Two versions of the cover art for Michael Jackson's "Ben." The one without the rats sold a lot better for some reason.
"MMMbop" by Hanson was so ubiquitous in 1997 that when the band appeared on SNL, they took part in a skit where Helen Hunt and Will Ferrell seek retribution by trapping them in an elevator and playing the song until they crack. "Now, you will suffer like we did," Hunt tells them.
Pete Townshend wrote the lyrics for "My Generation" by The Who during a train ride from London to Southampton on his 20th birthday when he was thinking about "trying to find a place in society."
The motto for Boys Town, which was a Nebraska home for troubled youth, inspired the song "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" by The Hollies.
"Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" was written for Doris Day to sing in the Alfred Hitchcock movie The Man Who Knew Too Much.
Katmandu, the capital of Nepal, was the archetype for faraway mysticism when Bob Seger wrote a song about it in 1975.
Ed Sheeran thought he wrote the x track "Photograph" on 6th Street in Denver, so he got a tattoo saying 6 ST. But when he returned it turned out the street was actually 6th Avenue.
Fagen talks about how the Steely Dan songwriting strategy has changed over the years, and explains why you don't hear many covers of their songs.
A scholarly analysis of yacht rock favorites ("Steal Away," "Baker Street"...) with a member of the leading YR cover band.
Go beyond The Beatles to see what you know about the British Invasion.
In 1986, a Stephen King novella was made into a movie, with a classic song serving as title, soundtrack and tone.
"Dead Skunk" became a stinker for Loudon when he felt pressure to make another hit - his latest songs deal with mortality, his son Rufus, and picking up poop.
Was Long Tall Sally a cross-dresser? Did he really set his piano on fire? See if you know the real stories about one of rock's greatest innovators.