Rihanna was Pitbull's first choice to sing on "Timber," but she wasn't available at the time so he enlisted his RCA labelmate Kesha instead.
"Constant Craving" by k.d. lang deals with principles of Buddhism, including the cycles of birth and death.
The 311 song "Amber" is likely about Nicole Scherzinger, who was dating the band's lead singer Nick Hexum.
"Step On," the most famous song by the Happy Mondays ("You're twistin' my melon man!") is a thoroughly revamped cover of a song from 1971 about the plight of indigenous peoples called "He's Gonna Step On You Again" by John Kongos.
Thomas Dolby wrote "She Blinded Me With Science" so he could direct the video, which was inspired by silent films and set in a "home for deranged scientists."
Stephen Tobolowsky, who played Ned Ryerson in Groundhog Day, inspired the Talking Heads song "Radio Head." Tobolowsky, who worked on David Byrne's film True Stories, claimed to have telepathic powers.
Nirvana, Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen are among those who wrote songs with cities that show up in this quiz.
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.
After studying in Paris with a famous composition teacher, Charles became the most successful writer of TV theme songs.
When she released her first album in 1988, Tanita became a UK singing sensation at age 19. She talks about her darkly sensual voice and quirky songwriting style.
Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.
Scott was Stevie Wonder's bass player before becoming a top session player. Hits he played on include "I Will Survive," "Being With You" and "Sara Smile."