
Train's guitarist had to Google an instructional video to learn how to play the ukulele for "Hey Soul Sister."

One of the great "we're all going down" songs is "Ship Of Fools" by World Party, written when Margaret Thatcher was in power in England.

The Doobie Brothers' swampy #1 hit "Black Water" is about the Mississippi River, evoking the rafting adventures Mark Twain and Huckleberry Finn.

The Kate Bush song "Running Up That Hill" is about making a deal with God to switch lives with your partner so there would be no more misunderstandings.

"Baby Got Back" isn't just a booty song. According to Sir Mix-A-Lot, it's about "Lack of acceptance by Hollywood of the African-American body."

Americans know the song "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers thanks to the 1993 Johnny Depp movie Benny & Joon, where it plays in the opening scene. The song was first released in 1988 but got little attention in the US until it showed up in the film.
Can you be married in one country but not another? Only if you're part of a gay couple. One of the first famous singers to come out as a lesbian, Janis wrote a song about it.
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)."
Did Eric Clapton really write "Cocaine" while on cocaine? This question and more in the Clapton edition of Fact or Fiction.
Was Justin the first to be Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher? Did Britney really blame him for her meltdown? Did his bandmates think he was gay?
She thinks of herself as a "song interpreter," but back in the '80s another country star convinced Emmylou to take a crack at songwriting.
How a country weeper and a blues number made "rolling stone" the most popular phrase in rock.