The Strokes admitted to purloining Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' "American Girl" for their hit "Last Nite."
The Bangles song "Eternal Flame" was inspired by a display at Graceland that honored Elvis Presley.
The Arctic Monkeys 2011 song "Suck It and See" is titled after a British saying meaning you should try something to see if you like it.
The Devo song "Freedom Of Choice" is about mindless consumerism - how people like to make frivolous choices, but otherwise want to be told what to do.
"I Wish" by Skee-Lo was the first hit song to use the word "baller" in the chorus ("I wish I was a baller..."). That term pervaded pop music over the next several year.
Colbie Caillat sang "Bubbly" when she auditioned for American Idol in 2004, but was sent packing. Three years later it became a big hit when she released it as her first single - the song spent 19 weeks at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
Dwarfs on stage with an oversize Stonehenge set? Dabbling in Satanism? Find out which Spinal Tap-moments were true for Black Sabbath.
Christopher Cross with Deep Purple? Kenny Loggins in Caddyshack? A Fact or Fiction all about yacht rock and those who made it.
The original voice of Snap! this story is filled with angry drag queens, video impersonators and Chaka Khan.
Where words like "email," "thirsty," "Twitter" and "gangsta" first showed up in songs, and which songs popularized them.
John tells the "St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)" story and explains why he disappeared for so long.
Evelyn McDonnell, editor of the book Women Who Rock, on why the Supremes are just as important as Bob Dylan.