"Open Arms" was a pioneering power ballad. Stadium Rock bands like Journey shied away from slow songs, but when they reluctantly agreed to record this song, it became their biggest hit.
"Piano Man" was inspired by Billy Joel's time playing at a piano bar in Los Angeles. The "real estate novelist" was a guy who always talked about writing a book, but spent all his spare time in the bar.
"Sing" was inspired by a girl that Ed Sheeran met in Las Vegas in the summer of 2013, when "one thing led to another and now she's kissing my mouth."
The Annie Lennox hit "No More I Love You's" is a cover, originally sung by a man.
When Keith Urban played "Somebody Like You" for his girlfriend, she called him a hypocrite because he "sucked at relationships."
The Australian band Jet took their name from the 1973 song of the same by Paul McCartney and Wings.
Shears does very little promotion, which has kept him secluded from the spotlight. What changed when Cyndi Lauper had a hit with his song? Not much, really.
Petula talks about her hits "Downtown" and "Don't Sleep In The Subway," and explains her Michael Jackson connection.
Harry is Derek Smalls in Spinal Tap, Mark Shubb in The Folksmen, and Mr. Burns on The Simpsons.
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.
The Kiss rocker covers a lot of ground in this interview, including why there are no Kiss collaborations, and why the Rock Hall has "become a sham."
