James Brown's "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" was the first Hot 100 hit with the word "sex" in the title.
The Phoenix song "1901" is about Paris. Their lead singer Thomas Mars said: "Paris in 1901 was better than it is now. So the song is a fantasy about Paris."
Lucinda Williams' track "Compassion" is based on a poem by her father, lauded Arkansas poet Miller Williams.
Bono came up with the idea of focusing on a soldier's last thoughts as he dies from his wounds in the U2 song "White As Snow" after reading William Golding's 1956 novel Pincher Martin.
Lorde was 16 years and 11 months old when "Royals" topped the Hot 100. In doing so she became the youngest ever solo artist to write and perform a #1 hit.
The game Lana Del Rey sings about in "Video Games" is World of Warcraft - her ex used to play it all the time.
The renown rock singer talks about "The House of the Rising Sun" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood."
The trail runs from flying saucer songs in the '50s, through Bowie, blink-182 and Katy Perry.
"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.
Is "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" about Vietnam? Was John Fogerty really born on a Bayou? It's the CCR edition of Fact or Fiction.
Nick made some of the biggest videos on MTV, including "The Final Countdown," "Heaven" and "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)."
Billie Jean, Delilah, Sara, Laura and Sharona - do you know who the girls in the songs really are?
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