Irving Berlin said "God Bless America" was "not a patriotic song, but rather an expression of gratitude."
Jimi Hendrix opened for The Monkees on their 1967 tour, and it did not go well. The young, mostly female crowd shouted "Davy" when Hendrix sang the word "Lady" in "Foxy Lady" in honor of who they came to see: Monkees lead singer Davy Jones.
The 1984 Anthrax song "Metal Thrashing Mad" popularized the phrase "thrash metal," a faster version of heavy metal. "Thrash" dates back to 1982 though, when Metallica put the lyric "thrashing all around" in their song "Whiplash."
The first #1 hit with a rap was "Rapture" by Blondie in 1980. Debbie Harry's rhymes left lots of room for improvement.
A live, stripped-down version of "Flying Without Wings" by the Irish boy band Westlife was the first #1 on the Official UK Download Chart. It was recorded in May 1994 at The Globe, Stockholm.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers' biggest hit is "Under The Bridge," a ballad not typical of their sound. Frontman Anthony Kiedis wrote the lyric after an acute bout of loneliness.
The country hitmaker talks about his debut album, A Rock, and how a nursery rhyme inspired his hit single "One Beer."
Faith No More's bassist, Billy Gould, chats to us about his two new experimental projects, The Talking Book and House of Hayduk, and also shares some stories from the FNM days.
Emilio talks about what it's like to write and perform with the Tower of Power horns, and why every struggling band should have a friend like Huey Lewis.
David Gray explains the significance of the word "Babylon," and talks about how songs are a form of active imagination, with lyrics that reveal what's inside us.
A selection of songs made to be terrible - some clearly achieved that goal.
The hitmaking songwriter/producer Sam Hollander with stories about songs for Weezer, Panic! At The Disco, Train, Pentatonix, and Fitz And The Tantrums.