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.
The Grateful Dead considered "whipping that chain" and "lugging propane," but settled on "high on cocaine" for "Casey Jones."
"Sweet Child O' Mine" is about Erin Everly, who was Axl Rose's girlfriend at the time. She is the daughter of Don Everly of the Everly Brothers.
It has long been speculated that the Soundgarden song "Black Hole Sun" came from the name of a sculpture in Seattle, but according to their frontman Chris Cornell the title came from a phrase he misheard on the news. The band's name did come from a sculpture.
"Kickstart My Heart" is about all the ways Motley Crue gets their blood flowing without drugs. It was inspired by their bass player Nikki Sixx, who claimed he had to be revived with a shot of adrenaline to the heart after an overdose.
The thunderclap sound heard in the Bee Gees song "Tragedy" was made by Barry Gibb with his mouth.
The former Dead Kennedys frontman on the past, present and future of the band, what music makes us "pliant and stupid," and what he learned from Alice Cooper.
Joe talks about the challenges of of making a Duke Ellington tribute album, and tells the stories behind some of his hits.
A top session musician, Carol played on hundreds of hits by The Beach Boys, The Monkees, Frank Sinatra and many others.
How a country weeper and a blues number made "rolling stone" the most popular phrase in rock.
Who writes a song about a name they found in a phone book? That's just one of the everyday things these guys find to sing about. Anything in their field of vision or general scope of knowledge is fair game. If you cross paths with them, so are you.
What happens when Kurt Cobain, Iron Maiden and Johnny Lydon are told to lip-synch? Some hilarious "performances."