Christa McAuliffe holding a model of the Challenger, on which she perished in January 1986; Denver's song is a moving tribute to her and her crew mates.
Gina in Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer" is based on a singer named Maria Vidal, who was working as a singing waitress using the name Gina Velvet.
The Dave Matthews Band song "Crash Into Me" seems pretty romantic, but the guy in the song is kind of a stalker. Matthews calls him "the kind of man you'd call the police on."
"Heaven Is A Place On Earth" writer Ellen Shipley got the idea for the song from a gas station greeting card that said "Heaven On Earth."
The riff for The Sex Pistols' "Pretty Vacant" was pinched from a very unpunk song, the ABBA ballad "S.O.S."
Thanks to Eminem's song, the word "stan" was added to the Oxford American Dictionary in 2017. It means an obsessive fan.
Rob Thomas put some Spanish flavor in his Carlos Santana collaboration "Smooth" with the line "my muñequita," a pet name for his wife Marisol that means "my little doll."
If the name Citizen Dick means anything to you, there's a chance you'll get some of these right.
These overtly religious songs crossed over to the pop charts, despite resistance from fans, and in many cases, churches.
When he joined Guns N' Roses in 1990, Matt helped them craft an orchestral sound; his mezzo fortes and pianissimos are all over "November Rain."
Rob Halford dives into some of his Judas Priest lyrics, talking about his most personal songs and the message behind "You've Got Another Thing Comin'."
Gary Lewis and the Playboys had seven Top 10 hits despite competition from The Beatles. Gary talks about the hits, his famous father, and getting drafted.
Dean's saga began with "Ariel," a song about falling in love with a Jewish girl from New Jersey.