War got the idea for "Why Can't We Be Friends?" when they were traveling in Japan and found they had a kinship with the citizens even though they didn't speak the same language.
The love is growing in the '70s hit "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" because rosemary is the name of an herb.
One of Tom Petty's most personal songs is "Room At The Top," which he stopped performing because it brought back painful memories.
The first Eurodance hit in America was "Pump Up The Jam" by Technotronic in 1989. It led to a wave of Eurodance hits from the likes of Black Box, Snap! and C+C Music Factory in the early '90s.
Teen Spirit was a kind of deodorant marketed to young girls. That's where Kurt Cobain got the title "Smells Like Teen Spirit."
Eric Clapton wrote "Wonderful Tonight" while waiting for his girlfriend, Pattie Boyd, to get ready for a night out. By the time she was ready, he had written the song.
Fishbone has always enjoyed much more acclaim than popularity - Angelo might know why.
Laura Nyro talks about her complex, emotionally rich songwriting and how she supports women's culture through her art.
Where words like "email," "thirsty," "Twitter" and "gangsta" first showed up in songs, and which songs popularized them.
Not everyone can be a superhero, but that hasn't stopped generations of musicians from trying to be Superman.
These overtly religious songs crossed over to the pop charts, despite resistance from fans, and in many cases, churches.
