Janet Jackson's "Alright" video features Cab Calloway and Cyd Charisse, stars of musicals she loved as a kid.
A perfume called Wonderstruck was named after a line in Taylor Swift's song "Enchanted": "I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home."
Bobby Freeman's '50s hit "Do You Want To Dance" was also a Hot 100 hit for Del Shannon, The Beach Boys, The Mamas & the Papas, Bette Midler and the Ramones.
The seemingly inoffensive song, "Deep In The Heart Of Texas," was banned by the BBC when it was released in 1942. They deemed the song too catchy, with authorities in wartime Britain concerned that factory workers would be distracted if they heard it during a shift.
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.
"November Rain" by Guns N' Roses has a literary influence: The lyric is based on a story called Without You by Del James.
The trail runs from flying saucer songs in the '50s, through Bowie, blink-182 and Katy Perry.
Is Owl City on a quest for another hit like "Fireflies?" Adam answers that question and explains the influences behind many others.
Fiona's highly-anticipated third album almost didn't make it. Here's how it finally came together after two years and a leak.
How did The Edge get his name? Did they name a song after a Tolkien book? And who is "Angel of Harlem" about?
A band so baffling, even their names were contrived. Check your score in the Ramones version of Fact or Fiction.