Irving Berlin wrote "How Dry I Am" in anticipation of Prohibition, envisioning a bleak future without alcohol.
"St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)" was not written for the movie, but for Rick Hanson, a wheelchair athlete whose 1985 "Man In Motion" tour logged 24,856 miles on his wheelchair in 34 countries while raising $26 million for spinal cord research.
One of the most successful cover songs is Fugees' "Killing Me Softly," a 1996 reworking of Roberta Flack's 1973 hit. Originally, Fugees wanted to change the title to "Killing Him Softly" and make it about the dangers of drug abuse.
"Midnight Train To Georgia" was originally "Midnight Plane To Houston," but was changed to sound more R&B.
45% of the royalties for "Somebody That I Used To Know" go to the estate of the Brazilian classical guitarist Luiz Bonfá, whose song "Seville" Gotye sampled.
"I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" by Jay-Z borrows four bars from Notorious B.I.G's "The World Is Filled." Jay-Z and Biggie Smalls attended Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School in Brooklyn, New York, at the same time.
When you free your mind, your ass may follow, but you have to make sure someone else doesn't program it while it's wide open.
Wilder's hit "Break My Stride" had an unlikely inspiration: a famous record mogul who rejected it.
How well do you know your David Bowie lyrics? Take this quiz to find out.
Ron Nevison explains in very clear terms the Quadrophenia concept and how Heart staged their resurgence after being dropped by their record company.
Does Angus really drink himself silly? Did their name come from a sewing machine? See if you can spot the real stories about AC/DC.
The 10 biggest "retirement tours" that didn't take.