Lionel Richie hosted the American Music Awards the night he recorded "We Are The World."

Ann Peebles' "I Can't Stand The Rain" originated from a comment made by the singer to her husband, Don Bryant, when they were preparing to head out to a blues show and it began tipping down with rain.

"Tainted Love" started as a 1964 soul song by Gloria Jones, became a huge hit when Soft Cell covered it in 1981, and was the basis for Rihanna's 2006 #1 "S.O.S. (Rescue Me)."

Until December 5, 1998, a song had to be issued as a single to make the Hot 100. Aaliyah's "Try Again" was the first tune to top the chart based on airplay alone, without any sales figures being included.

When the Velvet Underground song "Heroin" got screechy, Maureen Tucker stopped drumming, figuring it would bust the take, but her bandmates kept going. You can hear it at the 5:20 mark.

In the UK, Michael Jackson's "Thriller" returns to the chart every Halloween, a tradition started in 2007.
The lead singer and pianist for Procol Harum, Gary talks about finding the musical ideas to match the words.
In the summer of 1990, you could get arrested for selling a 2 Live Crew album or performing their songs in Southern Florida. And that's exactly what happened.
The king of Christian worship music explains talks about writing songs for troubled times.
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."
How a country weeper and a blues number made "rolling stone" the most popular phrase in rock.
Despite appearances on Carson, Leno and a Pennebaker film, Williams remains a hidden treasure.