45% of the royalties for "Somebody That I Used To Know" go to the estate of the Brazilian classical guitarist Luiz Bonfá, whose song "Seville" Gotye sampled.
Bruce Springsteen wrote "Blinded By The Light," which was a #1 hit for Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The "Madman Drummers" line is a reference to Springsteen's first E-Street drummer, Vinnie "Mad dog" Lopez.
Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "Two Tribes" features British actor Patrick Allen reading extracts from a government civil defense leaflet.
Billy Joel is surprised that "Piano Man" is so successful. He called it "an old, long song about a guy at a depressing piano bar."
The fadeout on Drake's "Hotline Bling" lasts 55 seconds - one of the longest outros of any hip-hop hit.
"Mr. Jones" took on new meaning when the song about a misguided view of fame made Adam famous.
When he joined Guns N' Roses in 1990, Matt helped them craft an orchestral sound; his mezzo fortes and pianissimos are all over "November Rain."
One of Canada's most popular and eclectic performers, Hawksley tells stories about his oldest songs, his plentiful side projects, and the ways that he keeps his songwriting fresh.
Waters tells the "Gypsy Woman" story, shares some of her songwriting insights, and explains how Dennis Rodman ended up on one of her songs.
Phil was a songwriter, producer and voice behind many Philadelphia soul classics. When disco hit, he got an interesting project: The Village People.
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