Eric Clapton wrote "Layla" about his love for Pattie Harrison, who was married to George Harrison at the time. He eventually married Pattie, and managed to stay friends with George.
Katy Perry's breakout hit, "I Kissed A Girl," was surprising to those familiar with her past: Her parents were pastors and she started off singing Christian music.
After the Beastie Boys sampled a bunch of Led Zeppelin songs, Robert Plant did it himself on his 1988 solo hit "Tall Cool One," which sampled "Whole Lotta Love," "Black Dog" and "The Ocean."
"Today" by Smashing Pumpkins is sarcastic in the line "today is the greatest day." Lead singer Billy Corgan wrote it about the crippling depression he was battling following the band's first big tour.
"Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who is about a revolution, but it doesn't have a happy ending, since in the end the new regime becomes just like the old one. Pete Townshend thought that whoever was in power was destined to become corrupt.
Desmond Child thought Gavin Rossdale was singing "Kiss The Rain" on the Bush song "Glycerine." When he found out the truth, he wrote a song called "Kiss The Rain" for Billie Myers.
When she released her first album in 1988, Tanita became a UK singing sensation at age 19. She talks about her darkly sensual voice and quirky songwriting style.
Joe talks about the challenges of of making a Duke Ellington tribute album, and tells the stories behind some of his hits.
The writer of "Rainy Night in Georgia" and "Polk Salad Annie" explains how he cooks up his Louisiana swamp rock.
Toto's keyboard player explains the true meaning of "Africa" and talks about working on the Thriller album.
Was "Pearl" Eddie Vedder's grandmother, and did she really make a hallucinogenic jam? Did Journey have a contest to name the group? And what does KISS stand for anyway?
Queen, Phish and The Stones are among our picks for the best band logos. Here are their histories and a design analysis from an expert.