Prince released "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World" on his own label to prove he could generate a hit song whenever he wanted. He made his point: It was a big hit around the world.
Neil Diamond wrote "I'm A Believer" early in his career. It was a hit for The Monkees and revived by Smash Mouth in 2001 for the movie Shrek, helping make Diamond cool again.
"This Must Be The Place" is a rare love song by the Talking Heads, with a very personal lyric from David Byrne likely inspired by the woman who became his first wife.
The party tune "Mambo No 5 (A Little Bit Of)" was the theme song for the 2000 Democratic Convention (the party of Bill Clinton), until someone noticed the line, "A little bit of Monica in my life."
The bedrock of David Guetta's Nicki Minaj-featuring single "Hey Mama" is a sample of "Rosie," a 1940s prison recording from folk archivist Alan Lomax that songwriter Esther Dean first showed the French DJ on YouTube.
The Four Tops' "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" was written by the Motown team of Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland and Eddie Holland. The phrase "Sugar pie, honey bunch" was something Dozier's grandfather used to say when he was a kid.
Todd Rundgren explains why he avoids "Hello It's Me," and what it was like producing Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell album.
The "Lowdown" and "Lido Shuffle" singer makes a habit of playing with the best in the business.
Petula talks about her hits "Downtown" and "Don't Sleep In The Subway," and explains her Michael Jackson connection.
Songwriting Hall of Famer Linda Perry talks about her songs "What's Up" and "Beautiful," her songwriting process, and her move into film music.
When you free your mind, your ass may follow, but you have to make sure someone else doesn't program it while it's wide open.
Charlie discusses the songs that made him a Southern Rock icon, and settles the Devil vs. Johnny argument once and for all.