Seemed like a good idea at the time: put basketball star Dennis Rodman on a song by Crystal Waters. An NBA superstar (and future Hall of Famer), Rodman was a crossover celebrity, constantly in the news for his unpredictable and often self-destructive antics. Waters, who had an office job before working her way up in the music industry, was not happy about the pairing, but her label did the deal anyway, hoping the song would get a big boost from its use in Rodman's movie Double Team, in which he starred alongside 
Salt's "mighty good man" in the Salt-N-Pepa "Whatta Man" video is played by Tupac Shakur.
On Missy Elliott's "Work It," the backward vocal is the previous line, "Put my thing down, flip it, and reverse it," in reverse. She stumbled on it when the engineer played it backward by mistake.
Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" is about their founding member Syd Barrett, who became an acid casualty. Notice the S-Y-D in the title.
No Doubt's hit "Don't Speak" is about Gwen Stefani's breakup with the band's bass player, Tony Kanal, after seven years together.
"Spoonman" by Soundgarden is about a real street performer in Seattle: Artis the Spoonman.
Ann Peebles' "I Can't Stand The Rain" originated from a comment made by the singer to her husband, Don Bryant, when they were preparing to head out to a blues show and it began tipping down with rain.
What's the deal with "Summer of '69"? Bryan explains what the song is really about, and shares more of his songwriting insights.
The British reggae legend tells the story of his #1 hit "Close To You," talks about his groundbreaking Shabba Ranks collaboration "Housecall," and discusses his latest project with Robin Trower.
Franti tells the story behind his hit "Say Hey (I Love You)" and explains why yoga is an integral part of his lifestyle and his Soulshine tour.
Psychedelic Furs lead singer Richard Butler talks about their first album since 1991 and explains what's really going on in "Pretty In Pink."
A founding member of the band War, Harold gives a first-person account of one of the most important periods in music history.
Tom stopped performing Thompson Twins songs in 1987, in part because of their personal nature: "Hold Me Now" came after an argument with his bandmate/girlfriend Alannah Currie.