Lionel Richie hosted the American Music Awards the night he recorded "We Are The World." He wrote the song with Michael Jackson.
The first big hit to blend EDM with country music was "Wake Me Up" by the Swedish DJ Avicii. He put the song together with Mike Einziger of Incubus and with Aloe Blacc, who sings on it.
George Michael was 17 and on a bus to his job at the cinema when he came up with the idea for "Careless Whisper" and the lyrics, "Something in your eyes calls to mind a silver screen."
"Open Arms" was a pioneering power ballad. Stadium rock bands like Journey shied away from slow songs, but when they reluctantly agreed to record the song, it became their biggest chart hit.
The 1986 Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram duet "Somewhere Out There" was written for An American Tail, an animated film about a family of immigrant mice who lose one of their young.
Ariana Grande's collaboration with Zedd, "Break Free" came about after the Russian-German producer overheard Grande performing at a label showcase while he was backstage, and he mentioned to his team that he wanted to work with her.
Jon Fratelli talks about the band's third album, and the five-year break leading up to it.
Starting in Virginia City, Nevada and rippling out to the Haight-Ashbury, LSD reshaped popular music.
The lead singer/lyricist for Anberlin breaks down "Impossible" and covers some tracks from their 2012 album Vital.
A popular contemporary folk singer, Williams still remembers the sticky note that changed her life in college.
Have you got the smarts to know which of these graduation song stories are real?
Lyrics don't always follow the rules of grammar. Can you spot the ones that don't?