"Spoonman" by Soundgarden is about a real street performer in Seattle: Artis the Spoonman.
Elvis Presley recorded "Always On My Mind" in 1972, but Willie Nelson's version 10 years later was the hit and won the Song of the Year Grammy.
"MMMbop" by Hanson was so ubiquitous in 1997 that when the band appeared on SNL, they took part in a skit where Helen Hunt and Will Ferrell seek retribution by trapping them in an elevator and playing the song until they crack. "Now, you will suffer like we did," Hunt tells them.
Freddie Mercury considered "We Are The Champions" his version of "My Way." "We have made it, and it certainly wasn't easy," he said.
One of the most successful cover songs is Fugees' "Killing Me Softly," a 1996 reworking of Roberta Flack's 1973 hit. Originally, Fugees wanted to change the title to "Killing Him Softly" and make it about the dangers of drug abuse.
Janet Jackson's "Alright" video features Cab Calloway and Cyd Charisse, stars of musicals she loved as a kid.
10 Questions for the author of Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces
The lead singer of Everclear, Art is also their primary songwriter.
Dave explains how the video appropriated the meaning of "Runaway Train," and what he thought of getting parodied by Weird Al.
Gramm co-wrote this gorgeous ballad and delivered an inspired vocal, but the song was the beginning of the end of his time with Foreigner.
When you free your mind, your ass may follow, but you have to make sure someone else doesn't program it while it's wide open.
The top chant artist in the Western world, Krishna Das talks about how these Hindu mantras compare to Christian worship songs.