The Exorcist theme music is a portion of "Tubular Bells," a 25-minute song released by 19-year-old Mike Oldfield.
The name "Schoolhouse Rock," which was a series of educational cartoons, was a play on "Jailhouse Rock," the title of an Elvis Presley song.
The Strokes admitted to purloining Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' "American Girl" for their 2001 hit "Last Nite." "Yeah, we ripped it off," lead singer Julian Casablancas said.
The Motown team of Holland-Dozier-Holland wrote "Where Did Our Love Go" with The Marvelettes in mind, but they turned it down. When The Supremes recorded the tune, Diana Ross was forced to sing in a lower, breathier style than she was used to because it wasn't written for her.
A Tribe Called Quest sampled the mellow groove of Lou Reed's 1972 classic "Walk On The Wild Side" on "Can I Kick It?" It fit their vibe, with Q-Tip and Phife Dawg trading lines about hanging out and having fun, the definition of "kickin' it."
Quincy Jones wanted to change the title of "Billie Jean" to "Not My Lover" so it wouldn't be confused with the tennis star Billie Jean King. Michael Jackson refused.
The Brazilian rocker sees pictures in his riffs. When he came up with one of his gnarliest songs, there was a riot going on.
Not everyone can be a superhero, but that hasn't stopped generations of musicians from trying to be Superman.
Jon Fratelli talks about the band's third album, and the five-year break leading up to it.
Switchfoot's frontman and main songwriter on what inspires the songs and how he got the freedom to say exactly what he means.
A top country songwriter, Barry talks about writing hits for Little Big Town, Tim McGraw and Jason Aldean.
Brian has unearthed outtakes by Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello and hundreds of other artists for reissues. Here's how he does it.