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.
David Bowie's "Space Oddity" tells the story of an astronaut who cuts off communication and floats into space. The BBC used it extensively in their coverage of the 1969 moon landing - an odd choice considering the lyrics.
Colbie Caillat sang "Bubbly" when she auditioned for American Idol in 2004, but was sent packing. Three years later it became a big hit when she released it as her first single - the song spent 19 weeks at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
Recording "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me," Elton John was frustrated and sang the line "don't discard me" with an exaggerated American accent, which is why is sounds strange.
The original "Enter Sandman" lyric was about crib death, with the "sandman" killing a baby.
The horn flourish at the beginning of "Jump Around" comes from Bob and Earl's "Harlem Shuffle"; the squeal throughout the song might be a Prince sample.
Charlotte was established in the LA punk scene when a freaky girl named Belinda approached her wearing a garbage bag.
Is "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" about Vietnam? Was John Fogerty really born on a Bayou? It's the CCR edition of Fact or Fiction.
The British reggae legend tells the story of his #1 hit "Close To You," talks about his groundbreaking Shabba Ranks collaboration "Housecall," and discusses his latest project with Robin Trower.
Ron Nevison explains in very clear terms the Quadrophenia concept and how Heart staged their resurgence after being dropped by their record company.
The Bush frontman on where he finds inspiration for lyrics, if his "machine head" is a guitar tuner, and the stories behind songs from the album The Kingdom.
A look at the good (Diana Ross, Eminem), the bad (Madonna, Bob Dylan) and the peculiar (David Bowie, Michael Jackson) film debuts of superstar singers.