Sweet's hit "Ballroom Blitz" was inspired by an incident in 1973 when the band were performing in Scotland and driven offstage by a barrage of bottles.
Katy Perry says her 2008 song "Ur So Gay" is about "guys who wear the guyliner, steal your jeans, and that whole almost hipster emo scene."
Katmandu, the capital of Nepal, was the archetype for faraway mysticism when Bob Seger wrote a song about it in 1975.
Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" includes both gibberish ("Roma Roma-ma") and French ("Je veux ton amour et je veux ta revanche") in the lyrics. The French part translates to: "I want your love and I want your revenge."
Carla Thomas became the first woman to achieve a Top 10 hit on the Hot 100 with a song she wrote herself when "Gee Whiz (Look At His Eyes)" reached #10 in 1961. Thomas was just 16 years old when she wrote it.
Paul McCartney wrote "Blackbird" in Scotland after reading about race riots in the US, triggered when federal courts forced the racial desegregation of the Arkansas capital's school system.
An original member of Depeche Mode, Vince went on to form Erasure and Yaz.
Richie talks about producing the first two Kiss albums, recording "Brother Louie," and the newfound appreciation of his rock band, Dust.
Daniel Lanois on his album Heavy Sun, and the inside stories of songs he produced for U2, Peter Gabriel, and Bob Dylan.
Dave reveals the inspiration for "Feelin' Alright" and explains how the first song he ever wrote became the biggest hit for his band Traffic.
The renown rock singer talks about "The House of the Rising Sun" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood."
Scaramouch, a hoople and a superhero soundtrack - see if you can spot the real Queen stories.