Icona Pop consider "I Love It" a kiss-off to their boyfriends. "We just wanted to get the song out and get the pigs to hear it," group member Jawo said.
The Hollies hit "The Air That I Breathe" was written in part as a reaction to the smog in Los Angeles.
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.
"Tenderness" by General Public was partly inspired by the outbreak of AIDS, which at the time was thought to be contagious.
When Rihanna's "Umbrella" was a hit in the summer of 2007, it rained constantly in London, prompting their newspaper The Sun to suggest a "Rihanna Curse."
Elton John's classic "Levon" runs 5:22, and Elton wouldn't let his record company edit it down for the single. His next single was "Tiny Dancer," which is even longer, running 6:12.
With Bernie Taupin, Martin co-wrote the #1 hits "We Built This City" and "These Dreams." After writing the Pretty Woman song for Go West, he had his own hit with "In the House of Stone and Light."
An interview with Dr. John Covach, music professor at the University of Rochester whose free online courses have become wildly popular.
Where words like "email," "thirsty," "Twitter" and "gangsta" first showed up in songs, and which songs popularized them.
Not everyone can be a superhero, but that hasn't stopped generations of musicians from trying to be Superman.
Joe talks about the challenges of of making a Duke Ellington tribute album, and tells the stories behind some of his hits.
Michelle Branch talks about "Everywhere," "The Game Of Love," and her run-in with a Christian broadcasting network.