"What's Up" by 4 Non Blondes has endured as one of the most popular songs of the '90s, but it wasn't a huge hit at the time and the band split after one album. Frontwoman Linda Perry went on to write hits for Pink and Christina Aguilera.
"Amarillo By Morning" got its title from a Fed Ex commercial that promised to deliver packages the next day to places like Amarillo. It's George Strait's most famous song, but was written and originally released by Terry Stafford nine years earlier.
"The Way" by Fastball was inspired by the story of an elderly couple from Texas who drove to a nearby family reunion and kept going. Fastball's bass player imagined them taking off and having fun like they were young. The story didn't end well: the couple was later found dead after they crashed in a canyon.
One of the most enduring songs from the '90s is "Iris" by The Goo Goo Dolls, which got huge on social media and streaming in the 2020s. The song was written for a movie called City Of Angels, about an angel (Nicolas Cage) who falls in love with a human (Meg Ryan).
"Everywhere" wasn't a huge hit for Fleetwood Mac, but it's one of their most popular songs in the streaming era. It was written and sung by Christine McVie, who wrote these kind of catchy tunes in contrast to mystical Stevie Nicks songs like "Rhiannon" and "Gold Dust Woman."
Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai were two of Graham's co-writers for some '80s rock classics.
The lead singer/lyricist for Anberlin breaks down "Impossible" and covers some tracks from their 2012 album Vital.
The Evanescence frontwoman on the songs that have shifted meaning and her foray into kids' music.
Some songs get a second life when they find a new audience through a movie, commercial, TV show, or even the Internet.
The co-writer/guitarist on many Alice Cooper hits, Dick was also Lou Reed's axeman on the Rock n' Roll Animal album.
The guy who brought us "Stacy's Mom" also wrote the Jane Lynch Emmy song and Stephen Colbert's Christmas songs.
