Corinne Bailey Rae's 2006 hit "Put Your Records On" borrows the opening line ("Three little birds sat on my window") from the Bob Marley song "Three Little Birds." Both songs have the same message: Don't worry, because every little thing's going to be alright.
"Surf City" was recorded by Jan & Dean, but written by Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys. It was the first #1 hit Wilson wrote.
When the Christian band DC Talk covered Nirvana's "All Apologies" at concerts, they would change the line "Everyone is gay" to "Jesus is the Way."
Janet Jackson wrote the lyric to "Nasty" in response to random guys calling her "baby."
Don Johnson, who starred as Sonny Crockett in Miami Vice, was also a singer. He had a #5 hit in 1986 with "Heartbeat."
Cheap Trick hated the ballad "The Flame" but recorded it because they needed a hit, and the song delivered, going to #1.
From the lake in "Roundabout" to Sister Bluebird in "Starship Trooper," Jon Anderson talks about how nature and spirituality play into his lyrics for Yes.
Don breaks down "Hotel California" and other songs he wrote as a member of the Eagles. Now we know where the "warm smell of colitas" came from.
Richard explains how Joe Walsh kickstarted his career, and why he chose Hazard, Nebraska for a hit.
Starting in Virginia City, Nevada and rippling out to the Haight-Ashbury, LSD reshaped popular music.
Since emerging from MySpace with her hit "Bubbly," Colbie has become a top songwriter, even crafting a hit with Taylor Swift.
In 1986, a Stephen King novella was made into a movie, with a classic song serving as title, soundtrack and tone.