Cher was 43 in 1989 when she landed one of her biggest hits: "If I Could Turn Back Time." It made her an unlikely MTV star thanks to a video shot on the battleship USS Missouri where she's entertaining the troops in fishnet stockings and a thong.
Before launching his career as a singer, Bruno Mars was a writer/producer. He and his co-writers pitched "Just The Way You Are" to Cee-Lo Green; when he turned it down, Bruno recorded it himself and released it in 2010 as his first single as a lead artist.
The Simpsons theme song was composed by Danny Elfman, who went on to write music for films like Edward Scissorhands and Men In Black. He had a band at the time called Oingo Boingo, which did the theme song to the 1985 movie Weird Science.
"Mother" by Danzig is about censorship, specifically the Parents Music Resource Center, which pushed record labels to put warning stickers on albums with explicit lyrics.
Adele isn't a ghost when she sings, "Hello from the other side" - it means the "other side of becoming an adult."
The video for "Informer" by Snow that ran on MTV was subtitled so viewers could understand what he was saying.
Phil was a songwriter, producer and voice behind many Philadelphia soul classics. When disco hit, he got an interesting project: The Village People.
A Soul Train dancer takes us through a day on the show, and explains what you had to do to get camera time.
Not everyone can be a superhero, but that hasn't stopped generations of musicians from trying to be Superman.
The Jayhawks' song "Big Star" has special meaning to Gary, who explains how longevity and inspiration have trumped adulation.
David Gray explains the significance of the word "Babylon," and talks about how songs are a form of active imagination, with lyrics that reveal what's inside us.
The Stax legend on how he cooked up "Green Onions," the first time he and Otis Redding saw hippies, and if he'll ever play a digital organ.