Al Green's commitment classic "Let's Stay Together" launched Tina Turner's comeback when she covered the song in 1983.
Katy Perry's breakout hit, "I Kissed A Girl," was surprising to those familiar with her past: Her parents were pastors and she started off singing Christian music.
The guys who wrote "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" had never been to a baseball game but knew it was a good song topic.
KT Tunstall's "Suddenly I See" was inspired by Robert Mapplethorpe's photograph of Patti Smith on the cover of her album Horses.
Otis Day And The Knights, the fictional band created to perform "Shout" in the movie Animal House, became a real band, performing the song at colleges and other venues.
"Only Wanna Be With You" by Hootie & the Blowfish is a tribute to Bob Dylan, but Dylan sued them over it for using lyrics from his song "Idiot Wind."
Harry is Derek Smalls in Spinal Tap, Mark Shubb in The Folksmen, and Mr. Burns on The Simpsons.
The writer of "Rainy Night in Georgia" and "Polk Salad Annie" explains how he cooks up his Louisiana swamp rock.
Steppenwolf frontman John Kay talks about "Magic Carpet Ride," "Born To Be Wild," and what he values more than awards and accolades.
The "A Thousand Miles" singer on what she thinks of her song being used in White Chicks and how she captured a song from a dream.
From the cowbell on "Mississippi Queen" to recording with The Who when they got the wrong Felix, stories from one of rock's master craftsmen.
"Dead Skunk" became a stinker for Loudon when he felt pressure to make another hit - his latest songs deal with mortality, his son Rufus, and picking up poop.