"St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)" was not written for the movie, but for Rick Hanson, a wheelchair athlete whose 1985 "Man In Motion" tour logged 24,856 miles on his wheelchair in 34 countries while raising $26 million for spinal cord research.
"Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us," the title song to the movie Breakin', was a hit and helped breakdancing go mainstream when it was released in 1984. The song has scratches and other hip-hop flourishes, but no rapping, which would have kept it off many playlists.
"Rhythm Of My Heart" by Rod Stewart is about a soldier at war - his heart is beating like a drum because he's in battle.
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.
Jay-Z's "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" is based on the song "It's A Hard Knock Life" from the Broadway play Annie.
The third verse of "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies ("they shook and lurched all over the church floor...") was inspired by girl whose parents would speak in tongues at their Pentecostal service.
Where words like "email," "thirsty," "Twitter" and "gangsta" first showed up in songs, and which songs popularized them.
Starting in Virginia City, Nevada and rippling out to the Haight-Ashbury, LSD reshaped popular music.
A band so baffling, even their names were contrived. Check your score in the Ramones version of Fact or Fiction.
Rise Against frontman Tim McIlrath explains the meanings behind some of their biggest songs and names the sci-fi books that have influenced him.
Did they really trade their guitarist to The Doobie Brothers? Are they named after something naughty? And what's up with the band name?
"Mr. Jones" took on new meaning when the song about a misguided view of fame made Adam famous.