The Frankie Goes To Hollywood hit "Relax" is, as the band says, about "shagging." It was banned by the BBC, which sent it to #1 in the UK as listeners flocked to record stores to buy it.
"Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne is about the Cold War concept of Mutually Assured Destruction (M.A.D.) should any nuclear missile be fired.
Despite his hit "Forever In Blue Jeans," Neil Diamond was rarely seen in denim. He said the jeans are a symbol for how "the simple things are really the important things."
Michael Jackson's "Liberian Girl" opens with the South African female singer Letta Mbulu saying the Swahili phrase "Naku penda piya-naku taka piya-mpenziwe." There was some geographic liberty here, as Swahili is not spoken in the West African nation of Liberia.
"The Way We Were" was the first of five #1 singles by Barbra Streisand. She is the only artist ever to receive an Oscar, Tony, Emmy and Grammy, and also record a #1 single and album.
The first rap song to make the Hot 100 was "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang in 1979. At the time, many considered rap a fad that would soon pass.
The "All I Want" singer went through a long depression, playing some shows when he didn't want to be alive.
They sang about pink torpedoes and rocking you tonight tonight, but some real lyrics are just as ridiculous. See if you can tell which lyrics are real and which are Spinal Tap in this lyrics quiz.
In this talk from the '80s, the Kansas frontman talks turning to God and writing "Dust In The Wind."
Daniel Lanois on his album Heavy Sun, and the inside stories of songs he produced for U2, Peter Gabriel, and Bob Dylan.
"Great songwriters don't necessarily have hit songs," says Chris. He's written a bunch, but his fans are more interested in the intricate jams.
When you free your mind, your ass may follow, but you have to make sure someone else doesn't program it while it's wide open.