The actress Michelle Pfeiffer gets namechecked in the 2014 megahit "Uptown Funk" ("Michelle Pfeiffer, that white gold"). When it was released, "Riptide" by Vance Joy was on the charts; that song also mentions her ("Closest thing to Michelle Pfeiffer that you've ever seen").
The Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)" came top of a 2013 Spotify poll to find out which songs music fans most commonly hear people singing incorrectly. Many believe Annie Lennox is singing: "Sweet dreams are made of cheese, who am I to disagree?"
The song "Without You," a hit for Nilsson in 1972 and Mariah Carey in 1994, was written and originally recorded by Badfinger in 1970.
"Island Girl" was a #1 hit for Elton John in 1975, but he rarely played it live, maybe because it's about a Jamaican woman "turning tricks for the dudes in the big city."
Bob Dylan's most popular song is "Like A Rolling Stone," which tells the story of a wealthy woman whose money and friends fall away. Dylan offers these mockingly encouraging words: "When you ain't got nothing, you got nothing to lose."
Bob Marley gave the songwriting credit for "No Woman No Cry" to his friend Vincent Ford, who ran a soup kitchen in Trenchtown, the area of Kingston where Marley grew up.
Richie talks about producing the first two Kiss albums, recording "Brother Louie," and the newfound appreciation of his rock band, Dust.
Richard explains how Joe Walsh kickstarted his career, and why he chose Hazard, Nebraska for a hit.
Edie Brickell on her collaborations with Paul Simon, Steve Martin and Willie Nelson, and her 2021 album with the New Bohemians.
Brian has unearthed outtakes by Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello and hundreds of other artists for reissues. Here's how he does it.
Where words like "email," "thirsty," "Twitter" and "gangsta" first showed up in songs, and which songs popularized them.
Keyboard great David Sancious talks about his work with Sting, Seal, Springsteen, Clapton and Aretha, and explains what quantum physics has to do with making music.