Often heard as a patriotic song, "Down Under" is really about the selling of Australia and makes a strong political statement.
"Dirty Work" is one of the few Steely Dan songs not sung by Donald Fagen. The lead vocal is by David Palmer, who sang on two tracks from their debut album.
The bedrock of David Guetta's Nicki Minaj-featuring single "Hey Mama" is a sample of "Rosie," a 1940s prison recording from folk archivist Alan Lomax that songwriter Esther Dean first showed the French DJ on YouTube.
Two tears roll down Sinead O'Connor's face. toward the end of the video for "Nothing Compares 2 U." They were shed because she associated the song's lyrics of love and loss with her mother, who was killed in a car accident in 1985.
Radiohead's "Paraonid Android" was written after a confrontation in a Los Angeles bar with an irate woman.
The video for Michael and Janet Jackson's "Scream" was the most expensive ever made, costing $7 million.
On Glen's résumé: hit songwriter, Facebook dominator, and member of Styx.
With his X-wife Exene, John fronts the band X and writes their songs.
Their frontman (Chris Cornell) started out as their drummer, so Soundgarden takes a linear approach when it comes to songwriting. Kim explains how they do it.
Doubt led to drive for Francis, who still isn't sure why one of Status Quo's biggest hits is so beloved.
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?
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.