In The Band song "The Weight," Nazareth ("Went down to Nazareth") refers to a town in Pennsylvania where the Martin Guitar company was located.
Holland-Dozier-Holland originally wrote "Where Did Our Love Go" with The Marvelettes in mind, but they turned it down. Marvelettes lead singer Gladys Horton sang in a lower key than Diana Ross, so when The Supremes came to record the tune, Ross was forced to sing in a lower, breathier style than she was used to.
The Annie Lennox hit "No More I Love You's" is a cover, originally sung by a man.
James Brown's "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" was the first Hot 100 hit with the word "sex" in the title.
The Cure's "Lullaby" is based on a recurring nightmare frontman Robert Smith had as a child where he was eaten by a giant spider.
Otis Day And The Knights, the fictional band created to perform "Shout" in the movie Animal House, became a real band, performing the song at colleges and other venues.
They sang about pink torpedoes and rocking you tonight tonight, but some real lyrics are just as ridiculous. See if you can tell which lyrics are real and which are Spinal Tap in this lyrics quiz.
Oliver Leiber talks about writing and producing hits for Paula Abdul, and explains his complicated relationship with his father, the songwriter Jerry Leiber.
Chris and his wife Tina were the rhythm section for Talking Heads when they formed The Tom Tom Club. "Genius of Love" was their blockbuster, but David Byrne only mentioned it once.
"Missing You" was a spontaneous outpouring of emotion triggered by a phone call. John tells that story and explains what MTV meant to his career.
P.F. was a teenager writing hits and playing on tracks for Jan & Dean when he wrote a #1 hit that got him blackballed.