Until December 5, 1998, a song had to be issued as a single to make the Hot 100. Aaliyah's "Try Again" was the first tune to top the chart based on airplay alone, without any sales figures being included.
AC/DC's "For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)" is titled after a phrase Roman gladiators said heading into battle: "We who are about to die salute you."
It really was so easy for Linda Ronstadt to score a hit with her Buddy Holly cover of "It's So Easy." She would sometimes change the lyric to: "It's so easy to have a hit, all you have to do is recycle it."
Michael Jackson was only 11 years and 5 months old when the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" became the group's first #1 . The late King of Pop is the youngest group member ever to top the Hot 100.
"Bittersweet Symphony" by The Verve samples an obscure orchestral arrangement of the 1965 Rolling Stones song "The Last Time." The Verve had to sign away most of the royalties before they could release the song.
Don Johnson, who starred as Sonny Crockett in Miami Vice, was also a singer. He had a #5 hit in 1986 with "Heartbeat."
The Scorpions and UFO guitarist is also a very prolific songwriter - he explains how he writes with his various groups, and why he was so keen to get out of Germany and into England.
From the cowbell on "Mississippi Queen" to recording with The Who when they got the wrong Felix, stories from one of rock's master craftsmen.
Wilder's hit "Break My Stride" had an unlikely inspiration: a famous record mogul who rejected it.
Armed with a childhood spent devouring books, Mike Scott's heart was stolen by the punk rock scene of 1977. Not surprisingly, he would go on to become the most literate of rockers.
'80s music ambassadors Wang Chung pick their top tracks of the decade, explaining what makes each one so special.
