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 
Andre 3000 played all the instruments on Outkast's "Hey Ya" except bass. Aaron Mills from Cameo played that.
"Stay" by Shakespears Sister is based on a 1953 B-movie called Cat-Women Of The Moon.
"Cult of Personality" by Living Colour incorporates speeches by John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
One of the most enduring songs from the '90s is "Iris" by The Goo Goo Dolls, which got huge on social media and streaming in the 2020s. The song was written for a movie called City Of Angels, about an angel (Nicolas Cage) who falls in love with a human (Meg Ryan).
Paul McCartney wrote "Ebony and Ivory," his duet with Stevie Wonder, after a tiff with his wife Linda. "It was like, 'Why can't we get it together- our piano can,'" he explained.
"Jessie's Girl" tells the true story of a girl Rick Springfield was crushing on, but her boyfriend's name was really Gary and he was more of an acquaintance than a friend.
After studying in Paris with a famous composition teacher, Charles became the most successful writer of TV theme songs.
A Soul Train dancer takes us through a day on the show, and explains what you had to do to get camera time.
When she released her first album in 1988, Tanita became a UK singing sensation at age 19. She talks about her darkly sensual voice and quirky songwriting style.
Elvis, Little Richard and Cheryl Cole have all sung about Teddy Bears, but there is also a terrifying Teddy song from 1932 and a touching trucker Teddy tune from 1976.
When a song describes a wedding, it's rarely something to celebrate - with one big exception.
The Reverend rants on psychobilly and the egghead academics he bashes in one of his more popular songs.