Hozier's "Take Me to Church" drew inspiration from the atheist writer Christopher Hitchens. He called it "a bit of a losing your religion song."
Justin Timberlake originally wrote "Gone" for Michael Jackson, but his team turned it down, so 'N Sync cut it instead.
"Hips Don't Lie" is Shakira's in-studio mantra for her crew: If her hips are moving, the song is working. If not, best to try something else.
The actor Dan Aykroyd sang on "We Are The World." LaToya Jackson did too, so we know they weren't all that picky.
Avril Lavigne's 2011 song "Darlin" was written much earlier; she says it's the second song she ever wrote, composed when she was an unsigned 15-year-old living in Napanee, Ontario. The song reflects those years when she was "trying to figure it all out."
A one-ton bell was custom made for AC/DC's "Hell's Bells." The recording was slowed to half speed to make it sound like a more ominous two-ton bell.
Rufus Wainwright on "Hallelujah," his album Unfollow The Rules, and getting into his "lyric trance" on 12-hour walks.
The Kiss rocker covers a lot of ground in this interview, including why there are no Kiss collaborations, and why the Rock Hall has "become a sham."
The Guns N' Roses rhythm guitarist in the early '90s, Gilby talks about the band's implosion and the side projects it spawned.
Songs that seem to glorify violence against women are often misinterpreted - but not always.
Medley looks back on "Unchained Melody" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" - his huge hits from the '60s that were later revived in movies.
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.