"Tenderness" by General Public was partly inspired by the outbreak of AIDS, which at the time was thought to be contagious.
Kung Fu was big in 1974, with movies by Bruce Lee and a TV series called Kung Fu. Carl Douglas brought it to the dance floor that year with "Kung Fu Fighting," a #1 hit.
"Summertime" by DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince is built on a sample of a Kool & The Gang instrumental from 1974 called "Summer Madness," which gets a shout in the line, "This is the Fresh Prince's new definition of summer madness."
The "Mum-mum-mum-ma" hook on lady Gaga's "Poker Face" was sampled from Boney M's 1977 hit "Ma Baker."
The only cover of "American Pie" to chart is by Madonna, whose 2000 version was a minor hit in America but went to #1 in the UK.
"Back In The U.S.S.R." by The Beatles was play on "California Girls" by The Beach Boys, with "Moscow girls" and "Ukraine girls" instead of the all-American girls.
A top New York studio musician, Ralph played guitar on many '60s hits, including "Lightnin' Strikes," "A Lover's Concerto" and "I Am A Rock."
When singers started spoofing their own songs on Sesame Street, the results were both educational and hilarious - here are the best of them.
Joe talks about the challenges of of making a Duke Ellington tribute album, and tells the stories behind some of his hits.
The former Dead Kennedys frontman on the past, present and future of the band, what music makes us "pliant and stupid," and what he learned from Alice Cooper.
Wes Edwards takes us behind the scenes of videos he shot for Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley and Chase Bryant. The train was real - the airplane was not.
