Celine Dion's 1998 festive tune "The Magic of Christmas Day (God Bless Us Everyone)" came from an unlikely source. It was penned by Dee Snider of the heavy metal band Twisted Sister.
The most famous song to prominently feature a French horn is "God Only Knows" by The Beach Boys.
Lily Allen wrote "Something's Not Right" for the soundtrack of the Peter Pan prequel, Pan. The song was inspired by the heartache that Allen experienced after suffering a miscarriage when she was six months pregnant with her first child by husband Sam Cooper in 2010.
"Babylon," in David Gray's song, refers to London, which was once known as the "modern-day Babylon."
Katy Perry's "Dark Horse" was co-written by Sarah Hudson, who is a singer-songwriter and a member of the Pop group Ultraviolet Sound. Though Sarah isn't related to Katy (whose real name is Katy Hudson), she is the first cousin of another famous person with the same name, the actress Kate Hudson.
The co-writer/guitarist on many Alice Cooper hits, Dick was also Lou Reed's axeman on the Rock n' Roll Animal album.
For songwriters, Johnny represents the American man. He has been angry, cool, magic, a rebel and, of course, marching home.
The Cult frontman tells who the "Fire Woman" is, and talks about performing with the new version of The Doors.
Julian tells the stories behind his hits "Valotte" and "Too Late for Goodbyes," and fills us in on his many non-musical pursuits. Also: what MTV meant to his career.
An interview with Frankie Valli, who talks about why his songs - both solo and with The Four Seasons - have endured, and reflects on his time as Rusty Millio on The Sopranos.
These overtly religious songs crossed over to the pop charts, despite resistance from fans, and in many cases, churches.
