Avril Lavigne's 2011 song "Darlin" was written much earlier; she says it's the second song she ever wrote, composed when she was an unsigned 15-year-old living in Napanee, Ontario. The song reflects those years when she was "trying to figure it all out."
"Don't Dream It's Over" is the biggest hit for Crowded House, whose lead singer, Neil Finn, sang it on tour when he joined Fleetwood Mac. He wrote the song when he was feeling a bit lost as a way of urging himself on.
"Toxic" was the most-searched song on Google in 2004 and helped Spears become the most-searched artist that year, a title she held from 1999-2001.
What #1 hit is built on a sample of another #1 hit? "Hypnotize" by The Notorious B.I.G., which gets its groove from "Rise," a chart-topper for Herb Alpert in 1979.
Props to Aretha Franklin: her song "Respect" introduced the term "propers" as a sign of proper respect.
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.
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.
The guitarist/songwriter explains how he came up with his signature sound, and deconstructs some classic Fear Factory songs.
Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.
Where words like "email," "thirsty," "Twitter" and "gangsta" first showed up in songs, and which songs popularized them.
The Doobies guitarist and lead singer, Tom wrote the classics "Listen To The Music," "Long Train Runnin'" and "China Grove."
Does he have beef with Gaga? Is he Sean Lennon's godfather? See if you can tell fact from fiction in the Elton John edition.