“Paradise by the Dashboard Light” is a song written by Jim Steinman. It was first released in 1977 on the album Bat Out of Hell, with vocals by the American musician Meat Loaf alongside Ellen Foley. It is most notable for its unique structure and length, and has become a classic rock radio staple.

Finger Eleven is a Canadian rock band from Burlington, Ontario, formed in 1989. They originated in Burlington, Ontario, as the Rainbow Butt Monkeys. They have currently released five studio albums, with their album The Greyest of Blue Skies bringing them into the mainstream. The 2003 self-titled album achieved Gold status in the United States and Platinum in Canada, largely due to the success of the single “One Thing”, which marked the band’s first placing on the US Hot 100 Chart at number 16. Their 2007 album Them vs. You vs. Me launched the single “Paralyzer”, which went on to top numerous charts including the Canadian Hot 100 and both US rock charts, as well as reaching #6 on the US Hot 100 and #12 on the Australian Singles Chart. They won the Juno Award for Rock Album of the Year in 2008.

“Blue Moon” is a classic popular song. It was written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart in 1934, and has become a standard ballad.

The first crossover recording to rock and roll came from Elvis Presley, but the version that really stirred things up came from The Marcels, a doo-wop group. In 1961 the Marcels had 3 songs to record and needed one more. Producer Stu Phillips did not like any of the other songs except one that had the same changes as Heart and Soul and Blue Moon. He asked them if they knew either, and one knew Blue Moon and taught it to the others, though with the bridge or release (middle section – “I heard somebody whisper…”) wrong. The famous introduction to the song (“bomp-baba-bomp” and “dip-da-dip”) was an excerpt of an original song that the group had in its act. The record reached #1 on the Billboard Pop chart for three weeks and #1 on the R&B charts.  The Marcels version of “Blue Moon” sold a million copies, and is featured in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

In 1967, Eric Clapton used a portion of the song in his guitar solo from Cream’s hit “Sunshine of Your Love.” Bob Dylan covered the song on his Self Portrait album in 1970. In 1978, an arrangement by Jeff Funk was used in the film Grease. This has been followed by a country version from The Mavericks. More recently, it has been recorded by Rod Stewart. Elkie Brooks. Cybill Shepherd sang “Blue Moon” on an episode of Moonlighting (the detective agency in that show was called “Blue Moon Investigations”.)

“We Are the Champions” is a power ballad written by Freddie Mercury, recorded and performed by Queen for their 1977 album News of the World. One of their most famous and popular songs, it has since become an anthem for sporting victories and has been often used or referenced in popular culture. The song has been covered by many artists.

Musically, it is based around Mercury’s piano part, with Roger Taylor and John Deacon providing a drums and bass guitar backing. Brian May overdubbed some guitar sections, initially subtle, but building to a ‘solo’ played simultaneously with the last chorus. Mercury employed many jazz chords (major and minor 6th, 7th, 9th, 11th and 13th harmonies), and the choruses featured these voiced as 4 and 5-part vocal harmonies. The lead vocal is very demanding and strident (highest point is a C5), and in live performances, Mercury often deferred to let Taylor handle the highest parts of the melody. An exception to this was Mercury’s performance of the song at the Live Aid concert in 1985.

The single featured “We Will Rock You” as a B-side, and followed the song on the album. The two songs were often played consecutively at the close of Queen concerts, and are customarily played together on radio broadcasts (in album order). Keeping with tradition, it was also used to close the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert with all the show’s acts joining in behind the lead vocal of Liza Minnelli.

Israel “Iz” Ka?ano?i Kamakawiwo?ole (May 20, 1959 – June 26, 1997) (pronounced [ka?maka??iwo??ole]) was a Hawai?ian musician.

He became famous outside Hawaii when his album Facing Future was released in 1993 with his medley of “Over the Rainbow” and “What a Wonderful World”, which was subsequently featured in several films, television programs, and commercials.

Through his consummate ukulele playing and incorporation of other genres (such as jazz and reggae), Iz remains one of the major influences in Hawai?ian music over the last 15 years.

Israel’s recording of “Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World” reached #12 on Billboard’s Hot Digital Tracks chart the week of January 31, 2004 (for the survey week ending January 18, 2004).

On July 4, 2007, Israel Kamakawiwo?ole debuted at No. 44 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart with “Wonderful World,” selling 17,000 units.

Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World passed the 2 million paid downloads mark in the USA as of September 27th 2009.

My Friend Greg Kocis turned me on to them. He founnd this band on a site called thesixtyone.com a great place to find new music and artist. Check it out.

“Bring Me to Life” is the first single from Evanescence’s multi-platinum debut album Fallen. At the 2004 Grammy Awards the song was honored with the award for Best Hard Rock Performance.

When the single was released, the track order of Fallen had not yet been finalized; although the single states the B-side “Farther Away” is the Album Version, it was eventually dropped from Fallen. The Bliss Mix of “Bring Me to Life”, another B-side on the single, is the original version of the song before Paul McCoy’s vocals were written for the Daredevil soundtrack.

Different versions of the “Bring Me to Life” single have been released, such as promos, DVDs and versions with altered track orders. A well known version, considered to be a collector’s item, is the first pressing of the Australian single. On this version, the fourth track was not the video version of “Bring Me to Life”, but another B-side titled “Missing”. This track was removed in subsequent pressings, and was eventually released with Anywhere but Home.

There are two other demo versions of “Bring Me to Life” known to exist, both having been leaked onto the Internet. Both are often referred to as an ‘acoustic version’; however, neither are available on any album; instead they can occasionally be found through websites or peer-to-peer networks. Both versions are similar in composition, with only a few differences — such as Amy Lee’s voice being warped in the intro to one — setting them apart. The song itself is mainly made up of electric guitar and assorted digital sound effects. Neither of the demos feature the vocals of Paul McCoy like their Fallen counterpart. This original cut of the song lacks the piano in the intro, and features a guitar solo during the breakdown.

During live performances featuring “Bring Me to Life”, McCoy’s lines were sung by former Evanescence guitarist John LeCompt.

“In the Air Tonight” is a song by Phil Collins which first appeared on his 1981 album, Face Value. It was the first single of Collins’ solo career, and remains one of his best-known hits. The music video, which is directed by Stuart Orme, was among those aired on the first broadcast day of MTV.

Musically the song consists of a series of ominous chords played over a simple drum machine pattern (the Roland CR-78 Disco-2 pattern, plus some programming); processed electric guitar sounds and vocoded vocals on key words add additional atmosphere. The mood is one of restrained anger until the final chorus when an explosive burst of drums releases the musical tension, and the instrumentation builds to a thundering final chorus.

Collins wrote the song in the wake of a failing relationship with his then-wife. Collins has described obtaining the drum machine specifically to deal with these personal issues through songwriting, telling Mix magazine: “I had to start writing some of this music that was inside me.”  Collins improvised the lyrics during a songwriting session in the studio: “I was just fooling around. I got these chords that I liked, so I turned the mike on and started singing. The lyrics you hear are what I wrote spontaneously. That frightens me a bit, but I’m quite proud of the fact that I sing 99.9 percent of those lyrics spontaneously.”

“Paparazzi” is a song by American pop recording artist, Lady Gaga from her debut album, The Fame. Written by Rob Fusari and Gaga, the song served as the album’s third single in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Italy, the fourth single in Canada and the United States and the fifth single in Australia and New Zealand. It was released on July 6, 2009 in the United Kingdom, and on July 10, 2009 in Australia. Initially, “LoveGame” had been planned to be released as the third single in the United Kingdom, but it was decided that “Paparazzi” would be released instead because of the potentially controversial lyrics and video of “LoveGame”. The song was written by Gaga to portray her struggles and her love for fame. A mid-tempo dance song, the lyrics of “Paparazzi” depict the idea of a stalker following somebody to grab attention and fame.

“Paparazzi” has been critically acclaimed for its fun-filled, club-friendly nature and is deemed the most memorable and telling song from the album. The accompanying music video for the song is a mini-movie starring Gaga as a doomed starlet who is hounded by the photographers and in the process is almost killed by her boyfriend. The video shows how she survives and makes a comeback while taking revenge on her boyfriend. It portrays the situations that a person goes through in order to be famous. The song has charted in Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland, becoming a top five single in their charts. In the United States it has reached six on the Billboard Hot 100. Gaga performed the song in a number of live appearances including her first headlining The Fame Ball Tour where she performed it as the opening number of the show, wearing a geometric patterned shaped black dress, the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, where Gaga won Best Art Direction and Best Special Effects awards, and on Saturday Night Live in October 2009.