
When Petula Clark reached #1 in the US with "Downtown" in 1965, she became the first female singer from England to hit #1 in the US during the Rock Era (after 1955).

Sheriff had been disbanded for years when "When I'm With You" hit #1 in America thanks to rediscovery by radio stations. The group never re-formed and never made a video for the song.

"Paper Planes" was inspired by M.I.A.'s hassles trying to get a visa to enter America.

Ed Sheeran thought he wrote the x track "Photograph" on 6th Street in Denver, so he got a tattoo saying 6 ST. But when he returned it turned out the street was actually 6th Avenue.

At the end of "Radar Love," the driver dies in a crash but maintains a psychic bond with the woman he was racing to see. The song's lyricist was inspired by stories of extrasensory perception (ESP).

"Talk To Ya Later" proved the power of MTV when sales of Tubes albums picked up in markets like Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the network was available.
From the cowbell on "Mississippi Queen" to recording with The Who when they got the wrong Felix, stories from one of rock's master craftsmen.
A song he wrote and recorded from "sheer spiritual inspiration," Allen's didn't think "Southern Nights" had hit potential until Glen Campbell took it to #1 two years later.
Billy Joel and Hall & Oates hated making videos, so they chose a director with similar contempt for the medium. That was Jay Dubin, and he has a lot to say on the subject.
Evelyn McDonnell, editor of the book Women Who Rock, on why the Supremes are just as important as Bob Dylan.
Fagen talks about how the Steely Dan songwriting strategy has changed over the years, and explains why you don't hear many covers of their songs.
Go beyond The Beatles to see what you know about the British Invasion.