The riff for The Sex Pistols' "Pretty Vacant" was pinched from a very unpunk song, the ABBA ballad "S.O.S."
On Missy Elliott's "Work It," the backward vocal is the previous line, "Put my thing down, flip it, and reverse it," in reverse. She stumbled on it when the engineer played it backward by mistake.
"Mickey" by Toni Basil was originally a song called "Kitty" by a male group. She picked the new name after Micky Dolenz of The Monkees.
It was never a big hit, but "She's A Rainbow" became one of the most popular Rolling Stones songs in the digital age when it started showing up in commercials (iMac, Photoshop), and TV shows (American Horror Story: Coven, Ted Lasso).
The Grateful Dead considered "whipping that chain" and "lugging propane," but settled on "high on cocaine" for "Casey Jones."
According to Frank Sinatra's daughter, he hated "My Way," but had to sing it at every show when it became his signature song.
Richie talks about the impact of "Amazed," and how his 4-year-old son inspired another Lonestar hit.
The Guns N' Roses rhythm guitarist in the early '90s, Gilby talks about the band's implosion and the side projects it spawned.
P.F. was a teenager writing hits and playing on tracks for Jan & Dean when he wrote a #1 hit that got him blackballed.
The Canadian superstar talks about his sudden rise to fame, and tells the stories behind his hits "Sunglasses At Night," "Boy In The Box" and "Never Surrender."
Country songs with titles so bizarre they can't possibly be real... or can they?
What are the biggest US hits with French, Spanish (not "Rico Suave"), Italian, Scottish, Greek, and Japanese titles?