Clocking in at a run time of 11 minutes and 23 seconds, "Albuquerque" is easily Weird Al's longest song, and there's a good reason. Yankovic placed the song as the last track on his 1999 album "Running With Scissors," intending to "make this song so long that people are only gonna want to hear it once." Despite his intentions, "Albuquerque" became one of his most popular tunes, describing his fictional life in the city after winning a one-way ticket there.

In 1968, Glen Campbell released a simple song about a man who works on telephone poles in the middle of Kansas. Though that may not sound like a story for a massive hit, "Wichita Lineman" became one of the most beloved and critically acclaimed pop songs of the '60s. It hit the No. 3 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, was ranked by "Rolling Stone" as the 195th best song of all time, and has been called "the greatest pop song ever composed."

The Doors' "L.A. Woman" was the title track of the band's final album before the death of its lead singer, Jim Morrison. In it, the City of Angels is personified as a woman and Morrison sings, "I see your hair is burning / Hills are filled with fire." Because of the song’s metaphorical lyrics and innovative sound, the band’s guitarist, Robby Krieger, considers it the "quintessential Doors song."

The Clash's hit song "London Calling" is famously named after the BBC World Service's World War II-era radio station identification, "This is London calling." The song, which shares its name with the Clash's third studio album, details the many ways that the world could end and was written primarily by the band's lead singer, Joe Strummer, an avid news buff. Despite its apocalyptic lyrics, the song has become beloved in London and was even used to promote the 2012 Summer Olympics.

"Leaving Las Vegas" was one of the first singles from Sheryl Crow's 1993 debut album, "Tuesday Night Music Club." The song was named after a 1990 novel by John O'Brien that was later adapted into a movie of the same name, starring Nicolas Cage and Elisabeth Shue, in 1995. Though Crow's song wasn't in the movie, it did prove to be a minor hit, and she performed it on the "Late Show with David Letterman" — one of her first big breaks.

Eddy Grant’s song “Electric Avenue” reached No. 2 on the U.K. and U.S. charts after its release in 1982. The real Electric Avenue is a shopping area in Brixton, London. It was the first street market to have electric lights, giving it its famous name. Brixton was also the setting for riots in the early 1980s, which is recalled in the opening line, “Now in the street there is violence.”

While the titular Kokomo is a fictional place, the rest of the islands mentioned in the lyrics to the 1988 Beach Boys track are real — including Bermuda, Bahama, Key Largo, and Montego Bay. The song quickly became a summertime vacation anthem and reached No. 1 on the U.S. charts.

This 1980s hit by Suzanne Vega was written about a real diner on Manhattan's Upper West Side called Tom’s Restaurant. If the exterior of this joint looks familiar, that’s because it was also used in shots for the hit sitcom “Seinfeld.” The family-owned restaurant is still open today, and is located on the corner of Broadway and West 112th Street.

Warren Zevon’s only Top 40 hit was the 1978 release “Werewolves Of London.” The lyrics describe a “hairy-handed gent” making his way through London and its suburbs, from Mayfield to Kent. It even mentioned a real Chinese restaurant, Lee Ho Fook, that proudly displayed a picture of Zevon until it closed in 2008. The song is still a classic Halloween tune.

Nat King Cole made U.S. Route 66 famous with his 1946 recording of the namesake song, written by Bobby Troup. The lyrics read like a geography lesson, starting where the highway begins in Chicago and heading west for over 2,000 miles until Los Angeles. Other artists famously covered the classic, from Chuck Berry, the Rolling Stones, John Mayer, and Tom Petty.

Marc Cohn’s biggest hit, “Walking in Memphis” was inspired by the singer’s trip to Memphis, Tennessee in 1985, in which he hoped to cure a bout of writer’s block. He visited tourist sites like Elvis’s Graceland and local cafes and haunts, which inspired him when he returned to New York City to write the song (which Cohn didn’t record until five years later).

The “Queen of Rock n’ Roll” put the rural town of Nutbush, Tennessee, on the map in 1973 when this song was released. Soon, “The Nutbush” line dance became popular at bars, social events, and even schools. Nutbush is located in western Tennessee, just north of Memphis. In 2002, the Tina Turner Highway (a portion of State Route 19) was renamed to honor the singer.

This tiny Greenwich Village street has become a sacred site among Taylor Swift fans. From her 2019 album, the song “Cornelia Street” refers to the location of her 2016 townhome and the beginnings of a new romantic relationship. The address is 23 Cornelia Street, and while the pop superstar no longer resides there, its brick exterior, and the Cornelia Street sign, are popular destinations for Swifties.

In a 2008 interview, singer-songwriter Billy Joel revealed that his song “Vienna” is one of his personal favorites. But why did he choose to write a song about the European city? Joel tracked his estranged father to the Austrian capital and decided to visit him there. During the trip, Joel was inspired by the historic city and its culture, and soon the line, “Vienna waits for you,” came to mind.

“Hotel California” is the title track of the Eagles' 1977 hit album, one of the best-selling albums of all time. That begs the question, where exactly is the Hotel California? While the song itself supposedly describes the entire “Los Angeles high life,” the hotel featured in the cover art is the Beverly Hills Hotel, located on the historic Sunset Boulevard.

In one of Tom Petty’s signature songs, 1989’s “Free Fallin’,” the singer paints a picture of several L.A.-area locations, from the Valley to Mulholland Drive and Ventura Boulevard. One verse was apparently inspired by Petty’s daily commute down Ventura Boulevard. Nearby Mulholland Drive is known for its long list of celebrity residents. Both street signs have since become pilgrimage sites for Tom Petty fans.

Barry Manilow’s hit 1978 song tells the story of Lola, who works as a showgirl at the Copacabana. Manilow, a frequenter of the club, calls it the “hottest spot north of Havana.” Opened in the 1940s, the Copacabana remained popular at the height of the disco era, partially thanks to Manilow’s song. The club changed venues in New York several times in its 80-year history before permanently closing in 2020.

Bruce Springsteen named his first studio album after a favorite summertime haunt from his childhood: Asbury Park, New Jersey. Released in 1973, the album wasn’t as popular as his future albums would be, but it is still seen as one of his most influential. While growing up, Springsteen spent his summers on the Jersey Shore in Asbury Park, and he regularly returned there for concerts after he rose to fame.

One of America’s hit songs embodies a quintessential American pastime: cruising down a California highway on a warm, sunny day. Band member Dewey Bunnell wrote “Ventura Highway” in 1972 for America’s second album, "Homecoming." While there is a section of the 101 called Ventura Freeway, Bunnell revealed in a 2020 interview that he wrote the song about the entire stretch of southern Highway 101, also called the Pacific Coast Highway.

Although Liza Minnelli was the original artist, “New York, New York” became one of Frank Sinatra’s signature hits. Sinatra began performing the track at New York’s Radio City Music Hall in 1978, and his version was released in 1980. The song seemed to capture the essence of the “city that never sleeps,” and the Yankees still play it after every home game.

In 1968, Johnny Cash recorded two shows at Folsom State Prison — including his namesake song — appearing a few months later on the classic album “Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison.” Located just northeast of Sacramento, the state prison is not open to visitors, much to Cash superfans’ dismay, but just a few minutes down the street is the Folsom Prison Museum, featuring memorabilia from Cash’s shows.

“Take It Easy” is the opening song on the Eagle’s 1972 self-titled debut album, and in it, the band famously sings about “standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona.” Band member Jacksone Browne wrote the verse after experiencing car trouble in Winslow during a road trip to Sedona. Little did he know he’d put this small town on the map.

Rio’s beachside neighborhood of Ipanema is a favorite of visitors and locals alike, but this 1960s namesake song transformed the locale into a destination known worldwide. Originally written by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes in 1962, it is the second-most recorded pop song in the world, with famous covers from Amy Winehouse, Frank Sinatra, and Nat King Cole.

In 1964, the King of Rock ‘n' Roll crooned about Sin City in the hit song “Viva Las Vegas.” The song appeared on the soundtrack of the musical film of the same name, also starring Elvis Presley. The song has since been covered by other artists, including ZZ Top.

“I Left My Heart in San Francisco” is the title track from Tony Bennett’s 1962 album, and it won Bennett a Grammy award for Record of the Year. In the song, Bennett sings about “coming home” to his “city by the bay” after experiencing the loneliness of Manhattan, the glory of Rome, and the loveliness of Paris. The lyrics paint a romantic picture of San Francisco, from its cable cars to its morning fog.

Beatles fans from all over the world flock to St. John’s Wood in northwest London to recreate the iconic cover for “Abbey Road,” the last album the Beatles recorded together. Shot in September 1969, the image features the Fab Four walking through a crosswalk. It soon became not only one of the most recognizable album covers of all time but one of the most famous images in the world.