"Criminal" is Fiona Apple's only chart hit. Royalties from it allow her to make music on her terms, releasing albums several years apart.
The song title "Cake By The Ocean" originated from DNCE's Swedish producers using the wrong name for the drink "Sex on the Beach."
The songwriting team Leiber and Stoller wrote "Hound Dog" for a blues singer named Big Mama Thronton, who first recorded the song in 1953. Elvis covered it in 1956, and it became his biggest hit.
"Baby One More Time," the breakout song for Britney Spears, was originally offered to TLC but they passed on it. The R&B trio didn't feel comfortable singing the line, "hit me baby one more time."
Robin Thicke had a #1 hit with "Blurred Lines" in 2013, but he wasn't the first in his family with a hit song. His mom, Gloria Loring, was a singer who had a hit in 1986 with "Friends And Lovers," a duet with Carl Anderson.
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.
In the name of song explanation, Al talks about scoring heroin for William Burroughs, and that's not even the most shocking story in this one.
The men of Sparks on their album Hippopotamus, and how Morrissey handled it when they suggested he lighten up.
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.
What are the biggest US hits with French, Spanish (not "Rico Suave"), Italian, Scottish, Greek, and Japanese titles?
Mike is lead guitarist with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and co-writer of classic songs like "Boys Of Summer," "Refugee" and "The Heart Of The Matter."
