Rob Thomas put some Spanish flavor in his Carlos Santana collaboration "Smooth" with the line "my muñequita," a pet name for his wife Marisol that means "my little doll."
Billy Joel's "My Life" was used as the theme song to the 1980 TV show Bosom Buddies, which starred a young Tom Hanks as a guy who lives in a hotel for women by dressing up as a girl.
The Devo song "Freedom Of Choice" is about mindless consumerism - how people like to make frivolous choices, but otherwise want to be told what to do.
Katy Perry's song "E.T." came from a beat originally intended for the rap group Three Six Mafia. When her producer accidentally pulled up the beat, Perry asked to use it.
"I Want It That Way" is the most popular Backstreet Boys song, but the lyric doesn't make much sense. That's because it was written by the hitmaking swedish producers Max Martin and Andreas Carlsson, who were more worried about how it sings than what it means.
Chuck Berry's only #1 hit was "My Ding-a-Ling," a novelty song about a boy and his... you know.
These overtly religious songs crossed over to the pop charts, despite resistance from fans, and in many cases, churches.
The guy who brought us "Stacy's Mom" also wrote the Jane Lynch Emmy song and Stephen Colbert's Christmas songs.
Did Eric Clapton really steal George's wife? What's the George Harrison-Monty Python connection? Set the record straight with our Fact or Fiction quiz.
Oliver Leiber talks about writing and producing hits for Paula Abdul, and explains his complicated relationship with his father, the songwriter Jerry Leiber.
A renowned guitarist and rock revivalist, Dave took "I Hear You Knocking" to the top of the UK charts and was the first to record Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk."
A drummer for one of the most successful metal bands of the last decade, Chris talks about what it's like writing and performing with Slipknot. Metal-neck is a factor.