Billy Idol's "Eyes Without A Face" is based on a 1959 French movie about a surgeon who abducts young women and removes their facial features.
The Whitney Houston hit "I Have Nothing" was inspired by Elvis Presley, who dated the song's lyricist, Linda Thompson.
MTV wanted Weezer to record a version of their song "Hash Pipe" as "Half Pipe" to appeal to the skateboarding crowd. The band refused, and MTV listed the song as "H*** Pipe."
Teen Spirit was a kind of deodorant marketed to young girls. That's where Kurt Cobain got the title "Smells Like Teen Spirit."
"Frankenstein" by Edgar Winter got its name because it was a monster to edit; they pieced it together like Frankenstein's monster.
"Magic" was the first word to serve as both the title of a #1 hit (Olivia Newton-John's 1980 tune "Magic") and the name of an artist behind a chart-topping song (Magic!'s 2014 hit "Rude").
The trail runs from flying saucer songs in the '50s, through Bowie, blink-182 and Katy Perry.
The writer of "Rainy Night in Georgia" and "Polk Salad Annie" explains how he cooks up his Louisiana swamp rock.
Just how much did these monsters of rock dabble in the occult?
Starting in Virginia City, Nevada and rippling out to the Haight-Ashbury, LSD reshaped popular music.
What's the deal with "Summer of '69"? Bryan explains what the song is really about, and shares more of his songwriting insights.
A history of songs dealing with transgender issues, featuring Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Morrissey and Green Day.
