In early 1990, Nirvana were ready to start working on their second album. Their label Sub Pop recommended a producer named Butch Vig, who had produced heavier underground bands like Laughing Hyenas and Killdozer. They met up with Butch at his Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin to begin recording, laying down eight tracks before they had to head out on tour for six weeks. When they returned home, they made the difficult decision to fire their drummer Chad Channing.

Around the same time, Kurt and Krist were thinking of leaving Sub Pop, as the label was facing some financial trouble. When it came up that Sub Pop had begun talking to major labels about some kind of deal, Kurt and Krist felt they might be better off just signing directly to a major label.

While in L.A. for label meetings they caught a gig by a punk band called Scream. Kurt and Krist were impressed with their drummer Dave Grohl and they kept in touch. When Scream broke up, not long after, they called up Dave to fly out to Seattle and jam with them. Within two minutes of playing, they knew Nirvana had found their new drummer.

Gary Gersh at Geffen Records was one of the record executives looking to sign Nirvana. He had seen them play in New York with Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, who Gersh had signed to the label. Thanks to their encouragement, Geffen signed Nirvana to a deal on April 30, 1991.

Nirvana managed to convince their new label that Butch Vig was still the best producer for the next album, and with a budget of $65,000, they headed to Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California to make it.

This is the story of lead single Smells Like Teen Spirit, with newly unearthed audio from the band!

Written by Cam Lindsay for iHeartRadio Canada.

You know, one hit wonders get a bad rap.

Chumbawumba’s Tubthumping, Crazy Town’s Butterfly, Snow’s Informer, - heck even Plain White Ts’ Hey There Delilah are just a few examples off the top of my head of gimmicky little songs that were the hottest songs in music for a number of weeks or months, from bands and artists that could have been all the rage - but fizzled out of the mainstream after just a single, solitary hit.

With that fizzling out often comes a sort of cultural negativity - like “oh you liked that song? Gross - They’re a total flop.

And yes I know - plenty of artists have gone on to create cult-followings post their mass-appeal ‘moment-in-the-sun’, and not everyone can or even wants to be Taylor Swift; but in a way, that’s kind of my point!

A hit is a hit, and most of these artists shouldn’t be written off as ones who simply didn’t have what it takes; and certainly shouldn’t be maligned musically.

Not for nothing, I’m willing to bet that at almost any wedding you’ve ever been to - some of the biggest cheers of the night came when the DJ dropped the needle on a one hit wonder. And sure - you can chalk a bit of it up to a carefree mix of booze and irony, but even a guilty pleasure is one that brings joy.

One such example of a ‘one hit wonder’ by an artist that truly deserves their flowers is Vanessa Carlton’s quirky 2002 piano hit ‘A Thousand Miles’; and that is exactly what we’re going to do today.

This is the story of A Thousand Miles with newly unearthed audio from Vanessa Carlton herself.

How many Shanias do you know of? Is there such a thing as another Shania? Because when you say the name Shania, there really is just the one.

Shania Twain is without a doubt the greatest Canadian country singer of all time and arguably the person responsible for helping country music cross over into the mainstream - but her journey was not an easy one - and... her name wasn't always even Shania!

This is the story of Shania Twain's 'Man I Feel Like A Woman' with newly unearthed audio from Shania herself.

Written by Cam Lindsay for iHeartRadio Canada