
Despite his hit "Forever In Blue Jeans," Neil Diamond was rarely seen in denim. He said the jeans are a symbol for how "the simple things are really the important things."

Imagine Dragons lead singer Dan Reynolds says their 2012 hit "Radioactive" is "a song about having an awakening; kind of waking up one day and deciding to do something new, and see life in a fresh way."

The guys from Chic wrote "Le Freak" as a message to a doorman who wouldn't let them into a club. Originally, it was "F--- Off."

The Squeeze song "Tempted" is one of their few with lead vocals by Paul Carrack, who sang the Ace song "How Long" and was in Mike + The Mechanics.

Neil Young wrote the CSN&Y song "Ohio" about the Kent State Shootings, when the National Guard opened fire on students at Kent State University in Ohio, killing four.

"Nobody Does It Better" by Carly Simon was used in the film The Spy Who Loved Me. It was the first James Bond song not named after the movie.
When a song describes a wedding, it's rarely something to celebrate - with one big exception.
Some songs get a second life when they find a new audience through a movie, commercial, TV show, or even the Internet.
Richard explains how Joe Walsh kickstarted his career, and why he chose Hazard, Nebraska for a hit.
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.
Soul music legend Bill Withers on how life experience and the company you keep leads to classic songs like "Lean On Me."
The writer of "Rainy Night in Georgia" and "Polk Salad Annie" explains how he cooks up his Louisiana swamp rock.