War got the idea for "Why Can't We Be Friends?" when they were traveling in Japan and found they had a kinship with the citizens even though they didn't speak the same language.
Adele got the title "Rolling In The Deep" from the British saying "Roll Deep," which means to look after someone. She was "rolling deep" with her boyfriend until he betrayed her.
"Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" refers to "Hova," which is what Jay-Z calls his God Name. Jay-Hova, as in Jehovah.
"Virginia" in "Only The Good Die Young" is named after a real girl Billy Joel was trying to impress.
The music video for "You Are A Tourist" by Death Cab For Cutie was done live on the internet, becoming the first live, scripted, single-take music video recorded that way.
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.
For songwriters, Johnny represents the American man. He has been angry, cool, magic, a rebel and, of course, marching home.
Our chat with Barney Hoskyns, who covers the wild years of Woodstock - the town, not the festival - in his book Small Town Talk.
Roger tells the stories behind some of his biggest hits, including "Give a Little Bit," "Take the Long Way Home" and "The Logical Song."
A Soul Train dancer takes us through a day on the show, and explains what you had to do to get camera time.
The (Meat)puppetmaster takes us through songs like "Lake Of Fire" and "Backwater," and talks about performing with Kurt Cobain on MTV Unplugged.
Gary Lewis and the Playboys had seven Top 10 hits despite competition from The Beatles. Gary talks about the hits, his famous father, and getting drafted.
