26I Can't Drive 55
The Sammy Hagar song "I Can't Drive 55" is a song protesting a US federal law (the National Maximum Speed Law) that had mandated a national speed limit of 55 miles per hour (90 km/h). The law was repealed in 1995.
27. John Lennon repeatedly denied that the song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is about LSD and that he got the inspiration for the song when his son brought home a drawing of his friend Lucy who was in the sky with diamonds.
28. "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-lot was a call to see the beauty in diversity. Sir Mix-a-lot used the song to blame the media for skewing the notion of beauty and hoped his music would empower women of all shapes and sizes.
29. Paul McCartney wrote the song "Hey, Jude" to console Julian Lennon during his parent's breakup. Julian stated later that Paul was more of a father figure than John ever was.
30. Led Zeppelin songs “Ramble On,” “Misty Mountain Hop,” and “The Battle for Evermore” were all inspired by The Hobbit and/or The Lord of the Rings. Black Sabbath, Rush, Genesis, and many other classic rock bands were also inspired by Tolkien’s works.
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15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
31Who Let The Dogs Out
The 2000 hit "Who Let The Dogs Out" by the Baha Men was a cover of a '98 song "Doggies" by Anslem Douglas, which was informed by a '94 techno hit by Twenty Fingers, which was taken from a '92 hit by Miami Boom, which likely was inspired by a 1986 Texas highschool football chant.
32. At the beginning of the song Roxanne by The Police, during the intro, you can hear a strange piano chord, then Sting laughing. In fact, during the voice recording, Sting accidentally sat on the piano just behind him. They decided to keep this on the final mix.
33. The rap/male vocals in Evanescence's "Bring Me To Life" was added because radio stations thought the song was "too feminine." You can listen to Amy Lee's version of the song on the band's 2017 album "Synthesis."
34. Neither John Denver nor the writers of "Take Me Home, Country Road", had ever been to West Virginia. The road that inspired the song is actually in Maryland, and the landmarks mentioned in the lyrics more aptly describe the western region of Virginia.
35. Paul McCartney wrote the song "Let it be" during a period when the Beatles weren't sure how long would their success last. McCartney's mother, who had passed away from cancer when he was 14, came to him in a dream and reassured him saying: "It will be all right, just let it be"
36Sultans of Swing
The song "Sultans of Swing" was inspired by Mark Knopfler witnessing a shoddy pub band playing to a small, drunken crowd. At the end of their set, the singer finished with “Goodnight and thank you. We are the Sultans Of Swing.”
37. Minnie Riperton wrote the song, "Lovin' You (is easy 'cause you're beautiful)" for her baby daughter who grew up to be SNL cast member, Maya Rudolph.
38. The Led Zeppelin song "D'yer Mak'er" is pronounced "Jamaica" in reference to the way British people say the country's name, hence the reggae beat.
39. In 1942, the song "Deep in the Heart of Texas" was banned by BBC during working hours on the grounds that its infectious melody might cause wartime factory-hands to neglect their tools while they clapped in time with the song.
40. The 1968 rock song In A Gadda Da Vida was intended to be "In The Garden of Eden". Frontman Doug Ingle, who came up with the song, was hammered on red wine and his bandmates couldn't understand him.
41Piano Man
Billy Joel's signature song, "Piano Man" is based on Joel's real-life experiences as a lounge musician. John-the-bartender, Paul-the-real-estate-novelist, and the waitress are all real people.
42. Rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard's verse on the hit song "Ghetto Supastar" was the result of him showing up at the wrong studio, loving the song, and asking to be part of it.
43. Shaggy's "It Wasn't Me" was originally never intended to be released as a single. When Hawaiian DJ Pablo Sato downloaded the album from an MP3 site, he played the song on American radio the next day. Within a couple of days, it was the number-one requested song.
44. George Michael donated the royalties from the song “Jesus to a child” to the charity ChildLine [a child counseling charity] in secret.
45. In the song "9 to 5," Dolly Parton created the typewriter sound effect by tapping her acrylic fingernails against one another.
