America "Ventura Highway"

Rumor has it Prince got the title for "Purple Rain" after hearing the words in the lyrics of America's "Ventura Highway".

Pablo Cruise "Love Will Find a Way"

One of the big songs from the summer of 1978 was "Love Will Find a Way" from Pablo Cruise. The folk-rock song was part of the group's most popular album, Worlds Away.

Poco "Shoot for the Moon"

Long before R.E.M.'s "Man on the Moon", Poco reached the Top 10 with "Shoot for the Moon" in 1982 -- a song guaranteed to put a grin on the face of any Yacht Rocker.

The Doobie Brothers "Black Water"

"Old black water, keep on rollin'
Mississippi moon, won't you keep shinin' on me"

Poco "Nothing to Hide"

I had no idea Jim Messina was part of the country-rock group Poco (really, why would anyone know this?). Some background: Poco formed in the late-'60s following the demise of Buffalo Springfield, but Messina left after the band's second album. He then teamed up with Kenny Loggins for the soft rock duo Loggins & Messina. By 1976, Messina was back on his own after he and Loggins parted. Messina later rejoined Poco for a reunion tour in 1989 and the band scored a minor hit that year with the ballad "Nothing to Hide".

Amy Grant "Big Yellow Taxi"

Amy Grant asked for Joni Mitchell's permission to update the lyrics  in "Big Yellow Taxi" and Mitchell agreed (admission to the tree museum was hiked to $25 in Grant's version). Grant released the song in 1994. Grant's version preceded another more commercially-successful version from Counting Crows and Vanessa Carlton in 2003.

LeBlanc & Carr "Falling"

Lenny LeBlanc and Pete Carr were bumped from the 1977 flight that killed several people including Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines of Lynyrd Skynyrd. This could be the reason LeBlanc later turned to Christian music and became a born-again Christian. 

Tom Petty "Learning to Fly"

"The good ol' days may not return."

Fleetwood Mac "Landslide"

STORY BEHIND THE LYRICS

A struggling Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham had just been dropped by their record company and the couple's personal relationship had also deteriorated in the early-1970s. Nicks contemplated her future and considered giving up on music and going back to school. She left like life was crashing down around her and while staying in Apsen, Colorado, she penned the lyrics to "Landslide".  

Harry Chapin "Cat's in the Cradle"

Before Ugly Kid Joe took "Cat's in the Cradle" out for a spin, Harry Chapin made a name for himself with the folksy father-and-son tune.  Sadly, Chapin died mysteriously in an automobile crash in 1981. Chapin, who was driving with a revoked license at the time, collided with a truck.  He ultimately died from a heart attack, but it's not known whether this occurred before or after the accident.  He was 38.

Paul Simon "Father & Daughter"

Originally featured in The Wild Thornberries Soundtrack, Paul Simon re-released"Father and Daughter" for his 2006 Surprise album.  The song also gets plenty of spins during wedding receptions, so could Bob Carlisle kindly leave the dance floor?

The Eagles - "I Can't Tell You Why"

[Full disclosure: it was 1994 and we were nerds.]

One summer evening in 1994, my best friend John was telling me about a crush he had on some girl at his high school.  Since we were nerds, we decided the best thing to do was to fire up the car and head to our local public library to look up this girl's address.  Our county library had some fancy new computer program that told you personal information such as home addresses (I believe it was 1994's version of the internet).  Seeing how John and I had already wasted a precious evening at the library, the decision to continue our adventure and drive to some random address in Hebron, Indiana was a no-brainer.

Once we got there, John turned off the car's headlights.  I remember staring at this tiny little house and wondering what the hell we were doing.  Was this what my life had become?  Was I really going to spend my summer nights searching out the homes of girls that my friends liked?  Not to mention, what possible satisfaction could come from seeing where this chick lived?  As John and I sat there pondering these deep thoughts and losing what little dignity we had, the song "I Can't Tell You Why" from The Eagles quietly played on the radio.  The reality of what we were doing finally sunk in and I started giggling.  I couldn't stop giggling.  I had never heard The Eagles tune and it sounded creepy -- an almost fitting creepy sound that matched how we chose to spend that evening.  Eventually, we grew tired of staring at the tiny white house and drove home.  While John never dated this girl or even told her that he liked her, some 20-plus years later we continue to lovingly refer to "I Can't Tell You Why" as "The Stalking Song".

Denouement: John later learned that the house we "stalked" wasn't even the right house -- it was the girl's dad's house; she lived nearby with her mother.  John also mentioned that he saw her at his 10-year reunion and she had bad breath.

Firefall - "Strange Way"

Firefall began to unravel in 1979 when the group had to replace drummer Michael Clarke who often showed up in no condition to perform after excessive drinking (if he showed up at all).  Clarke was best known for his time with The Byrds during the 1960s.  To sub for Clarke, the band hired Dan Holsten (who looked very similar to Clarke).  By 1980, most of Firefall's original band members had departed, and a year later their record company dropped them.  

America - "Lonely People"

"Don't give up until you drink from the silver cup."