The Doobie Brothers' swampy #1 hit "Black Water" is about the Mississippi River, evoking the rafting adventures Mark Twain and Huckleberry Finn.
Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" is about their founding member Syd Barrett, who became an acid casualty. Notice the S-Y-D in the title.
"Crank That (Soulja Boy)" was the most successful digital track of 2007 in the US with 2,909,000 downloads. On January 6, 2008 it became the first song ever to sell 3 million digital copies in the States.
The first country song to win a Grammy for Record of the Year was "Not Ready To Make Nice" by The Dixie Chicks in 2007.
"Head Over Heels" by The Go-Go's is a metaphor for how things were getting out of control for the band; they broke up a year later.
David Bowie was in a mystical state when he wrote "The Man Who Sold The World," which he said happened during his "15 minutes of Buddhism."
Doubt led to drive for Francis, who still isn't sure why one of Status Quo's biggest hits is so beloved.
Was Janet secretly married at 18? Did she gain 60 pounds for a movie role that went to Mariah Carey? See what you know about Ms. Jackson.
"London Bridge," "Ring Around the Rosie" and "It's Raining, It's Pouring" are just a few examples of shockingly morbid children's songs.
From "Some Day My Prince Will Come" to "Let It Go" - how Disney princess songs (and the women who sing them) have evolved.
Some songs get a second life when they find a new audience through a movie, commercial, TV show, or even the Internet.
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.