"Zombie" by The Cranberries is about an IRA bombing in England that killed two children.
In Gary Numan's "Cars," the message is that cars lead to a mechanical society devoid of personal interaction. This didn't stop automakers from using it in commercials. Both Nissan and Oldsmobile have used it in ads.
In the UK, the first #1 hit with a rap was "Candy Girl" by the American boy band New Edition in 1983.
"Islands in the Stream" was originally written by The Bee Gees as an R&B song. It was originally written by the brothers for Marvin Gaye, however it was recorded instead as a duet by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton with the Gibb Brothers also contributing vocals.
Rod Stewart wrote "Maggie May" about the woman who deflowered him when he was 16.
A selection of songs made to be terrible - some clearly achieved that goal.
Billie Jean, Delilah, Sara, Laura and Sharona - do you know who the girls in the songs really are?
After studying in Paris with a famous composition teacher, Charles became the most successful writer of TV theme songs.
She thinks of herself as a "song interpreter," but back in the '80s another country star convinced Emmylou to take a crack at songwriting.
It took him seven years to recover from his American hit "Fool (If You Think It's Over)," but Chris Rea became one of the top singer-songwriters in his native UK.
Before he was the champ, Ali released an album called I Am The Greatest!, but his musical influence is best heard in the songs he inspired.
