What #1 hit is built on a sample of another #1 hit? "Hypnotize" by The Notorious B.I.G., which gets its groove from "Rise," a chart-topper for Herb Alpert in 1979.
Miley Cyrus didn't write "Wrecking Ball" but could very much relate to it. She was having problems in her relationship with Liam Hemsworth, so the theme of giving your love only to have it wrecked really resonated with her.
Al Green's "Take Me to the River" describes a baptism. Two years later, he became a reverend.
Bono came up with the idea of focusing on a soldier's last thoughts as he dies from his wounds in the U2 song "White As Snow" after reading William Golding's 1956 novel Pincher Martin.
The chorus of "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir" in "Lady Marmalade" is French for "Do you want to sleep with me tonight?" When Labelle performed it on television, they had to change it to "Voulez-vous danser avec moi ce soir" (Do you want to dance with me tonight?).
The first TV theme song to become a hit was "Peter Gunn" back in 1959. It's an instrumental composed by Henry Mancini. His version was used on an album called The Music From Peter Gunn, which stayed at #1 for 10 weeks. The song was also a hit for Duane Eddy.
When he was asked to write a song for the Singles soundtrack, Mark thought the Seattle grunge scene was already overblown, so that's what he wrote about.
Lyrics don't always follow the rules of grammar. Can you spot the ones that don't?
Do you know the girl singer on Eminem's "Stan"? If so, this quiz is for you.
Armed with a childhood spent devouring books, Mike Scott's heart was stolen by the punk rock scene of 1977. Not surprisingly, he would go on to become the most literate of rockers.
Kiss is the subject of many outlandish rumors - some of which happen to be true. See if you can spot the fakes.
U2, Carly Simon, Joanna Newsom, Brian Wilson and Fiona Apple have all gone to Van Dyke Parks to make their songs exceptional.