Bruce Springsteen's "Because The Night" is the biggest hit for both Patti Smith and 10,000 Maniacs. For Smith, it was an anomaly, as her songs were aimed at a narrow audience. In the case of 10,000 Maniacs, it marked the emergence of Natalie Merchant as a hitmaker; the song was her last single with the group, and her subsequent solo album Tigerlily got her on the charts with "Carnival" and "Wonder."

"Talk To Ya Later" proved the power of MTV when sales of Tubes albums picked up in markets like Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the network was available.

ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson conceived "Dancing Queen" as a dance song with the working title "Boogaloo," drawing inspiration from the 1974 George McCrae disco hit "Rock Your Baby." Their manager Stig Anderson came up with the title "Dancing Queen."

Iggy Pop wrote "Lust For Life" with David Bowie, who came up with the music on a ukulele.

Glenn Frey of the Eagles played a bad guy in a 1985 episode of Miami Vice based on his song "Smuggler's Blues."
"I Just Called To Say I Love You" is Stevie Wonder's best-selling single worldwide. It topped the Hot 100, AC, R&B and UK charts all in the same week.
Before he was the champ, Ali released an album called I Am The Greatest!, but his musical influence is best heard in the songs he inspired.
The drummer and one of the primary songwriters in Grand Funk talks rock stardom and Todd Rundgren.
Switchfoot's frontman and main songwriter on what inspires the songs and how he got the freedom to say exactly what he means.
Some songs get a second life when they find a new audience through a movie, commercial, TV show, or even the Internet.
Phone booths are nearly extinct, but they provided storylines for some of the most profound songs of the pre-cell phone era.