Jay-Z was going to ask Mary J. Blige to duet on "Empire State of Mind," but he decided on Alicia Keys when he heard the piano stabs on the track.
UB40's cover of "Red Red Wine" was a minor hit when first released in 1983, but it went to #1 five years later when radio stations in Phoenix started playing it.
The first Huey Lewis & the News hit, "Do You Believe In Love?," is a cover of a song Mutt Lange wrote three years earlier called "We Both Believe In Love."
"Stand By Me" hit #4 in the US when it was released in 1961, then went to #9 in 1986 when it was used in the movie of the same name.
"Radioactive" set an industry record for the slowest climb to the top five in the Hot 100 chart's history when it jumped from #6 to #4 in its 42nd week.
Robert Smith doesn't license Cure songs for commercials, but he made an exception in 2004 when he let Hewlett-Packard use "Pictures Of You." He needed the money to buy the group's back catalogue.
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.
Songs about drugs, revolution and greed that have been used in commercials for sneakers, jeans, fast food, cruises and cars.
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.
10 Questions for the author of Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces
Graham Nash tells the stories behind some of his famous songs and photos, and is asked about "yacht rock" for the first time.
Fiona's highly-anticipated third album almost didn't make it. Here's how it finally came together after two years and a leak.