When David Bowie sings, "We like dancing and we look divine" in "Rebel Rebel," it's a reference to a famous drag queen known as Divine.
Dan Tyminski, the singer on Avicii's "Hey Brother" is the same guy who sang lead vocal on "A Man Of Constant Sorrow" in the movie O’ Brother, Where Art Thou.
"Name" by The Goo Goo Dolls was partly inspired by lead singer John Rzeznik's flirtation with the MTV VJ Kennedy, who didn't want him to tell anyone her real name.
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.
Meghan Trainor and her producer Kevin Kadish originally wrote "All About That Bass" for another artist to record. However, after Epic Records boss LA Reid heard Meghan play a demo of the song on a ukulele, he signed the young songwriter to his label and told her she should sing it.
It took John Fogerty just 20 minutes to write "Fortunate Son" for Creedence Clearwater Revival's Willy And The Poorboys album..
It wasn't her biggest hit as a songwriter (that would be "Bette Davis Eyes"), but "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" had a family connection for Jackie.
Tim and his brother Richard are the Furs' foundation; Tim explains how they write and tells the story of "Pretty In Pink."
The country sweetheart opines about the demands of touring and talks about writing songs with her famous father.
The lead singer and pianist for Procol Harum, Gary talks about finding the musical ideas to match the words.
