"Sloop John B" is a traditional West Indian folk song, and it was a huge hit for The Beach Boys in 1966. They tweaked the lyric, "This is the worst trip since I've been born" to "...I've ever been on" as a wink to acid culture.
"Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia was first recorded by the group Ednaswap in 1993. It was written by Ednaswap's Anne Previn and Scott Cutler, who went on to write some hits for Miley Cyrus.
"In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" was supposed to be titled "In The Garden Of Eden," but someone in the studio wrote down the title phonetically, and it stuck.
Radiohead's "Harry Patch (In Memory Of)" is about the last surviving World War I veteran to fight in the trenches.
Paul McCartney's favorite song that he wrote for someone else is Cilla Black's 1968 UK Top 10 hit, "Step Inside Love."
Vegetarian Fred Schneider of the B-52's got the idea for "Rock Lobster" at an Atlanta disco when a projector displayed images of lobsters on a grill.
Graham Nash tells the stories behind some of his famous songs and photos, and is asked about "yacht rock" for the first time.
One of rock's top photographers talks about artistry in photography, raising funds for a documentary, and enjoying a County Fair with Tom Waits.
Did Al play on a Beach Boys record? Did he have beef with George Lucas and Coolio? See if you can spot weird but true stories.
Kristian talks songwriting technique, like how the chorus should redefine the story, and how to write a song backwards.
Andrew Farriss on writing with Michael Hutchence, the stories behind "Mystify" and other INXS hits, and his country-flavored debut solo album.
A talk with Martin Popoff about his latest book on Rush and how he assessed the thousands of albums he reviewed.