The Oasis song "Live Forever" was written in response to "I Hate Myself And I Want To Die" by Nirvana. "Kids don't need to hear that nonsense," said Noel Gallagher.
Bobby Freeman's '50s hit "Do You Want To Dance" was also a Hot 100 hit for Del Shannon, The Beach Boys, The Mamas & the Papas, Bette Midler and the Ramones.
Richard Harris, who played Professor Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter movies, had a hit in 1968 with "MacArthur Park."
Ariana Grande's collaboration with Zedd, "Break Free" came about after the Russian-German producer overheard Grande performing at a label showcase while he was backstage, and he mentioned to his team that he wanted to work with her.
"Do The Bartman," released at the peak of Simpsons-mania, has uncredited backup vocals by Michael Jackson, who later appeared on the show.
The Phoenix song "1901" is about Paris. Their lead singer Thomas Mars said: "Paris in 1901 was better than it is now. So the song is a fantasy about Paris."
The trail runs from flying saucer songs in the '50s, through Bowie, blink-182 and Katy Perry.
Doubt led to drive for Francis, who still isn't sure why one of Status Quo's biggest hits is so beloved.
Soul music legend Bill Withers on how life experience and the company you keep leads to classic songs like "Lean On Me."
When she released her first album in 1988, Tanita became a UK singing sensation at age 19. She talks about her darkly sensual voice and quirky songwriting style.
Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.
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.