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Song Stories

“Boom Boom Pow”

Black Eyed Peas | 2009

"Boom Boom Pow" was not a typical lead-off single for the Black-Eyed Peas, but it resonated so strongly with their fans that it became the group's first Number One hit. Filled with digital effects and an electro feel, the song served its purpose well, according to will.i.am. "We could've been like, 'We haven't been out for a while, I just got finished doing this Obama thing -- we need to hit 'em with a little "Where’s the Love,"'" he told Rolling Stone. "But I think we’re supposed to give people an escape instead. Something to make them excited about life and forget the things that haunt them."

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Song Stories

“Help Me”

Joni Mitchell | 1974

Joni Mitchell wrote and recorded this song for her album Court and Spark, but she had to switch from her regular band to make the song sound exactly the way she wanted. "I had attempted to play my music with rock & roll players," she told Rolling Stone. "They’d laugh, 'Awww, isn't that cute? She's trying to teach us how to play.'" Mitchell switched to a jazz band, Tom Scott’s L.A. Express, and scored the biggest hit of her career in the process.

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