When The Kinks released "Lola," most people didn't realize Lola was a man. "I was dancing with this beautiful blonde, then we went out into the daylight and I saw her stubble," Ray Davies said of the inspiration.
"I Wish" by Skee-Lo was the first hit song to use the word "baller" in the chorus ("I wish I was a baller..."). That term pervaded pop music over the next several year.
"Baby Got Back" isn't just a booty song. According to Sir Mix-A-Lot, it's about "Lack of acceptance by Hollywood of the African-American body."
The melody to "Yesterday" came to Paul McCartney in a dream, but the lyrics he had to write consciously. His first attempt at the title was "Scrabble Eggs."
Many people believe "Hotel California" is about a mental institution called the Camarillo, but the Eagles say it's about materialism and excess.
Charlotte was established in the LA punk scene when a freaky girl named Belinda approached her wearing a garbage bag.
The "A Thousand Miles" singer on what she thinks of her song being used in White Chicks and how she captured a song from a dream.
Taylor talks about "The Machine" - the hits, the videos and Clive Davis.
Michelle Branch talks about "Everywhere," "The Game Of Love," and her run-in with a Christian broadcasting network.
The singer/bassist for Concrete Blonde talks about how her songs come from clairvoyance, and takes us through the making of their hit "Joey."
Bowie's "activist" days of 1964 led to Ziggy Stardust.
