The original "Venus" was a #1 hit for the Dutch band Shocking Blue. Listen to the first line and you'll hear a muffed word: "goddess" was sung as "goddness."
"Ain't Nobody" by Rufus & Chaka Khan was one of the first big hits to use a sequencer, which is how that distinctive keyboard loop was created. The song almost landed on Michael Jackson's Thriller album, but the group decided to keep it.
The French part in Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer" explains that the killer is going after a girl, like Norman Bates in the movie Psycho.
Most of us only know "Bad Boys" by Inner Circle from the 25 seconds used as the Cops theme, but it's a full song telling the story of a Jamaican youth who doesn't accept family support and ends up a criminal.
"Talk To Ya Later" proved the power of MTV when sales of Tubes albums picked up in markets like Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the network was available.
"Summertime" by DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince is built on a sample of a Kool & The Gang instrumental from 1974 called "Summer Madness," which gets a shout in the line, "This is the Fresh Prince's new definition of summer madness."
Soul music legend Bill Withers on how life experience and the company you keep leads to classic songs like "Lean On Me."
The leader of the Modern A Cappella movement talks about the genre.
Emilio talks about what it's like to write and perform with the Tower of Power horns, and why every struggling band should have a friend like Huey Lewis.
Did this Eagle come up with the term "Parrothead"? And what is it like playing "Hotel California" for the gazillionth time?
The country sweetheart opines about the demands of touring and talks about writing songs with her famous father.
Is Owl City on a quest for another hit like "Fireflies?" Adam answers that question and explains the influences behind many others.