Janet Jackson's "Alright" video features Cab Calloway and Cyd Charisse, stars of musicals she loved as a kid.
In The Band song "The Weight," Nazareth ("Went down to Nazareth") refers to a town in Pennsylvania where the Martin Guitar company was located.
"True" by Spandau Ballet has some lyrics based on parts of the Vladimir Nabokov novel Lolita, including "Take your seaside arms," which in the book is "That little girl with her seaside limbs."
Jay-Z's "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" is based on the song "It's A Hard Knock Life" from the Broadway play Annie.
The chorus in "September" by Earth, Wind & Fire is "Bada-Ya, dancing in September." Group leader Maurice White left it "Bada-Ya" instead of a real word because he never let a lyric get in the way of a groove.
Weird Al Yankovic proposed a parody of "Black Or White" called "Snack All Night," but Michael Jackson asked him not to.
Long before Eminem, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj created alternate personas, David Bowie, Bono, Joni Mitchell and even Hank Williams took on characters.
After cutting his teeth on hardcore punk videos, Paul defined the grunge look with his work on "Hunger Strike" and "Man in the Box."
The Cult frontman tells who the "Fire Woman" is, and talks about performing with the new version of The Doors.
Test your metal - Priest, Maiden, and Beavis and Butt-head show up in this one.
It started with a bouncy MTV classic. Nirvana and MCR made them scary, then Gwen, Avril and Madonna put on the pom poms.
Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris and Lyle Lovett are just a few of the artists who have looked to Clark for insightful, intelligent songs.