George Harrison's 1971 song "Bangla Desh" was the first major charity single. It was part of a concert held to bring relief to the people of Bangladesh, who were fighting for independence and suffering from a famine.
Michael Stipe hadn't finished the lyrics when R.E.M. recorded "Radio Free Europe." He calls the vocal "complete babbling."
The Genesis song "Invisible Touch" was inspired by the Prince-written Sheila E. track "The Glamorous Life."
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.
The hit duet "Somewhere Out There" was written for an animated film about a family of immigrant mice who lose one of their young.
The Mission: Impossible theme is in 5/4 time. Composer Lalo Schifrin joked that he did it so 5-legged aliens could dance to it.
The "All I Want" singer went through a long depression, playing some shows when he didn't want to be alive.
The rock revolutionist on songwriting, quitting smoking, and what she thinks of Rush Limbaugh using her song.
Revisit the awesome glory of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees: cheesily-acted videos, catchy guitar licks, long hair, and lyrics that are just plain relatable.
It took him seven years to recover from his American hit "Fool (If You Think It's Over)," but Chris Rea became one of the top singer-songwriters in his native UK.
An Electronic music pioneer with Asperger's Syndrome. This could be interesting.
Surprise exits, a catfight and some very memorable performances make our list of the most memorable Idol moments.