Marina Warner, who helped inspire the Dire Straits song "Lady Writer." photo: Dan Welldon
Buddy Holly got the title for his hit song "That'll Be The Day" from a phrase John Wayne repeats in the 1956 movie The Searchers.
A 2011 Gold's Gym poll found "Stronger" by Kanye West the best song to work out to. Second place was the Rocky theme.
Before recording "Boom Clap" herself, Charli XCX offered the song to Hilary Duff, but her people turned down the tune because it "wasn't cool enough for Hilary."
On Missy Elliott's "Work It," the backward vocal is the previous line, "Put my thing down, flip it, and reverse it," in reverse. She stumbled on it when the engineer played it backward by mistake.
Elton John's "Crocodile Rock" borrows a bit from Don McLean's "American Pie." Both songs feature a Chevy, and are about young people who are heartbroken when their music "dies."
A live, stripped-down version of "Flying Without Wings" by the Irish boy band Westlife was the first #1 on the Official UK Download Chart. It was recorded in May 1994 at The Globe, Stockholm.
Rickie Lee Jones on songwriting, social media, and how she's handling Trump.
The Evanescence frontwoman on the songs that have shifted meaning and her foray into kids' music.
The co-writer/guitarist on many Alice Cooper hits, Dick was also Lou Reed's axeman on the Rock n' Roll Animal album.
Call us crazy, but we like it when an artist comes around who doesn't mesh with the status quo.
Songs that seem to glorify violence against women are often misinterpreted - but not always.
Guitarist Tony Iommi on the "Iron Man" riff, the definitive Black Sabbath song, and how Ozzy and Dio compared as songwriters.