant did it himself on his 1988 solo hit "Tall Cool One," which sampled "Whole Lotta Love," "Black Dog" and "The Ocean."
Many love songs come back to haunt the singer when the relationship doesn't work out, but "Wish I Knew You" by The Revivalists isn't one of them. Lead singer David Shaw wrote it for his girlfriend, Sam. The song was released in 2015 and they got married in 2022.
Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" is a joyful-sounding song with lyrics that are surprisingly somber: "when the night falls, loneliness calls." It's co-writer explained: "Many of our friends were in this boat - 5 o'clock comes around, they start getting restless."
Billy Joel's song "Allentown" was written as "Levittown," which is the town in Long Island where he grew up. He got the idea to change it after taking a trip to Pennsylvania.
Lyrics don't always follow the rules of grammar. Can you spot the ones that don't?
Tim and his brother Richard are the Furs' foundation; Tim explains how they write and tells the story of "Pretty In Pink."
Did this Eagle come up with the term "Parrothead"? And what is it like playing "Hotel California" for the gazillionth time?
The stories behind the biggest hit songs about trucking.
Richard explains how Joe Walsh kickstarted his career, and why he chose Hazard, Nebraska for a hit.
Starting in Virginia City, Nevada and rippling out to the Haight-Ashbury, LSD reshaped popular music.