The first #1 hit with a rap was "Rapture" by Blondie in 1980. Debbie Harry's rhymes left lots of room for improvement.
Billy Idol got the title for "Rebel Yell" from a brand of whiskey he saw members of The Rolling Stones drinking.
Avril Lavigne said her Goodbye Lullaby track "Darlin" was "probably" the second song she ever wrote. The Canadian composed it when she was an unsigned 15-year-old living in Napanee, Ontario.
The Hollies hit "The Air That I Breathe" was written in part as a reaction to the smog in Los Angeles.
Irving Berlin wrote "How Dry I Am" in anticipation of Prohibition, envisioning a bleak future without alcohol.
"Wanted Dead Or Alive" by Bon Jovi got the Unplugged craze going when Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora performed it with just their acoustic guitars at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards.
A song he wrote and recorded from "sheer spiritual inspiration," Allen's didn't think "Southern Nights" had hit potential until Glen Campbell took it to #1 two years later.
Established as a redoubtable singer-songwriter, the Men At Work frontman explains how religion, sobriety and Jack Nicholson play into his songwriting.
Don breaks down "Hotel California" and other songs he wrote as a member of the Eagles. Now we know where the "warm smell of colitas" came from.
A talk with Martin Popoff about his latest book on Rush and how he assessed the thousands of albums he reviewed.
Joe talks about the challenges of of making a Duke Ellington tribute album, and tells the stories behind some of his hits.
Dave explains how the video appropriated the meaning of "Runaway Train," and what he thought of getting parodied by Weird Al.
