When David Bowie sings, "We like dancing and we look divine" in "Rebel Rebel," it's a reference to a famous drag queen known as Divine.
"Crank That (Soulja Boy)" was the most successful digital track of 2007 in the US with 2,909,000 downloads. On January 6, 2008 it became the first song ever to sell 3 million digital copies in the States.
"Heart of Glass" was Blondie's first foray into disco, which turned off some fans. Debbie Harry said they did it because they "wanted to be uncool."
"We Will Become Silhouettes" by The Postal Service sounds happy and fun, but it's a very bleak song about a nuclear winter. Lead singer Ben Gibbard wrote the lyric while ruminating over 9/11.
John Lennon wrote "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill" about Richard Cooke, a hunter he met at the Maharishi's camp in India. Cooke hasn't shot anything since the camp, except with his camera - he became a freelance photographer for National Geographic.
When Dave recorded the first version of the song with his group the Blasters, producer Nick Lowe gave him some life-changing advice.
In 1986, a Stephen King novella was made into a movie, with a classic song serving as title, soundtrack and tone.
Shears does very little promotion, which has kept him secluded from the spotlight. What changed when Cyndi Lauper had a hit with his song? Not much, really.
The story of the legendary lupine DJ through the songs he inspired.
The trail runs from flying saucer songs in the '50s, through Bowie, blink-182 and Katy Perry.
Brian has unearthed outtakes by Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello and hundreds of other artists for reissues. Here's how he does it.
