"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.
"Your Time Is Gonna Come" became the first Led Zeppelin song to be covered when Sandie Shaw recorded it in 1969.
The first #1 hit with the word "disco" in the title wasn't a disco song. It was an R&B song called "Disco Lady" by Johnnie Taylor in 1976. The lady he's singing about is disco, but the song isn't.
"Stuck In The Middle With You" by Stealers Wheel was the unlikely choice for a scene in Quentin Tarantino's 1992 movie Reservoir Dogs where somebody loses an ear.
"Stay" by Lisa Loeb was the first #1 hit by an unsigned artist. It got a boost from Ethan Hawke, who got it into a movie he starred in called Reality Bites.
Paul McCartney based the "Eleanor Rigby" story on old ladies he met at his housing estate. He saw how sometimes when they died, nobody really noticed.
When singers started spoofing their own songs on Sesame Street, the results were both educational and hilarious - here are the best of them.
Nirvana, Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen are among those who wrote songs with cities that show up in this quiz.
Laura Nyro talks about her complex, emotionally rich songwriting and how she supports women's culture through her art.
An interview with Dr. John Covach, music professor at the University of Rochester whose free online courses have become wildly popular.
Established as a redoubtable singer-songwriter, the Men At Work frontman explains how religion, sobriety and Jack Nicholson play into his songwriting.
10 Questions for the author of Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces