"Stand By Me" was a hit for Ben E. King when it was released in 1961, and again in 1986 after it was used in the movie of the same name.
The movie The Breakfast Club opens with a passage from David Bowie's "Changes" ("And these children that you spit on...")
The Phoenix song "1901" is about Paris. Their lead singer Thomas Mars said: "Paris in 1901 was better than it is now. So the song is a fantasy about Paris."
"Today" by Smashing Pumpkins is sarcastic in the line "today is the greatest day." Lead singer Billy Corgan wrote it about the crippling depression he was battling following the band's first big tour.
Billie Eilish was just 17 when "Bad Guy," a tough-talking song about asserting dominance over her pseudo-macho lover, went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2019, making her the first artist born in the 21st century to reach the top of the chart.
Songs where something goes horribly wrong (literally or metaphorically), and help is needed right away.
The Def Leppard frontman talks about their "lamentable" hit he never thought of as a single, and why he's juiced by his Mott The Hoople cover band.
A top New York studio musician, Ralph played guitar on many '60s hits, including "Lightnin' Strikes," "A Lover's Concerto" and "I Am A Rock."
Did Al play on a Beach Boys record? Did he have beef with George Lucas and Coolio? See if you can spot weird but true stories.
David Gray explains the significance of the word "Babylon," and talks about how songs are a form of active imagination, with lyrics that reveal what's inside us.
The story of the legendary lupine DJ through the songs he inspired.
