Jay-Z did the rap on Beyoncé's "Crazy In Love" at the last minute. They had just started dating; she asked him to feature on the track the night before she had to turn in her album.
Lou Reed's "Walk On The Wild Side" tells the story of real people who were part of Andy Warhol's "factory," including Holly Woodlawn and Candy Darling.
A Tribe Called Quest sampled the mellow groove of Lou Reed's 1972 classic "Walk On The Wild Side" on "Can I Kick It?" It fit their vibe, with Q-Tip and Phife Dawg trading lines about hanging out and having fun, the definition of "kickin' it."
The Goo Goo Dolls got the title for their song "Iris" from a country singer named Iris DeMent. The word doesn't show up in the lyric; lead singer Johnny Rzeznik said he was "trying to be pretentious and arty by calling it that."
Sarah McLachlan wrote "Angel" about the Smashing Pumpkins touring keyboard player Jonathan Melvoin, who overdosed on heroin and died in 1996.
With $50 and a glue stick, Bruce Pavitt created Sub Pop, a fanzine-turned-label that gave the world Nirvana and grunge. He explains how motivated individuals can shift culture.
These Three famous songs actually describe how they were written - late into the evening.
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.
Dan cracked the Top 40 with "Ritual," then went to India and spent 2 hours with the Dalai Lama.
Greg talks about writing songs of "universal truth" for King Crimson and ELP, and tells us about his most memorable stage moment (it involves fireworks).
