"Just Be Good To Me" by The S.O.S. Band was the first hit written and produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who worked on Janet Jackson's Control album a few years later. They were members of The Time, a group created by Prince.
When The Kinks released "Lola," most people didn't realize it was about a transvestite.
"Dirty Water" became a Boston sports anthem in the '00s, but it was written by a guy from California after almost getting mugged on a visit to the city.
The "Mum-mum-mum-ma" hook on lady Gaga's "Poker Face" was sampled from Boney M's 1977 hit "Ma Baker."
"Nobody Does It Better" by Carly Simon was used in the film The Spy Who Loved Me. It was the first James Bond song not named after the movie.
"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.
Songs that seem to glorify violence against women are often misinterpreted - but not always.
The lead singer/lyricist of The Beach Boys talks about coming up with the words for "Good Vibrations," "Fun, Fun, Fun," "Kokomo" and other classic songs.
The Bush frontman on where he finds inspiration for lyrics, if his "machine head" is a guitar tuner, and the stories behind songs from the album The Kingdom.
The Celtic music maker Loreena McKennitt on finding musical inspiration, the "New Age" label, and working on the movie Tinker Bell.
Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.
