
"In The Air Tonight" by Phil Collins was revived when it was used in the first episode of Miami Vice, three years after it was released.

Jimi Hendrix wrote "The Wind Cries Mary" not about marijuana, but about his girlfriend at the time, Kathy Mary Etchingham.

Paul McCartney wrote "Blackbird" in Scotland after reading about race riots in the US, triggered when federal courts forced the racial desegregation of the Arkansas capital's school system.

Michael Jackson wrote the Diana Ross hit "Muscles," which he named after his pet boa constrictor.

"Everybody Wants To Rule The World" was a line from a 1980 Clash song called "Charlie Don't Surf." Tears For Fears used it as the title of their 1985 hit.

"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" was Michael Jaskson's attack on the tabloid press: "They eat off of you, you're a vegetable."
Jon Fratelli talks about the band's third album, and the five-year break leading up to it.
The man who created Yacht Rock with "Sailing" wrote one of his biggest hits while on acid.
Joe talks about the challenges of of making a Duke Ellington tribute album, and tells the stories behind some of his hits.
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.
Billie Jean, Delilah, Sara, Laura and Sharona - do you know who the girls in the songs really are?
The "All I Want" singer went through a long depression, playing some shows when he didn't want to be alive.