"Paper Planes" was inspired by M.I.A.'s hassles trying to get a visa to enter America.
"The Reflex" became a #1 hit for Duran Duran when Nile Rodgers remixed it using a sampler. Simon Le Bon refuses to say what it's about, but says it's "kind of childish song."
Originally a chart-topper for Steve Lawrence in 1962, "Go Away Little Girl" became the first song of the rock era to hit #1 for two different artists when Donny Osmond's cover version also reached the summit in 1971.
The K-pop hit "Gangnam Style" became the most-viewed video in YouTube history months after it was released in 2012, a title it held until "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa overtook it in 2017.
When the Christian band DC Talk covered Nirvana's "All Apologies" at concerts, they would change the line "Everyone is gay" to "Jesus is the Way."
James Taylor wrote "Sweet Baby James" during a road trip to Virginia in honor of his brother’s new baby, also named James, whom he was about to meet for the first time.
The Celtic music maker Loreena McKennitt on finding musical inspiration, the "New Age" label, and working on the movie Tinker Bell.
The renown Texas songwriter has been at it for 40 years, with tales to tell about The Flatlanders and The Clash - that's Joe's Tex-Mex on "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"
Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.
The hitmaking songwriter/producer Sam Hollander with stories about songs for Weezer, Panic! At The Disco, Train, Pentatonix, and Fitz And The Tantrums.
Shows like Dawson's Creek, Grey's Anatomy and Buffy the Vampire Slayer changed the way songs were heard on TV, and produced some hits in the process.
