An unknown Kesha (known then as Ke$ha) sang on Flo-Rida's #1 hit "Right Round," but refused to appear in the video because she wanted to make a name for herself.
Meghan Trainor and her producer Kevin Kadish wrote "All About That Bass" for another artist to record, but after Epic Records boss LA Reid heard Meghan play a demo of the song on a ukulele, he signed her to his label and told her she should sing it.
"No Scrubs" introduced the term "scrub" to the popular lexicon, and defined it in the opening lines ("a scrub is a guy that think he's fine...").
"Kokomo" gave The Beach Boys their first #1 hit in 22 years. They picked the title because it sounded tropical.
"I Wish" by Skee-Lo was the first hit song to use the word "baller" in the chorus ("I wish I was a baller..."). That term pervaded pop music over the next several year.
Sarah McLachlan's "Possession" contains passages from letters a stalker sent her. He sued her for using them but died by suicide before the trial.
Rob Halford dives into some of his Judas Priest lyrics, talking about his most personal songs and the message behind "You've Got Another Thing Comin'."
Dokken frontman Don Dokken explains what broke up the band at the height of their success in the late '80s, and talks about the botched surgery that paralyzed his right arm.
U2, Carly Simon, Joanna Newsom, Brian Wilson and Fiona Apple have all gone to Van Dyke Parks to make their songs exceptional.
Jon Anderson breaks down the Yes classic "Seen All Good People" and talks about his 1000 Hands album, which features Chick Corea, Rick Derringer, Ian Anderson, and many other luminaries.
The first of Billy's five #1 hits was the song that propelled Madonna to stardom. You'd think that would get you a backstage pass, wouldn't you?
"I'll Be" was what Edwin called his "Hail Mary" song. He says it proves "intention of the songwriter is 180 degrees from potential interpretation by an audience."