Richard Harris, who played Professor Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter movies, had a hit in 1968 with "MacArthur Park."
Jo Dee Messina's 1996 country classic "Heads Carolina, Tails California" was inspired by a book released the previous year called Border Music by Robert James Waller, where the main character flips a coin to decide his next destination.
The Creedence Clearwater Revival song "Fortunate Son" is about how the Vietnam war was being fought by soldiers without the privilege or connections to get out of it. "It's the old saying about rich men making war and poor men having to fight them," John Fogerty said.
The rockabilly sound was big in the late 1950s, when Buddy Holly was popular. One of the biggest hits in that genre was the #1 "Party Doll" by Buddy Knox, which used a cardboard box filled with cotton as the drums.
One of the most successful cover songs is Fugees' "Killing Me Softly," a 1996 reworking of Roberta Flack's 1973 hit. Originally, Fugees wanted to change the title to "Killing Him Softly" and make it about the dangers of drug abuse.
The eerie percussion and guitar for Portsihead's "Sour Times" was sampled from Lalo Schifrin's "Danube Incident," music composed by the Argentine composer for an episode of Mission Impossible.
What are the biggest US hits with French, Spanish (not "Rico Suave"), Italian, Scottish, Greek, and Japanese titles?
Just like Darrin was replaced on Bewitched, groups have swapped out original members, hoping we wouldn't notice.
Did Eric Clapton really write "Cocaine" while on cocaine? This question and more in the Clapton edition of Fact or Fiction.
Edie Brickell on her collaborations with Paul Simon, Steve Martin and Willie Nelson, and her 2021 album with the New Bohemians.
Rockers, rappers and pop stars have been known to quote the Bible in their songs. See if you match the artist to the biblical lyric.
The trail runs from flying saucer songs in the '50s, through Bowie, blink-182 and Katy Perry.