George Michael making fun of his arrest in the "Outside" video.
Cheap Trick hated the ballad "The Flame" but recorded it because they needed a hit, and the song delivered, going to #1.
The first single from the Thriller album was "The Girl Is Mine," chosen over "Billie Jean" and "Beat It" because it was a duet with Paul McCartney and thus guaranteed airplay.
When "Theme From Shaft" won an Oscar in 1972, Isaac Hayes became the first African American to win in the Best Song category.
Tom Petty was a big star on MTV, but he ran afoul of their policies with the line "let's roll another joint" in "You Don't Known How It Feels." The network ended up reversing the word "joint" so it was unintelligible, then giving the video a VMA for Best Male Video.
Adam Levine of Maroon 5 made it obvious who their song "This Love" was about when he named the album "Songs About Jane."
The chorus in "September" by Earth, Wind & Fire is "Bada-Ya, dancing in September." Group leader Maurice White left it "Bada-Ya" instead of a real word because he never let a lyric get in the way of a groove.
The man who created Yacht Rock with "Sailing" wrote one of his biggest hits while on acid.
Established as a redoubtable singer-songwriter, the Men At Work frontman explains how religion, sobriety and Jack Nicholson play into his songwriting.
With a few clues (Works at a diner, dreams of running away), can you name the character in the song?
When a waitress wouldn't take him home, Jack wrote what would become one of the Eagles most enduring hits.
Did Marvin try out with the Detroit Lions? Did he fake crazy to get out of military service? And what about the cross-dressing?
One of the most successful songwriters in the business, Desmond co-wrote "Livin' La Vida Loca," "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)" and "Livin' On A Prayer."