Stephen Tobolowsky, who played Ned Ryerson in Groundhog Day, inspired the Talking Heads song "Radio Head." Tobolowsky, who worked on David Byrne's film True Stories, claimed to have telepathic powers.
"The Way" by Fastball was inspired by the story of an elderly couple from Texas who drove to a nearby family reunion and kept going. Fastball's bass player imagined them taking off and having fun like they were young. The story didn't end well: the couple was later found dead after they crashed in a canyon.
"(I've Had) The Time of My Life" was a huge hit from the movie Dirty Dancing. It was used in the climactic dance scene at the end, which was actually the first scene shot for the movie.
The Ricky Martin song "She Bangs" found new life when William Hung performed it so horribly on a 2004 episode of American Idol that it went viral.
Jack & Diane started off as an interracial couple; Mellencamp took race references out of the song at the request of his record company.
The dirty version of Cee-Lo Green's "Forget You" contains 16 F-bombs. He recorded a clean version as an afterthought, "just in case."
Since emerging from MySpace with her hit "Bubbly," Colbie has become a top songwriter, even crafting a hit with Taylor Swift.
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."
He wrote "She Blinded Me With Science" so he could direct a video about a home for deranged scientists.
Taylor talks about "The Machine" - the hits, the videos and Clive Davis.
Medley looks back on "Unchained Melody" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" - his huge hits from the '60s that were later revived in movies.
One of the most popular classical vocalists in the land is lining up a trip to space, which is the inspiration for many of her songs.