Before it was part of a Pink Floyd album title, James Taylor put the line "still I'm on the dark side of the moon" in his 1968 song "Carolina In My Mind." He was living in London and missing his home in North Carolina.
"November Rain" by Guns N' Roses has a literary influence: The lyric is based on a story called Without You by Del James.
The first single from the Thriller album was "The Girl Is Mine," chosen over "Billie Jean" and "Beat It" because it was a duet with Paul McCartney and thus guaranteed airplay.
The Frankie Goes To Hollywood hit "Relax" is, as the band says, about "shagging." It was banned by the BBC, which sent it to #1 in the UK as listeners flocked to record stores to buy it.
Paper Mate paid for Autograph's "Turn Up The Radio" video in exchange for prominent placement of their erasable pen.
AC/DC's "For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)" is titled after a phrase Roman gladiators said heading into battle: "We who are about to die salute you."
The lead singer/lyricist for Anberlin breaks down "Impossible" and covers some tracks from their 2012 album Vital.
Meshell Ndegeocello talks about recording "Wild Night" with John Mellencamp, and explains why she shied away from the spotlight.
The Bush frontman on where he finds inspiration for lyrics, if his "machine head" is a guitar tuner, and the stories behind songs from the album The Kingdom.
Edie Brickell on her collaborations with Paul Simon, Steve Martin and Willie Nelson, and her 2021 album with the New Bohemians.
U2, Carly Simon, Joanna Newsom, Brian Wilson and Fiona Apple have all gone to Van Dyke Parks to make their songs exceptional.
An original member of Depeche Mode, Vince went on to form Erasure and Yaz.