"The Reason" by Hoobastank took off on TikTok in 2021 when it soundtracked confessional #NotAPerfectPerson videos about mistakes and regrets. The band made one of their own with the caption: "Realizing 20 years later that you named your band Hoobastank."
Jimi Hendrix wrote "The Wind Cries Mary" not about marijuana, but about his girlfriend at the time, Kathy Mary Etchingham.
"Total Eclipse Of The Heart" by Bonnie Tyler is a tribute to the vampire movie Nosferatu, depicting an immortal "love in the dark."
Van Halen's first #1 hit was "Jump," an unusual song for the band because the lead instrument was synthesizer, not guitar.
After 47 visits to the Hot 100, Justin Bieber topped the tally for the first time on September 17, 2015 with "What Do You Mean?"
"Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who is about a revolution, but it doesn't have a happy ending, since in the end the new regime becomes just like the old one. Pete Townshend thought that whoever was in power was destined to become corrupt.
Harry Wayne Casey tells the stories behind KC and The Sunshine Band hits like "Get Down Tonight," "That's The Way (I Like It)," and "Give It Up."
Who writes a song about a name they found in a phone book? That's just one of the everyday things these guys find to sing about. Anything in their field of vision or general scope of knowledge is fair game. If you cross paths with them, so are you.
Tom stopped performing Thompson Twins songs in 1987, in part because of their personal nature: "Hold Me Now" came after an argument with his bandmate/girlfriend Alannah Currie.
Daniel Lanois on his album Heavy Sun, and the inside stories of songs he produced for U2, Peter Gabriel, and Bob Dylan.
The longtime BS&T frontman tells the "Spinning Wheel" story, including the line he got from Joni Mitchell.
The longtime Eagle talks about soaring back to his solo career, and what he learned about songwriting in the group.