"Back In The U.S.S.R." by The Beatles was play on "California Girls" by The Beach Boys, with "Moscow girls" and "Ukraine girls" instead of the all-American girls.
"The Cave" by Mumford & Sons is based on the philosophy of Plato and his work called "Allegory of the Cave."
The "Doctor of philosophy" in the Indigo Girls' song "Closer To Fine" is based on a teacher Emily Saliers had who had a poster of Rasputin on his door.
With his song "The G.O.A.T.," as in Greatest Of All Time, LL Cool J popularized that saying in hip-hop. He credits the boxer Muhammad Ali, who called himself "The Greatest," as inspiration.
"Little Talks," released in 2011 during the folk-rock boom, was the big hit for the Icelandic group Of Monsters And Men. The song is delivered as a conversation between a longtime married couple, but the woman might be going crazy and talking to a ghost.
Johnny Cash promised to stay true to his first wife in "I Walk The Line," but when the song became a hit he found himself on the road, having an affair with June Carter, who became his second wife.
The top chant artist in the Western world, Krishna Das talks about how these Hindu mantras compare to Christian worship songs.
Did Al play on a Beach Boys record? Did he have beef with George Lucas and Coolio? See if you can spot weird but true stories.
Rick Astley on "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Cry For Help," and his remarkable resurgence that gave him another #1 UK album.
When a waitress wouldn't take him home, Jack wrote what would become one of the Eagles most enduring hits.
'80s music ambassadors Wang Chung pick their top tracks of the decade, explaining what makes each one so special.
Shears does very little promotion, which has kept him secluded from the spotlight. What changed when Cyndi Lauper had a hit with his song? Not much, really.