"Yellow" by Coldplay is a deep, meaningful song, but the title has a rather prosaic origin: it came from the phone directory, known as "the yellow pages."
Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" was inspired by how she'd learned to deal with all the false rumors that circulated about her. She realized she could either let it get to her or "just shake it off."
When Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse's version of "Body and Soul" made the Hot 100 in 2011, Bennett became, at age 85, the oldest living artist to make that chart.
The third verse of "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies ("they shook and lurched all over the church floor...") was inspired by girl whose parents would speak in tongues at their Pentecostal service.
Al Green's commitment classic "Let's Stay Together" launched Tina Turner's comeback when she covered the song in 1983.
"Tenderness" by General Public was partly inspired by the outbreak of AIDS, which at the time was thought to be contagious.
Waters tells the "Gypsy Woman" story, shares some of her songwriting insights, and explains how Dennis Rodman ended up on one of her songs.
MTV, a popular TV theme song and Madonna all show up in this '80s music quiz.
The powerhouse producer behind Janet Jackson's hits talks about his Boyz II Men ballads and regrouping The Time.
Is Owl City on a quest for another hit like "Fireflies?" Adam answers that question and explains the influences behind many others.
It took him seven years to recover from his American hit "Fool (If You Think It's Over)," but Chris Rea became one of the top singer-songwriters in his native UK.
Michael tells the story of "Send Me On My Way," and explains why some of the words in the song don't have a literal meaning.