"Summertime" by DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince is built on a sample of a Kool & The Gang instrumental from 1974 called "Summer Madness," which gets a shout in the line, "This is the Fresh Prince's new definition of summer madness."
Debbie Gibson was 17 years old when "Foolish Beat" topped the Hot 100. This gave her the honor of becoming the youngest artist ever to write, perform, and produce a #1 single.
Lyrically, Elvis Costello's "Watching The Detectives" was inspired by American detective shows; musically, it was inspired by The Clash.
Lily Allen wrote "Something's Not Right" for the soundtrack of the Peter Pan prequel, Pan. The song was inspired by the heartache that Allen experienced after suffering a miscarriage when she was six months pregnant with her first child by husband Sam Cooper in 2010.
When Pearl Jam plays "Daughter" live, they usually extend the ending so Eddie Vedder can improvise, saying or singing whatever is on his mind.
Sir Mix-A-Lot is credited as a writer on The Pussycat Dolls' biggest hit, "Don't Cha," because it interpolates his 1988 song "Swass," where he goes, "Don't you wish your boyfriend was swass like me?"
Shears does very little promotion, which has kept him secluded from the spotlight. What changed when Cyndi Lauper had a hit with his song? Not much, really.
Bob was the bass player and lyricist for the first two Ozzy Osbourne albums. Here's how he wrote songs like "Crazy Train" and "Mr. Crowley" with Ozzy and Randy Rhoads.
Steppenwolf frontman John Kay talks about "Magic Carpet Ride," "Born To Be Wild," and what he values more than awards and accolades.
Zac tells the story of Hanson's massive hit "MMMbop," and talks about how brotherly bonds effect their music.
The king of Christian worship music explains talks about writing songs for troubled times.
After cutting his teeth on hardcore punk videos, Paul defined the grunge look with his work on "Hunger Strike" and "Man in the Box."