Alicia Keys got a huge break when Oprah had her perform her debut single "Fallin'" on her show.
The guys who wrote "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" had never been to a baseball game but knew it was a good song topic.
"Diamonds From Sierra Leone" by Kanye West is about the "blood diamonds" mined using child labor in Africa. It also serves as a shout-out to Roc-A-Fella records, known for a diamond-shaped hand signal.
The song "Don't Worry Be Happy" doesn't use any instruments - it's all Bobby McFerrin using various parts of his body to make the sounds.
"Invisible Touch" was the first time a band member (Phil Collins) had a #1 Hot 100 hit with a group after scoring a #1 solo hit.
Lou Reed's "Walk On The Wild Side" tells the story of real people who were part of Andy Warhol's "factory," including Holly Woodlawn and Candy Darling.
Songwriting Hall of Famer Linda Perry talks about her songs "What's Up" and "Beautiful," her songwriting process, and her move into film music.
Tom talks about the evolution of Cinderella's songs through their first three albums, and how he writes as a solo artist.
Scaramouch, a hoople and a superhero soundtrack - see if you can spot the real Queen stories.
"Missing You" was a spontaneous outpouring of emotion triggered by a phone call. John tells that story and explains what MTV meant to his career.
An original member of Depeche Mode, Vince went on to form Erasure and Yaz.
The king of Christian worship music explains talks about writing songs for troubled times.