The Starland Vocal Band got the title "Afternoon Delight" from the late-afternoon appetizer menu at the restaurant Clyde's Of Georgetown in Washington, DC.
Tired of X-Factor winners getting the UK Christmas #1, British Facebook users staged a successful campaign to download "Killing In The Name" by Rage Against The Machine enough times to boost the song to the top in 2009, blocking the X-Factor single by Joe McElderry.
"Don't Dream It's Over" is the biggest hit for Crowded House, whose lead singer, Neil Finn, sang it on tour when he joined Fleetwood Mac. He wrote the song when he was feeling a bit lost as a way of urging himself on.
Elton John didn't win a Grammy until 1986, when he got one for singing on "That's What Friends Are For."
"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" was Michael Jaskson's attack on the tabloid press: "They eat off of you, you're a vegetable."
"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" is based on billboards John Lennon and Yoko Ono posted two years earlier declaring "War Is Over! If You Want It."
Pool balls, magpies and thorns without roses - how well do you know your Tom Waits lyrics?
"Come On Eileen" was a colossal '80s hit, but the band - far more appreciated in their native UK than stateside - released just three albums before their split. Now, Dexys is back.
Before he was the champ, Ali released an album called I Am The Greatest!, but his musical influence is best heard in the songs he inspired.
U2, Carly Simon, Joanna Newsom, Brian Wilson and Fiona Apple have all gone to Van Dyke Parks to make their songs exceptional.
Michael tells the story of "Send Me On My Way," and explains why some of the words in the song don't have a literal meaning.
When you free your mind, your ass may follow, but you have to make sure someone else doesn't program it while it's wide open.