Mike Nesmith wrote Linda Ronstadt's first hit, "Different Drum," before he joined The Monkees. He played an intentionally bad version of it on the show.
In "I Walk The Line," Johnny Cash hums before each verse. He did this to get his pitch, as the song changes key several times.
Phil Collins' "I Missed Again" was originally "I Miss You, Babe," and was a very somber song about his recent divorce. Collins decided to lighten it up and inject some humor into the song.
The title of the Metallica song "Ride The Lightning" came from a line in the Stephen King book The Stand where a guy is about to be executed.
In Gary Numan's "Cars," the message is that cars lead to a mechanical society devoid of personal interaction. This didn't stop automakers from using it in commercials. Both Nissan and Oldsmobile have used it in ads.
The song "Sadeness" by Enigma (the one with the chanting monks), got its name from the French novelist Marquis de Sade, who believed sex had to be painful in order to be pleasurable - thus the word "sadism."
Producer Rupert Hine talks about crafting hits for Tina Turner, Howard Jones and The Fixx.
The renown rock singer talks about "The House of the Rising Sun" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood."
The "Midnight At The Oasis" singer is an Old Time gal. She talks about her jug band beginnings and shares a Dylan story.
Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.
The lead singer/lyricist of The Beach Boys talks about coming up with the words for "Good Vibrations," "Fun, Fun, Fun," "Kokomo" and other classic songs.
Genesis' key-man re-examines his solo career and the early days of music video.
