The Frankie Goes To Hollywood hit "Relax" is, as the band says, about "shagging." It was banned by the BBC, which sent it to #1 in the UK as listeners flocked to record stores to buy it.
"Pink Cadillac" was a B-side for Bruce Springsteen in 1984, but after Aretha Franklin sang about pink Cadillacs on "Freeway Of Love" the following year, Natalie Cole covered the song and had a hit with it in 1988.
Taylor Swift's “Shake It Off” was inspired by how she'd learned to deal with all the false rumors that circulated about her. "The only thing we can control is our reaction to that ,” said Swift. "You can either let it get to you … [or] you just shake it off."
Robert Plant's "Heaven Knows" is a satirical look at the '80s, when style seemed to trump substance.
Elvis Costello says "Everyday I Write The Book" is a knockoff of Nick Lowe's "When I Write the Book."
A problem with his eyes gave Jackson Browne the idea for "Doctor My Eyes," which became a song about a man whose mental health suffers when he sees the world for what it really is.
The Celtic music maker Loreena McKennitt on finding musical inspiration, the "New Age" label, and working on the movie Tinker Bell.
"London Bridge," "Ring Around the Rosie" and "It's Raining, It's Pouring" are just a few examples of shockingly morbid children's songs.
Newman makes it look easy these days, but in this 1974 interview, he reveals the paranoia and pressures that made him yearn for his old 9-5 job.
"Great songwriters don't necessarily have hit songs," says Chris. He's written a bunch, but his fans are more interested in the intricate jams.
Into the vaults for this talk with Bolton from the '80s when he was a focused on writing songs for other artists.
Taylor talks about "The Machine" - the hits, the videos and Clive Davis.
