Meghan Trainor and her producer Kevin Kadish wrote "All About That Bass" for another artist to record, but after Epic Records boss LA Reid heard Meghan play a demo of the song on a ukulele, he signed her to his label and told her she should sing it.
"Surf City" was recorded by Jan & Dean, but written by Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys. It was the first #1 hit Wilson wrote.
"Tammy" by Debbie Reynolds was the only US #1 single by a female act between July 1956 and February 1958.
"Stay" by Lisa Loeb was the first #1 hit by an unsigned artist. It got a boost from Ethan Hawke, who got it into a movie he starred in called Reality Bites.
"We're An American Band" by Grand Funk describes real events on their 1972 tour, including an encounter with a legendary groupie called "Sweet Connie."
Cher was 43 in 1989 when she landed one of her biggest hits: "If I Could Turn Back Time." It made her an unlikely MTV star thanks to a video shot on the battleship USS Missouri where she's entertaining the troops in fishnet stockings and a thong.
The man who brought us "Red Skies" and "Saved By Zero" is now an organic farmer in France.
Into the vaults for this talk with Bolton from the '80s when he was a focused on writing songs for other artists.
Some album art was at least "inspired" by others. A look at some very similar covers.
The author of Help! 100 Songwriting, Recording And Career Tips Used By The Beatles, explains how the group crafted their choruses so effectively.
The trail runs from flying saucer songs in the '50s, through Bowie, blink-182 and Katy Perry.
