When you flip the cover of Boston's first album, you see that the UFOs are actually guitars. Boston leader Tom Scholz wanted a guitar on the cover, but Paula Scher, who designed covers for their label, Epic Records, wanted something less cliché. She came up with a concept of a guitar-spaceship invading Earth, but Scholz thought it should be saving the planet, not attacking it. The spacecraft became part of Boston's iconography and was used on their subsequent album covers.

Chuck Berry's only #1 hit was "My Ding-a-Ling," a novelty song about a boy and his... you know.

Oasis didn't coin the term "Wonderwall." It's the title of a 1968 movie with a soundtrack by George Harrison. It was Harrison's soundtrack that got the band's attention.

"Nuclear Device (The Wizard of Aus)" by The Stranglers was written about the then Premier of Queensland, Joh Bjelke-Petersen. His political shenanigans were observed by the band during their first tour of Australia.

The title of Florence + the Machine's "How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful" was inspired by the Los Angeles skyline.

Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits wrote "Private Dancer," which went to Tina Turner when he realized it wasn't a song for a man to sing.

"Cleveland Rocks" was written by an Englishman. Ian Hunter wrote the song after touring America in the late '70s and finding that Cleveland was by far the most receptive city to his brand of Glam Rock.
Newman makes it look easy these days, but in this 1974 interview, he reveals the paranoia and pressures that made him yearn for his old 9-5 job.
Joe talks about the challenges of of making a Duke Ellington tribute album, and tells the stories behind some of his hits.
A Soul Train dancer takes us through a day on the show, and explains what you had to do to get camera time.
Daryl Hall's TV show is a hit, and he's been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - only one of these developments excites him.
The country sweetheart opines about the demands of touring and talks about writing songs with her famous father.
The 10 biggest "retirement tours" that didn't take.