Mike Nesmith wrote Linda Ronstadt's first hit, "Different Drum," before he joined The Monkees. He played an intentionally bad version of it on the show.
Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball" started life in a writing session between Dr. Luke and Sacha Skarbek intended for Beyonce. However, as the song progressed, they realized that it wouldn't work for her.
Bruce Springsteen's "Streets Of Philadelphia" won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1994, beating out Neil Young's "Philadelphia," which was also written for the movie Philadelphia.
"99 Luftballons" by Nena is about a Cold War scare when balloons showed up on radar and were mistaken as a nuclear threat.
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.
Gary Lewis and the Playboys had seven Top 10 hits despite competition from The Beatles. Gary talks about the hits, his famous father, and getting drafted.
The "A Thousand Miles" singer on what she thinks of her song being used in White Chicks and how she captured a song from a dream.
The Canadian superstar talks about his sudden rise to fame, and tells the stories behind his hits "Sunglasses At Night," "Boy In The Box" and "Never Surrender."
"How much does it cost? I'll buy it?" Another songwriter told Jonathan to change these lyrics. Good thing he ignored this advice.
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.
The 5-octave voice of the classical rock band Renaissance, Annie is big on creative expression. In this talk, she covers Roy Wood, the history of the band, and where all the money went in the '70s.
