"I Won't Back Down" is a very personal song for Tom Petty. "I thought it wasn't that good because it was so naked," he said.
"All Star" was written as a confidence builder for fans who were bullied for liking Smash Mouth.
When "When I Think of You" hit #1, Janet and Michael Jackson became the first siblings with chart topping solo hits in the United States.
"Jump Around" by House Of Pain turns into a diss track at the end when they dedicate it to Joe "The Biter" Nicolo, whom they claim stole the concept and used it on the Kris Kross song "Jump."
The Four Seasons' "Walk Like a Man," released in 1963, was the first Hot 100 #1 hit with a simile in its title.
The Ozzy Osbourne song "Mr. Crowley" is about Aleister Crowley, a British practitioner of dark magic in the early 1900s.
Glen Ballard talks about co-writing and producing Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill album, and his work with Dave Matthews, Aerosmith and Annie Lennox.
Did Marvin try out with the Detroit Lions? Did he fake crazy to get out of military service? And what about the cross-dressing?
Shows like Dawson's Creek, Grey's Anatomy and Buffy the Vampire Slayer changed the way songs were heard on TV, and produced some hits in the process.
Who writes a song about a name they found in a phone book? That's just one of the everyday things these guys find to sing about. Anything in their field of vision or general scope of knowledge is fair game. If you cross paths with them, so are you.
Brenda talks about the inspiration that drove her to write hit songs like "Get Here" and "Piano in the Dark," and why a lack of formal music training can be a songwriter's best asset.
U2, Carly Simon, Joanna Newsom, Brian Wilson and Fiona Apple have all gone to Van Dyke Parks to make their songs exceptional.