"Soul Man" was a new term when the song was written in 1967. As defined by Sam & Dave, the "soul man" was a farmer "comin' to ya on a dusty road."
The very American song "What Made Milwaukee Famous" was never a big hit in the US, but Rod Stewart made it famous in the UK.
"Womanizer" was Britney Spears' comeback song, going to #1 about 10 months after she was institutionalized to get treatment for addictions and mental health issues.
Mike Nesmith wrote Linda Ronstadt's first hit, "Different Drum," before he joined The Monkees. He played an intentionally bad version of it on the show.
The most intense song we know that deploys a cowbell is "Killing In The Name," the most popular song by Rage Against The Machine. Their drummer kept a cowbell on his kit and used it in some of their recordings.
"Islands in the Stream" was originally written by The Bee Gees as an R&B song. It was originally written by the brothers for Marvin Gaye, however it was recorded instead as a duet by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton with the Gibb Brothers also contributing vocals.
A history of songs dealing with transgender issues, featuring Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Morrissey and Green Day.
Tom stopped performing Thompson Twins songs in 1987, in part because of their personal nature: "Hold Me Now" came after an argument with his bandmate/girlfriend Alannah Currie.
Joe talks about the challenges of of making a Duke Ellington tribute album, and tells the stories behind some of his hits.
The men of Sparks on their album Hippopotamus, and how Morrissey handled it when they suggested he lighten up.
Wes Edwards takes us behind the scenes of videos he shot for Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley and Chase Bryant. The train was real - the airplane was not.
In the summer of 1990, you could get arrested for selling a 2 Live Crew album or performing their songs in Southern Florida. And that's exactly what happened.