
It was never a big hit, but the uplifting "Mr. Blue Sky" has endured as Electric Light Orchestra's most popular song. Group leader Jeff Lynne wrote it when after two weeks of gloomy weather, the clouds parted to reveal a beautiful day.

Staind's big moment came in 1999 when lead singer Aaron Lewis played "Outside" on Limp Bizkit's Family Values tour. The live, acoustic version earned lots of radio play.
"Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band-Aid was the first big group charity single. It was organized by Bob Geldof, who a year later put together "We Are The World" and Live Aid.

The Information Society hit "What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy)" samples the voice of Leonard Nimoy (Spock) from an episode of Star Trek.

"Walking on a Thin Line" by Huey Lewis and the News is about an American soldier who is trained as a sniper in the Vietnam War. It was written for a documentary on the war.

The actress Michelle Pfeiffer gets namechecked in the 2014 megahit "Uptown Funk" ("Michelle Pfeiffer, that white gold"). When it was released, "Riptide" by Vance Joy was on the charts; that song also mentions her ("Closest thing to Michelle Pfeiffer that you've ever seen").
Charlie discusses the songs that made him a Southern Rock icon, and settles the Devil vs. Johnny argument once and for all.
Based on criteria like girlfriend tension, stage mishaps and drummer turnover, these are the 10 bands most like Spinal Tap.
The singer-songwriter Melanie talks about her spiritual awakening at Woodstock, "Brand New Key," and why songwriting is an art, not a craft.
Scaramouch, a hoople and a superhero soundtrack - see if you can spot the real Queen stories.
The lead singer and pianist for Procol Harum, Gary talks about finding the musical ideas to match the words.