Watch on YouTube The complete collection
Deep dives into the songs, albums, and artists you thought you knew. Choose a story, watch the episode, then keep listening with its companion Spotify playlist.
Volume 27 • 21:26
The story behind Tommy Tutone’s “867-5309/Jenny,” from the band’s name and Jenny’s identity to the trouble—and unexpected good—caused by pop music’s most famous phone number.
Volume 26 • 33:37
The riff, the real Sharona, and the record deal behind The Knack’s biggest hit. Follow “My Sharona” from its beginnings to the backlash that followed the band’s sudden success.
Volume 25 • 59:27
Two songs, two views of the Beatles’ Liverpool childhood. Follow “Penny Lane” and “Strawberry Fields Forever” from their real-life inspirations to the Abbey Road sessions, groundbreaking films, and an unexpected chart result.
Volume 24 • 18:57
Carlos Santana hadn’t had a hit in seventeen years. Rob Thomas imagined someone else singing “Smooth.” Their unexpected partnership became one of the biggest hits in Billboard history.
Volume 23 • 33:32
A borrowed orchestral phrase, one explosive signature, and a worldwide anthem whose creator watched the money go elsewhere.
Volume 22 • 24:09
A song built to sound live, a crowd that was never in the room, and the unlikely American hit Elton John tried to keep off the radio.
Volume 21 • 32:29
Written off by the record business at 52, Cher returned with a song nobody could finish—and a studio effect that changed the sound of pop music.
Volume 20 • 22:59
Three records that soared up the charts—and three second acts that look nothing like the pop careers that made them famous.
Volume 19 • 22:17
A breakfast complaint, a discarded first attempt, and weeks spent turning human voices into a sound no band had created before.
Volume 18 • 28:51
Nearly every label said no. Then a collection of one-take demo vocals became the defining album of a decade.
Volume 17 • 25:38
Two long-hidden details and the supposed throwaway track that became one of the most beloved songs ever recorded.
Volume 16 • 31:01
A blockbuster song, a groundbreaking video, and the shiny new format that helped change how the world bought music.
Volume 15 • 37:50
A chart-topping declaration of devotion carried a much more complicated farewell inside it.
Volume 14 • 1:01:15
Five towering artists. Five very different careers. One impressive monument to build.
Volume 13 • 20:53
Follow a trail of unlikely clues toward one of rock music’s strangest origin stories.
Volume 12 • 22:01
Before the enormous choruses and worldwide success, the partnership nearly ended before it began.
Volume 11 • 22:32
A song built on restraint finally detonates with one of the most famous moments in pop history.
Volume 10 • 24:27
A decades-long guessing game turned one perfectly pointed song into an enduring cultural mystery.
Volume 09 • 29:26
Five familiar hits open the door to five stories hiding just beyond the music.
Volume 08 • 13:41
What sounded like devotion was carrying something darker beneath the surface.
Volume 07 • 19:30
A childhood struggle, a remarkable voice, and the simple idea that became an unforgettable recording.
Volume 06 • 14:01
An overlooked composition found the performer—and the performance—that revealed its full power.
Volume 05 • 23:23
One extraordinary decade, seven essential records, and no shortage of arguments.
Volume 04 • 14:11
A song passed through several voices before the right recording finally made the world listen.
Volume 03 • 15:43
One failed single waited years for a radically different second life.
Volume 02 • 16:26
An unforgettable line, an unlikely player, and a musical contribution its creator never learned to love.
Volume 01 • 15:06
Millions heard romance. The man who wrote it heard something far more unsettling.