David Gilmour really was "Learning To Fly" when he co-wrote the Pink Floyd song - the aviation jargon came from his lessons.
Before launching his career as a singer, Bruno Mars was a writer/producer. He and his co-writers pitched "Just The Way You Are" to Cee-Lo Green; when he turned it down, Bruno recorded it himself and released it in 2010 as his first single as a lead artist.
"Walking In Memphis" isn't so much about Memphis as it is The Hollywood Cafe in Mississippi, where Marc Cohn encountered an older woman named Murial playing piano.
The first country song to win a Grammy for Record of the Year was "Not Ready To Make Nice" by The Dixie Chicks in 2007.
The "Ms. Jackson" in the OutKast song is Erykah Badu's mother. Andre 3000 had a child with Badu, and felt she was portraying him as a lousy dad.
"What's Up" by 4 Non Blondes has endured as one of the most popular songs of the '90s, but it wasn't a huge hit at the time and the band split after one album. Frontwoman Linda Perry went on to write hits for Pink and Christina Aguilera.
Howard explains his positive songwriting method and how uplifting songs can carry a deeper message.
She thinks of herself as a "song interpreter," but back in the '80s another country star convinced Emmylou to take a crack at songwriting.
JJ talks about The Stranglers' signature sound - keyboard and bass - which isn't your typical strain of punk rock.
Katy Perry mentions McDonald's, Beyoncé calls out Red Lobster, and Supertramp shouts out Taco Bell - we found the 10 restaurants most often mentioned in songs.
You may not recognize his name, but you will certainly recognize Peter Lord's songs. He wrote the bevy of hits from Paula Abdul's second album, Spellbound.
The renown rock singer talks about "The House of the Rising Sun" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood."