Neither Peter Frampton nor Lynyrd Skynyrd ever had a #1 hit, but when Will To Power mashed up their songs "Baby, I Love Your Way" and "Free Bird" into a lite-rock medley in 1988, it hit the top spot.
The Texas songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker wrote "Mr. Bojangles" after a weekend in jail where a fellow inmate told him his life story.
A 1989 track by Kenny G, "Going Home," is the unofficial national closing song in China. The tune is played at the end of train rides, the end of school days, and when malls are about to close.
The line, "Gotta keep 'em separated" in "Come Out And Play" by The Offspring came to lead singer Dexter Holland when he was a medical student and needed to keep bacteria samples away from each other.
"End Of The Road" by Boyz II Men comes off a bit thirsty, especially when we find out the girl cheated on him. The sketch show In Living Color parodied the song, with the group as "Boyz II Wimps."
Before she was famous, Lady Gaga was a staff songwriter, and wrote the song "Quicksand," which Britney Spears recorded in 2008.
Have you got the smarts to know which of these graduation song stories are real?
Bradley Cooper, Michael J. Fox, Rami Malek, Reese Witherspoon, Gwyneth Paltrow and George Clooney: Which actors really sang in their movies?
David Gray explains the significance of the word "Babylon," and talks about how songs are a form of active imagination, with lyrics that reveal what's inside us.
Here's what happens when an opening act is really out of place with the headliner, like when Beastie Boys opened for Madonna.
Steppenwolf frontman John Kay talks about "Magic Carpet Ride," "Born To Be Wild," and what he values more than awards and accolades.
Graham Nash tells the stories behind some of his famous songs and photos, and is asked about "yacht rock" for the first time.