"Just Dance" was Lady Gaga's first hit, and it also brought the techno-synth sound that had been popular in Europe for the previous decade to the United States.
Before she was famous, Lady Gaga was a staff songwriter, and wrote the song "Quicksand," which Britney Spears recorded in 2008.
"MMMbop" by Hanson was so ubiquitous in 1997 that when the band appeared on SNL, they took part in a skit where Helen Hunt and Will Ferrell seek retribution by trapping them in an elevator and playing the song until they crack. "Now, you will suffer like we did," Hunt tells them.
"Bittersweet Symphony" by The Verve samples an obscure orchestral arrangement of the 1965 Rolling Stones song "The Last Time." The Verve had to sign away most of the royalties before they could release the song.
The phrase "Hasta la vista, baby" was popularized in the 1987 Jody Watley song "Looking For A New Love," four years before Arnold Schwarzenegger said it in the movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
Neil Diamond wrote "I'm A Believer" early in his career. It was a hit for The Monkees and revived by Smash Mouth in 2001 for the movie Shrek, helping make Diamond cool again.
How a gym teacher, a janitor, and a junkie became part of some very famous band names.
Shows like Dawson's Creek, Grey's Anatomy and Buffy the Vampire Slayer changed the way songs were heard on TV, and produced some hits in the process.
Franti tells the story behind his hit "Say Hey (I Love You)" and explains why yoga is an integral part of his lifestyle and his Soulshine tour.
The powerhouse producer behind Janet Jackson's hits talks about his Boyz II Men ballads and regrouping The Time.
Harry is Derek Smalls in Spinal Tap, Mark Shubb in The Folksmen, and Mr. Burns on The Simpsons.
They sang about pink torpedoes and rocking you tonight tonight, but some real lyrics are just as ridiculous. See if you can tell which lyrics are real and which are Spinal Tap in this lyrics quiz.