The disco song "Good Tmes" by Chic was a huge influence on early rap, providing the bassline for "Rapper's Delight."
Diane Warren originally wrote Aerosmith's hit tune "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" for Celine Dion.
Kiss sing about "movin' fast on 95" in "Detroit Rock City," but I-95 doesn't go through Detroit (I-75 does) so they published the lyric as "Movin' fast, doin' 95."
The phrase "Mamma Mia" was big in 1976. It was the name of a popular Abba song, and also showed up in the lyrics to "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen.
Americans know the song "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers thanks to the 1993 Johnny Depp movie Benny & Joon, where it plays in the opening scene. The song was first released in 1988 but got little attention in the US until it showed up in the film.
The movie The Breakfast Club opens with a passage from David Bowie's "Changes" ("And these children that you spit on...")
After studying in Paris with a famous composition teacher, Charles became the most successful writer of TV theme songs.
Can you be married in one country but not another? Only if you're part of a gay couple. One of the first famous singers to come out as a lesbian, Janis wrote a song about it.
Dave explains how the video appropriated the meaning of "Runaway Train," and what he thought of getting parodied by Weird Al.
Meshell Ndegeocello talks about recording "Wild Night" with John Mellencamp, and explains why she shied away from the spotlight.
Rufus Wainwright on "Hallelujah," his album Unfollow The Rules, and getting into his "lyric trance" on 12-hour walks.
The writer of "Rainy Night in Georgia" and "Polk Salad Annie" explains how he cooks up his Louisiana swamp rock.