Van Halen's first #1 hit was "Jump," an unusual song for the band because the lead instrument was synthesizer, not guitar.
Katmandu, the capital of Nepal, was the archetype for faraway mysticism when Bob Seger wrote a song about it in 1975.
Phil Oakey of The Human League recorded his vocals for "Don't You Want Me" in the studio bathroom. The recording was disrupted by guitarist Jo Callis reaching through an open window from outside to repeatedly flush one of the toilets.
Fifth Harmony was going to call their song "Work," but they changed it to "Work from Home" when Rihanna released a song with that title.
"I Can See Clearly Now" by Johnny Nash was the first reggae song to hit #1 in America on the Hot 100.
Bono wrote U2's song "Sweetest Thing" for his wife to make up for working on her birthday. For the video, he staged an "apology parade," complete with Irish step dancers and an elephant.
He wrote "She Blinded Me With Science" so he could direct a video about a home for deranged scientists.
Michelob commercials generated hits for Eric Clapton, Genesis and Steve Winwood in the '80s, even as some of these rockers were fighting alcoholism.
In the name of song explanation, Al talks about scoring heroin for William Burroughs, and that's not even the most shocking story in this one.
Daniel Lanois on his album Heavy Sun, and the inside stories of songs he produced for U2, Peter Gabriel, and Bob Dylan.
Joe talks about the challenges of of making a Duke Ellington tribute album, and tells the stories behind some of his hits.
