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.
Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" includes both gibberish ("Roma Roma-ma") and French ("Je veux ton amour et je veux ta revanche") in the lyrics. The French part translates to: "I want your love and I want your revenge."
The Jesus Jones song "Right Here, Right Now" was conceived as an optimistic version of Prince's "Sign O' The Times."
The very American song "What Made Milwaukee Famous" was never a big hit in the US, but Rod Stewart made it famous in the UK.
"Killing An Arab" by The Cure was inspired by Albert Camus' book The Stranger.
Glenn Frey of the Eagles played a bad guy in a 1985 episode of Miami Vice based on his song "Smuggler's Blues."
The drummer and one of the primary songwriters in Grand Funk talks rock stardom and Todd Rundgren.
When televangelists like Jimmy Swaggart took on rockers like Ozzy Osbourne and Metallica, the rockers retaliated. Bono could even be seen mocking the preachers.
Here's what happens when an opening act is really out of place with the headliner, like when Beastie Boys opened for Madonna.
The writer of "Rainy Night in Georgia" and "Polk Salad Annie" explains how he cooks up his Louisiana swamp rock.
She thinks of herself as a "song interpreter," but back in the '80s another country star convinced Emmylou to take a crack at songwriting.
Did this Eagle come up with the term "Parrothead"? And what is it like playing "Hotel California" for the gazillionth time?