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?"
Justin Timberlake originally wrote "Gone" for Michael Jackson, but his team turned it down, so 'N Sync cut it instead.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers' biggest hit is "Under The Bridge," a ballad not typical of their sound. Frontman Anthony Kiedis wrote the lyric after an acute bout of loneliness.
When the Velvet Underground song "Heroin" got screechy, Maureen Tucker stopped drumming, figuring it would bust the take, but her bandmates kept going. You can hear it at the 5:20 mark.
"Man On The Moon" by R.E.M. is about the comedian Andy Kaufman, who often seemed like he was from another planet.
Mariah Carey's "My All" is about her affair with New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.
A scholarly analysis of yacht rock favorites ("Steal Away," "Baker Street"...) with a member of the leading YR cover band.
P.F. was a teenager writing hits and playing on tracks for Jan & Dean when he wrote a #1 hit that got him blackballed.
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.
Find out how God and glam metal go together from the Stryper frontman.
The drummer for Anthrax is also a key songwriter. He explains how the group puts their songs together and tells the stories behind some of their classics.
A top session musician, Carol played on hundreds of hits by The Beach Boys, The Monkees, Frank Sinatra and many others.