Bob Marley's "I Shot The Sheriff" deals with police brutality in the Trenchtown section of Jamaica, where he grew up. He felt that police assumed young men in the area were all criminals.
Country star Slim Whitman's version of the 1920s song "Rose Marie" spent 11 consecutive weeks at #1 in the UK in 1955, a record until 1991 when Bryan Adams’ "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" spent 16 weeks at the top.
The moans of pleasure in the Guns N' Roses song "Rocket Queen" are authentic.
"Take Me Home Country Roads" is set in West Virginia, but John Denver had never been there when he recorded the song. The country roads represent a sense of belonging.
The movie The Breakfast Club opens with a passage from David Bowie's "Changes" ("And these children that you spit on...")
Frank Sinatra was 64 when he had his last hit: "New York, New York." The song pegged him to New York City, leaving Las Vegas to Elvis.
Ian talks about his 3 or 4 blatant attempts to write a pop song, and also the ones he most connected with, including "Locomotive Breath."
Toto's keyboard player explains the true meaning of "Africa" and talks about working on the Thriller album.
The top chant artist in the Western world, Krishna Das talks about how these Hindu mantras compare to Christian worship songs.
Graham Nash tells the stories behind some of his famous songs and photos, and is asked about "yacht rock" for the first time.
When singers started spoofing their own songs on Sesame Street, the results were both educational and hilarious - here are the best of them.
Inspired by his dear friend, "Seasons in the Sun" paid for Terry's boat, which led him away from music and into a battle with Canadian paper mills.