
One of the first hit songs used in a major marketing campaign was "Start Me Up" by The Rolling Stones. Microsoft paid $3 million to use it in commercials for Windows '95.

The models in Robert Palmer's iconic "Addicted To Love" video were chosen in part because they couldn't play music, so they're all playing and moving to different rhythms.

The "Highway To Hell" is the Canning Highway in Australia, which seems to go on forever, at least according to AC/DC.

In Gary Numan's "Cars," the message is that cars lead to a mechanical society devoid of personal interaction. This didn't stop automakers from using it in commercials. Both Nissan and Oldsmobile have used it in ads.

There really is a Girl From Ipanema. Her name is Helo Pinheiro, and she would walk "Like a samba" past the bar the songwriters frequented, providing the inspiration.

Scott Stapp of Creed wrote "With Arms Wide Open" when he found out he was going to be a dad. He named his son Jagger.
Some songs get a second life when they find a new audience through a movie, commercial, TV show, or even the Internet.
Fiona's highly-anticipated third album almost didn't make it. Here's how it finally came together after two years and a leak.
P.F. was a teenager writing hits and playing on tracks for Jan & Dean when he wrote a #1 hit that got him blackballed.
Did Eric Clapton really write "Cocaine" while on cocaine? This question and more in the Clapton edition of Fact or Fiction.
Michelob commercials generated hits for Eric Clapton, Genesis and Steve Winwood in the '80s, even as some of these rockers were fighting alcoholism.