Rob Reiner named his 1986 movie "Stand By Me" after the song, since he thought The Body, a Stephen King story on which it was based, sounded like a horror movie.
"Diamonds From Sierra Leone" by Kanye West is about the "blood diamonds" mined using child labor in Africa. It also serves as a shout-out to Roc-A-Fella records, known for a diamond-shaped hand signal.
"I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" by Jay-Z borrows four bars from Notorious B.I.G's "The World Is Filled." Jay-Z and Biggie Smalls attended Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School in Brooklyn, New York, at the same time.
Lady Gaga says that "Poker Face" is about her personal experience with bisexuality; being with a man but thinking about a woman.
"Mr. Tambourine Man" is the only song Bob Dylan wrote that became a #1 hit on the Hot 100. The Byrds' cover topped the chart in 1965.
The models in Robert Palmer's iconic "Addicted To Love" video were chosen in part because they couldn't play music, so they're all playing and moving to different rhythms.
Andrew Farriss on writing with Michael Hutchence, the stories behind "Mystify" and other INXS hits, and his country-flavored debut solo album.
Holly Knight talks about some of the hit songs she wrote, including "The Warrior," "Never" and "The Best," and explains some songwriting philosophy, including how to think of a bridge.
Since his debut single "I'm On Fire" in 1975, Dwight has been providing Spinal-Tap moments and misadventure.
Richard explains how Joe Walsh kickstarted his career, and why he chose Hazard, Nebraska for a hit.
Tom stopped performing Thompson Twins songs in 1987, in part because of their personal nature: "Hold Me Now" came after an argument with his bandmate/girlfriend Alannah Currie.
The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.