"99 Luftballons" by Nena is about a Cold War scare when balloons showed up on radar and were mistaken as a nuclear threat.
"Frankenstein" by Edgar Winter got its name because it was a monster to edit; they pieced it together like Frankenstein's monster.
The inspiration for Gordon Lightfoot's "Sundown" came from the songwriter worrying about his girlfriend, who was out at bars all day while he was at home penning songs.
"Oh Happy Day" was recorded in a church and sold to raise money for the choir. It's the only genuine gospel song to become a pop hit.
Originally a chart-topper for Steve Lawrence in 1962 chart-topper, "Go Away Little Girl," became the first song of the rock era to be taken to #1 by two different artists when Donny Osmond's cover version also reached the summit in 1971.
Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan explains the "few red lights" in "Smoke On The Water" and talks about songs from their 2020 album Whoosh!
Roger tells the stories behind some of his biggest hits, including "Give a Little Bit," "Take the Long Way Home" and "The Logical Song."
When Dave recorded the first version of the song with his group the Blasters, producer Nick Lowe gave him some life-changing advice.
He's a singer and an actor, but as a songwriter Paul helped make Kermit a cultured frog, turned a bank commercial into a huge hit and made love both "exciting and new" and "soft as an easy chair."
"Missing You" was a spontaneous outpouring of emotion triggered by a phone call. John tells that story and explains what MTV meant to his career.
Rick Astley on "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Cry For Help," and his remarkable resurgence that gave him another #1 UK album.
