"Hangin' Tough" came at the peak of New Kids On The Block mania (1988). Their writer/producer Maurice Starr wrote it about the struggles the band faced early on. It was a #1 hit in both America and the UK.
"Back In The U.S.S.R." by The Beatles was play on "California Girls" by The Beach Boys, with "Moscow girls" and "Ukraine girls" instead of the all-American girls.
The Split Enz song "Six Months In A Leaky Boat" is about the journey explorers made from Europe to colonize Australia and New Zealand, where the band is from.
"Peg" by Steely Dan is told from the perspective of Peg's jilted ex-boyfriend as he watches her launch an acting career.
Kelly Clarkson's coronation song when she won American Idol in 2002 was "A Moment Like This," which was released as her first single and went to #1. Every finalist that season recorded the song in case they won.
Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Keith Moon and John Paul Jones recorded "Beck's Bolero" and almost formed a band. They couldn't find a lead singer, so Page and Jones formed Led Zeppelin.
The lead singer of Everclear, Art is also their primary songwriter.
A scholarly analysis of yacht rock favorites ("Steal Away," "Baker Street"...) with a member of the leading YR cover band.
On Glen's résumé: hit songwriter, Facebook dominator, and member of Styx.
The Sevendust frontman talks about the group's songwriting process, and how trips to the Murder Bar helped forge their latest album.
How did The Edge get his name? Did they name a song after a Tolkien book? And who is "Angel of Harlem" about?
In the name of song explanation, Al talks about scoring heroin for William Burroughs, and that's not even the most shocking story in this one.