Ariana Grande's hit "Problem" started off as a track written by One Direction songwriter Savan Kotecha. He gave it the working title of "The Whisper Song," after a 2005 Ying Yang Twins hit.
"Human" by The Killers was the most streamed song on Spotify in 2008, the year that the music streaming service was launched.
Neil Young later apologized for "Southern Man," calling it "accusatory and condescending" in its portrayal of the American South.
In the UK, Michael Jackson's "Thriller" returns to the chart every Halloween, a tradition started in 2007.
Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl" is about Christie Brinkley, who he married, but it started as a song about Elle McPherson, who he also went out with.
The Hall & Oates hit "Everything Your Heart Desires" has no rhymes.
With Bernie Taupin, Martin co-wrote the #1 hits "We Built This City" and "These Dreams." After writing the Pretty Woman song for Go West, he had his own hit with "In the House of Stone and Light."
One of the most popular classical vocalists in the land is lining up a trip to space, which is the inspiration for many of her songs.
The stories behind the biggest hit songs about trucking.
Songs that seem to glorify violence against women are often misinterpreted - but not always.
U2, Carly Simon, Joanna Newsom, Brian Wilson and Fiona Apple have all gone to Van Dyke Parks to make their songs exceptional.
How well do you know this shock-rock harbinger who's been publicly executed hundreds of times?