The Four Seasons' "Walk Like a Man," released in 1963, was the first Hot 100 #1 hit with a simile in its title.
The motto for Boys Town, which was a Nebraska home for troubled youth, inspired the song "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" by The Hollies.
One of the most enduring songs from the '90s is "Iris" by The Goo Goo Dolls, which got huge on social media and streaming in the 2020s. The song was written for a movie called City Of Angels, about an angel (Nicolas Cage) who falls in love with a human (Meg Ryan).
Sheryl Crow's "Soak Up The Sun" isn't as lighthearted as it seems: the song deals with the prevailing head-in-the-sand reaction to climate change.
"Kashmir" is the only Led Zeppelin song to use outside musicians, as it needed strings and horns.
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 longtime Eagle talks about soaring back to his solo career, and what he learned about songwriting in the group.
Keyboard great David Sancious talks about his work with Sting, Seal, Springsteen, Clapton and Aretha, and explains what quantum physics has to do with making music.
One of the most popular classical vocalists in the land is lining up a trip to space, which is the inspiration for many of her songs.
Billy Joel and Hall & Oates hated making videos, so they chose a director with similar contempt for the medium. That was Jay Dubin, and he has a lot to say on the subject.
Guitarist Tony Iommi on the "Iron Man" riff, the definitive Black Sabbath song, and how Ozzy and Dio compared as songwriters.
Is Owl City on a quest for another hit like "Fireflies?" Adam answers that question and explains the influences behind many others.