With his song "The G.O.A.T.," as in Greatest Of All Time, LL Cool J popularized that saying in hip-hop. He credits the boxer Muhammad Ali, who called himself "The Greatest," as inspiration.
"Heart of Glass" was Blondie's first foray into disco, which turned off some fans. Debbie Harry said they did it because they "wanted to be uncool."
David Bowie's "Heroes" is about his producer Tony Visconti and his girlfriend, but Bowie didn't admit this until the '00s, since Visconti was married at the time.
Paul McCartney wrote "Ebony and Ivory," his duet with Stevie Wonder, after a tiff with his wife Linda. "It was like, 'Why can't we get it together- our piano can,'" he explained.
"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is an English version of a Zulu hunting song from the 1930s.
Madonna didn't write "Papa Don't Preach," which deals with abortion. What drew her to the song was the singer standing up to male authority.
An original member of Depeche Mode, Vince went on to form Erasure and Yaz.
Is Owl City on a quest for another hit like "Fireflies?" Adam answers that question and explains the influences behind many others.
Charlie discusses the songs that made him a Southern Rock icon, and settles the Devil vs. Johnny argument once and for all.
The country hitmaker talks about his debut album, A Rock, and how a nursery rhyme inspired his hit single "One Beer."
Have you got the smarts to know which of these graduation song stories are real?
Phone booths are nearly extinct, but they provided storylines for some of the most profound songs of the pre-cell phone era.