"Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" was written for Doris Day to sing in the Alfred Hitchcock movie The Man Who Knew Too Much.
Thanks to the line "shake it like a Polaroid picture," Outkast's "Hey Ya!" made Polaroid cameras cool again. Many other artists have since mentioned Polaroid in their lyrics, including Eminem, Imagine Dragons, Keith Urban, Gorillaz and Tim McGraw.
"You Get What You Give" by The New Radicals was the first hit song to use the word "frenemies" in the lyric.
Madonna didn't write "Papa Don't Preach," which deals with abortion. What drew her to the song was the singer standing up to male authority.
George Harrison's 1971 song "Bangla Desh" was the first major charity single. It was part of a concert held to bring relief to the people of Bangladesh, who were fighting for independence and suffering from a famine.
Good Charlotte's video for "Last Night" reconstructs the TV show "Family Double Dare," complete with host Marc Summers.
A scholarly analysis of yacht rock favorites ("Steal Away," "Baker Street"...) with a member of the leading YR cover band.
Billy Joel and Hall & Oates hated making videos, so they chose a director with similar contempt for the medium. That was Jay Dubin, and he has a lot to say on the subject.
Known in America for the hit "If You Leave," OMD is a huge influence on modern electronic music.
With a few clues (Works at a diner, dreams of running away), can you name the character in the song?
An interview with Ray and Derek Shulman of the progressive rock band Gentle Giant to discuss counterpoint, polyrhythms, and... Bon Jovi.
The country hitmaker talks about his debut album, A Rock, and how a nursery rhyme inspired his hit single "One Beer."