Christine McVie wrote "Songbird" for Fleetwood Mac's Rumours album in just half a hour after she woke up in the middle of the night with the song in her head.
"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.
"Islands in the Stream" was originally written by The Bee Gees as an R&B song. It was originally written by the brothers for Marvin Gaye, however it was recorded instead as a duet by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton with the Gibb Brothers also contributing vocals.
The song "Don't Worry Be Happy" doesn't use any instruments - it's all Bobby McFerrin using various parts of his body to make the sounds.
Tina Turner hated "What's Love Got To Do With It" but when her manager convinced her to record it anyway, it became her big comeback hit.
Bob Marley gave the songwriting credit for "No Woman No Cry" to his friend Vincent Ford, who ran a soup kitchen in Trenchtown, the area of Kingston where Marley grew up.
Songwriters have used cards and card games to make sense of heartache, togetherness, and even Gonorrhea.
Steppenwolf frontman John Kay talks about "Magic Carpet Ride," "Born To Be Wild," and what he values more than awards and accolades.
10 Questions for the author of Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces
Emilio talks about what it's like to write and perform with the Tower of Power horns, and why every struggling band should have a friend like Huey Lewis.
It wasn't her biggest hit as a songwriter (that would be "Bette Davis Eyes"), but "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" had a family connection for Jackie.
The top Contemporary Christian artist of all time on song inspirations and what she learned from Johnny Carson.