The Sam & Dave classic "Soul Man" was re-recorded by Sam Moore and Lou Reed for the 1986 movie Soul Man, about a white guy who pretends to be black so he can get a scholarship to Harvard.
You wouldn't know it from the upbeat melody, but "Walkin' On The Sun" by Smash Mouth is about the 1992 Los Angeles Riots.
Village People lead singer Victor Willis, who co-wrote "Y.M.C.A.," insists it isn't a gay song - it's about hanging out with your buddies.
"The Candy Man" is the opening song in the 1971 movie Willie Wonka And The Chocolate Factory, but the version released as a single was by Rat Pack member Sammy Davis Jr. It was a #1 hit and became his signature song even though his audience was very adult.
In 1939, a polka craze swept America thanks to "Beer Barrel Polka (Roll Out The Barrel)."
Bob Dylan's original version of "Mr. Tambourine Man," released on his album Bringing It All Back Home, has no tambourine, just guitars and harmonica.
The lead singer of Everclear, Art is also their primary songwriter.
David Gray explains the significance of the word "Babylon," and talks about how songs are a form of active imagination, with lyrics that reveal what's inside us.
How a gym teacher, a janitor, and a junkie became part of some very famous band names.
The man who created Yacht Rock with "Sailing" wrote one of his biggest hits while on acid.
We ring the Hell's Bells to see what songs and rockers are sincere in their Satanism, and how much of it is an act.
Since emerging from MySpace with her hit "Bubbly," Colbie has become a top songwriter, even crafting a hit with Taylor Swift.