Christina Aguilera did her "Beautiful" vocal in one take; the opening line, "Don't look at me," is something she said to her friend in the studio who was there to offer support.
"Rio" by Duran Duran is a metaphor for America, where the band was trying to break through.
"Crank That (Soulja Boy)" was the most successful digital track of 2007 in the US with 2,909,000 downloads. On January 6, 2008 it became the first song ever to sell 3 million digital copies in the States.
Ronnie Van Zant wrote the Lynyrd Skynyrd classic "Gimme Three Steps" after making the mistake of dancing with a girl whose boyfriend was in the bar and probably had a gun. He asked for a 3-step head start.
Icona Pop consider "I Love It" a kiss-off to their boyfriends. "We just wanted to get the song out and get the pigs to hear it," group member Jawo said.
The Isley Brothers' "That Lady" was sampled by Kendrick Lamar for his 2014 single "I." Lamar turned up at Ronald Isley's house to personally ask permission to borrow from the song.
The renown Texas songwriter has been at it for 40 years, with tales to tell about The Flatlanders and The Clash - that's Joe's Tex-Mex on "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"
The drummer for Anthrax is also a key songwriter. He explains how the group puts their songs together and tells the stories behind some of their classics.
As Procol Harum's lyricist, Keith wrote the words to "A Whiter Shade Of Pale." We delve into that song and find out how you can form a band when you don't sing or play an instrument.
"I'll Be" was what Edwin called his "Hail Mary" song. He says it proves "intention of the songwriter is 180 degrees from potential interpretation by an audience."
'80s music ambassadors Wang Chung pick their top tracks of the decade, explaining what makes each one so special.
The 2011 Artist of the Year at the Dove Awards isn't your typical gospel diva, and she thinks that's a good thing.