Oasis didn't coin the term "Wonderwall." It's the title of a 1968 movie with a soundtrack by George Harrison. It was Harrison's soundtrack that got the band's attention.
ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson conceived "Dancing Queen" as a dance song with the working title "Boogaloo," drawing inspiration from the 1974 George McCrae disco hit "Rock Your Baby." Their manager Stig Anderson came up with the title "Dancing Queen."
The rockabilly sound was big in the late 1950s, when Buddy Holly was popular. One of the biggest hits in that genre was the #1 "Party Doll" by Buddy Knox, which used a cardboard box filled with cotton as the drums.
John Lennon's lead guitar work on Yoko Ono's "Walking On Thin Ice" proved to be his final creative act. It was upon their return home after completing laying down the track that Lennon was murdered by Mark David Chapman.
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.
"Anaconda" was originally recorded by Missy Elliott in 2012, but she decided to shelf the track so it went to Nicki Minaj, who released it two years later.
The leader of the Modern A Cappella movement talks about the genre.
Richie talks about the impact of "Amazed," and how his 4-year-old son inspired another Lonestar hit.
Petula talks about her hits "Downtown" and "Don't Sleep In The Subway," and explains her Michael Jackson connection.
Brenda talks about the inspiration that drove her to write hit songs like "Get Here" and "Piano in the Dark," and why a lack of formal music training can be a songwriter's best asset.
"I'll Be" was what Edwin called his "Hail Mary" song. He says it proves "intention of the songwriter is 180 degrees from potential interpretation by an audience."
Devo founders Mark Mothersbaugh and Jerry Casale take us into their world of subversive performance art. They may be right about the De-Evoloution thing.