"Piano Man" was inspired by Billy Joel's time playing at a piano bar in Los Angeles. The "real estate novelist" was a guy who always talked about writing a book, but spent all his spare time in the bar.
Hanson's megahit "MMMbop," released when they were teenagers, is surprisingly profound. Zac Hanson told Songfacts it "represents a frame of time or the futility of life."
The first TV theme song to become a hit was "Peter Gunn" back in 1959. It's an instrumental composed by Henry Mancini. His version was used on an album called The Music From Peter Gunn, which stayed at #1 for 10 weeks. The song was also a hit for Duane Eddy.
Alicia Keys, Elton John, Fergie, and Rihanna all sang on "All of the Lights" by Kanye West.
The B-52's chose the location of their song "Private Idaho" because the state has a reputation for being wacky and mysterious. The title is a play on the phrase "private eye."
"Tammy" by Debbie Reynolds was the only US #1 single by a female act between July 1956 and February 1958.
"Mony Mony," "Crimson and Clover," "Draggin' The Line"... the hits kept coming for Tommy James, and in a plot line fit for a movie, his record company was controlled by the mafia.
The British reggae legend tells the story of his #1 hit "Close To You," talks about his groundbreaking Shabba Ranks collaboration "Housecall," and discusses his latest project with Robin Trower.
Have you got the smarts to know which of these graduation song stories are real?
A top New York studio musician, Ralph played guitar on many '60s hits, including "Lightnin' Strikes," "A Lover's Concerto" and "I Am A Rock."
The "A Thousand Miles" singer on what she thinks of her song being used in White Chicks and how she captured a song from a dream.
How well do you know this shock-rock harbinger who's been publicly executed hundreds of times?