"Grenade" was a term used on the show Jersey Shore to mean an ugly girl. Bruno Mars says his hit song with that title was written before the show started.
Meghan Trainor wrote "Lips Are Movin" in just eight minutes with her writing partner Kevin Kadish. Inspiration for the song was frustration with Trainor's record label.
A roadie for the Allman Brothers came up with the line "The road goes on forever" for "Midnight Rider," and got a songwriting credit for his contribution.
Tom Cochrane wrote "Life Is A Highway" to pull himself out of a funk following an exhausting humanitarian trip to Africa.
The Flaming Lips' "Do You Realize??" was named in March 2009 the official Rock Song of Oklahoma. Four years later, Oklahoma's governor Mary Fallin pulled the tune as the state's official rock song in a move her office said had more to do with priorities than musical taste.
When "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" climbed to #1 on the Hot 100, Katy Perry became the first woman to send five songs from one album to the top of the charts. The four previous chart-toppers from her Teenage Dream set were "California Gurls," "Teenage Dream," "Firework" and "E.T."
Songs where something goes horribly wrong (literally or metaphorically), and help is needed right away.
The men of Sparks on their album Hippopotamus, and how Morrissey handled it when they suggested he lighten up.
Ozzy biting a dove? Alice Cooper causing mayhem with a chicken? Creed so bad they were sued? See if you can spot the real concert mishaps.
Zac tells the story of Hanson's massive hit "MMMbop," and talks about how brotherly bonds effect their music.
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.
Fagen talks about how the Steely Dan songwriting strategy has changed over the years, and explains why you don't hear many covers of their songs.