Otis Day And The Knights, the fictional band created to perform "Shout" in the movie Animal House, became a real band, performing the song at colleges and other venues.
"Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" refers to "Hova," which is what Jay-Z calls his God Name. Jay-Hova, as in Jehovah.
The Mary J. Blige song "No More Drama" samples the theme to the appropriately dramatic soap opera The Young And The Restless.
"Whip It" by Devo is about the rah-rah affirmations delivered by politicians and motivational speakers who often have ulterior motives.
"Take On Me" was just a minor hit in Norway until a new version was released with the iconic video, making it a global smash.
The "pompatus of love" from the Steve Miller song "The Joker" comes from a line in a '50s doo-wop song Miller misheard: "puppetutes of love."
Nick made some of the biggest videos on MTV, including "The Final Countdown," "Heaven" and "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)."
Who writes a song about a name they found in a phone book? That's just one of the everyday things these guys find to sing about. Anything in their field of vision or general scope of knowledge is fair game. If you cross paths with them, so are you.
Andrew Farriss on writing with Michael Hutchence, the stories behind "Mystify" and other INXS hits, and his country-flavored debut solo album.
The top Contemporary Christian artist of all time on song inspirations and what she learned from Johnny Carson.
On the "schizoid element" of his lyrics, and a famous line from "Everything Zen."
Shaun breaks down the Seether songs, including the one about his brother, the one about Ozzy, and the one that may or may not be about his ex-girlfriend Amy Lee.