"Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" was first recorded in 1934 by Eddie Cantor, but in 1962 it was one of the first hits for The Four Seasons, who became one of the most popular groups of that decade.

The title of Florence + the Machine's "How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful" was inspired by the Los Angeles skyline.

"Tomorrow People" by Ziggy Marley is the first song by a Marley to crack the US Top 40; the highest Bob got was #51 with "Roots, Rock, Reggae."

The inspiration for Gordon Lightfoot's "Sundown" came when he was worrying about his girlfriend, who was out at bars all day while he was home writing songs.

Members of the San Francisco 49ers, including Dwight Clark, Joe Montana and Ronnie Lott, sang backup on "Hip to Be Square" by Huey Lewis and the News.

Tina Turner hated "What's Love Got To Do With It" but when her manager convinced her to record it anyway, it became her big comeback hit.
Michelle Branch talks about "Everywhere," "The Game Of Love," and her run-in with a Christian broadcasting network.
Who writes a song about a name they found in a phone book? That's just one of the everyday things these guys find to sing about. Anything in their field of vision or general scope of knowledge is fair game. If you cross paths with them, so are you.
The Stooges guitarist (and producer of the Kill City album) talks about those early recordings and what really happened with David Bowie.
Dean wrote the screenplay and lyrics to all the songs in Footloose. His other hits include "Fame" and "All The Man That I Need."
Long before Eminem, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj created alternate personas, David Bowie, Bono, Joni Mitchell and even Hank Williams took on characters.