The first release of "The Sound Of Silence" was acoustic, and went nowhere. It became Simon & Garfunkel's first hit when a producer at their label overdubbed it with electric instruments.
Elvis Presley' first #1 on any chart was "I Forgot To Remember To Forget." It arrived at the top of the Country tally on February 25, 1956 and stayed there for two weeks.
"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" was Michael Jaskson's attack on the tabloid press: "They eat off of you, you're a vegetable."
The Eagles' first single, "Take It Easy," was written by Jackson Browne, who was living in the apartment below Glenn Frey when he wrote it.
Jerry Cantrell used a talkbox to create the warbling vocal effect on the Alice in Chains song "Man In The Box."
Sia Furler originally sent "Pretty Hurts" to Katy Perry, but she didn't see the email, so Beyonce ended up recording it instead.
Brian has unearthed outtakes by Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello and hundreds of other artists for reissues. Here's how he does it.
He's a singer and an actor, but as a songwriter Paul helped make Kermit a cultured frog, turned a bank commercial into a huge hit and made love both "exciting and new" and "soft as an easy chair."
Did they really trade their guitarist to The Doobie Brothers? Are they named after something naughty? And what's up with the band name?
The author of Help! 100 Songwriting, Recording And Career Tips Used By The Beatles, explains how the group crafted their choruses so effectively.
Inspired by his dear friend, "Seasons in the Sun" paid for Terry's boat, which led him away from music and into a battle with Canadian paper mills.
Newman makes it look easy these days, but in this 1974 interview, he reveals the paranoia and pressures that made him yearn for his old 9-5 job.