Lucinda Williams' track "Compassion" is based on a poem by her father, lauded Arkansas poet Miller Williams.
Ariana Grande's hit "Problem" started off as a track written by One Direction songwriter Savan Kotecha. He gave it the working title of "The Whisper Song," after a 2005 Ying Yang Twins hit.
"Grenade" was a term used on the show Jersey Shore to mean an ugly girl. Bruno Mars says his hit song with that title was written before the show started.
Carla Thomas became the first woman to achieve a Top 10 hit on the Hot 100 with a song she wrote herself when "Gee Whiz (Look At His Eyes)" reached #10 in 1961. Thomas was just 16 years old when she wrote it.
Ray Parker Jr. had to get the word "Ghostbusters" in the title when he wrote the theme song for the 1984 film, which was no easy task. When it came time to sing the title in the chorus, he brought in friends to make it a gang vocal.
Ann Peebles' "I Can't Stand The Rain" originated from a comment made by the singer to her husband, Don Bryant, when they were preparing to head out to a blues show and it began tipping down with rain.
Fagen talks about how the Steely Dan songwriting strategy has changed over the years, and explains why you don't hear many covers of their songs.
Ozzy, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and even Michael Bolton show up in this Classic Metal quiz.
The man who brought us "Red Skies" and "Saved By Zero" is now an organic farmer in France.
Franti tells the story behind his hit "Say Hey (I Love You)" and explains why yoga is an integral part of his lifestyle and his Soulshine tour.
Long before Eminem, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj created alternate personas, David Bowie, Bono, Joni Mitchell and even Hank Williams took on characters.
When he was asked to write a song for the Singles soundtrack, Mark thought the Seattle grunge scene was already overblown, so that's what he wrote about.