"Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us," the title song to the movie Breakin', was a hit and helped breakdancing go mainstream when it was released in 1984. The song has scratches and other hip-hop flourishes, but no rapping, which would have kept it off many playlists.
Dr. Luke and Max Martin originally wrote Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" with Pink in mind but she turned it down.
Before launching his career as a singer, Bruno Mars was a writer/producer. He and his co-writers pitched "Just The Way You Are" to Cee-Lo Green; when he turned it down, Bruno recorded it himself and released it in 2010 as his first single as a lead artist.
"Ghosttown" from 2014 was Madonna's 45th chart-topper on the Dance Club Songs chart, breaking the record for the most #1s an artist has tallied on a single Billboard chart.
"Bittersweet Symphony" by The Verve samples an obscure orchestral arrangement of the 1965 Rolling Stones song "The Last Time." The Verve had to sign away most of the royalties before they could release the song.
Sting wrote "Every Breath You Take" at the same desk in Jamaica where Ian Fleming wrote his James Bond novels.
Producer Rupert Hine talks about crafting hits for Tina Turner, Howard Jones and The Fixx.
Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.
Was Long Tall Sally a cross-dresser? Did he really set his piano on fire? See if you know the real stories about one of rock's greatest innovators.
John Lennon, Paul Simon and Lynyrd Skynyrd are some of the artists who have written revenge songs. Do you know who they wrote them about?
The British reggae legend tells the story of his #1 hit "Close To You," talks about his groundbreaking Shabba Ranks collaboration "Housecall," and discusses his latest project with Robin Trower.
The Stax legend on how he cooked up "Green Onions," the first time he and Otis Redding saw hippies, and if he'll ever play a digital organ.