The dirty version of Cee-Lo Green's "Forget You" contains 16 F-bombs. He recorded a clean version as an afterthought, "just in case."
There's a lot of Americana in "Uncle John's Band" by the Grateful Dead, including references to "Buckdancer's Choice" (an Appalachian folk song) and "Fire And Ice," a Robert Frost poem.
Rihanna was Pitbull's first choice to sing on "Timber," but she wasn't available at the time so he enlisted his RCA labelmate Kesha instead.
The Information Society hit "What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy)" samples the voice of Leonard Nimoy (Spock) from an episode of Star Trek.
Snap! were two German producers. When they needed a rapper, they found one on the American army base there and had him rap on "The Power."
Pink Floyd's "Run Like Hell" was released as a single in America because it has a catchy beat, but the lyrics describe a reign of terror instigated by the despot Pink, the main character in the concept album The Wall.
In her days with The Runaways, Joan Jett saw The Arrows perform "I Love Rock And Roll," which Alan Merrill co-wrote - that story and much more from this glam rock pioneer.
You may not recognize his name, but you will certainly recognize Peter Lord's songs. He wrote the bevy of hits from Paula Abdul's second album, Spellbound.
Can you name Def Leppard's only #1 hit in America? Get rocked with this adrenalized quiz.
P.F. was a teenager writing hits and playing on tracks for Jan & Dean when he wrote a #1 hit that got him blackballed.
Taylor talks about "The Machine" - the hits, the videos and Clive Davis.
Pete produced Dwight Yoakam, Michelle Shocked, Meat Puppets, and a very memorable track for Roy Orbison.