"Tainted Love" started as a 1964 soul song by Gloria Jones, became a huge hit when Soft Cell covered it in 1981, and was the basis for Rihanna's 2006 #1 "S.O.S. (Rescue Me)."
A key line in "Africa" is "I seek to cure what's deep inside, frightened of this thing that I've become," which is about drifting away from what you really want in life. Toto keyboard player David Paich, who wrote the song, felt his work was consuming him.
Devo got the idea for their "Whip It" video from an article about a guy who owned a dude ranch and charged people to watch him remove his wife's clothes with a bullwhip.
Rod Stewart wrote "Maggie May" about the woman who deflowered him when he was 16.
Dido helped shut down a Neo-Nazi Web site after learning it was using "White Flag" to promote its hateful messages. Owners of the site had misinterpreted the track as racist and thought they represented their white supremacy views.
"Dirty Water" became a Boston sports anthem in the '00s, but it was written by a guy from California after almost getting mugged on a visit to the city.
The head of Drake's estate shares his insights on the late folk singer's life and music.
These Three famous songs actually describe how they were written - late into the evening.
Kooper produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, played with Dylan and the Stones, and formed BS&T.
Roger reveals the songwriting formula Clive Davis told him, and if "Eight Miles High" is really about drugs.
Have you got the smarts to know which of these graduation song stories are real?
