"Nuclear Device (The Wizard of Aus)" by The Stranglers was written about the then Premier of Queensland, Joh Bjelke-Petersen. His political shenanigans were observed by the band during their first tour of Australia.
Shaboozey's "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" is a country reworking of J-Kwon's hip-hop hit "Tipsy," with the setting changed from a club to a dive bar.
Many assumed Train's breakthrough hit, "Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me)," is about a woman who leaves a relationship to find herself. Lead singer Pat Monahan actually wrote it after having a dream about his mother, who was "back in the atmosphere" after dying of cancer.
Quincy Jones wanted to change the title of "Billie Jean" to "Not My Lover" so it wouldn't be confused with the tennis star Billie Jean King. Michael Jackson refused.
Buck Dharma of Blue Oyster Cult wrote "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" after he was diagnosed with a heart condition and started thinking about his own mortality.
A Tribe Called Quest sampled the mellow groove of Lou Reed's 1972 classic "Walk On The Wild Side" on "Can I Kick It?" It fit their vibe, with Q-Tip and Phife Dawg trading lines about hanging out and having fun, the definition of "kickin' it."
Iron Maiden, Adele, Toto, Eminem and Earth, Wind & Fire are just some of the artists with songs directly inspired by movies - and not always good ones.
The Stooges guitarist (and producer of the Kill City album) talks about those early recordings and what really happened with David Bowie.
Go beyond The Beatles to see what you know about the British Invasion.
Kevin Godley talks about directing classic videos for The Police, U2 and Duran Duran, and discusses song and videos he made with 10cc and Godley & Creme.
Can you name Def Leppard's only #1 hit in America? Get rocked with this adrenalized quiz.
