"Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" is the most performed holiday song of all time, according to a Top 30 list released by the performance rights organization ASCAP in December 2014.
The party tune "Mambo No 5 (A Little Bit Of)" was the theme song for the 2000 Democratic Convention (the party of Bill Clinton), until someone noticed the line, "A little bit of Monica in my life."
An Allen Ginsberg line from his poem Howl inspired "Machinehead" by Bush: "Machine says I saw the best minds of my generation."
The idea for "The Man Comes Around" came to Johnny Cash from a dream he had where he was in Buckingham Palace and the Queen said to him, "Johnny Cash, you're just like a thorn tree in a whirlwind."
"Dude (Looks Like A Lady)" by Aerosmith was inspired by Vince Neil from Motley Crue.
The Genesis song "Invisible Touch" was inspired by the Prince-written Sheila E. track "The Glamorous Life."
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.
"Mony Mony," "Crimson and Clover," "Draggin' The Line"... the hits kept coming for Tommy James, and in a plot line fit for a movie, his record company was controlled by the mafia.
Scaramouch, a hoople and a superhero soundtrack - see if you can spot the real Queen stories.
Songwriters have used cards and card games to make sense of heartache, togetherness, and even Gonorrhea.
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.
"Great songwriters don't necessarily have hit songs," says Chris. He's written a bunch, but his fans are more interested in the intricate jams.