Jeff Lynne sang the word "groose" in the chorus of "Don't Bring Me Down" as a nonsense placeholder, but left it in when he found out it means "greetings" in German ("gruss").
Richard Marx' debut single "Don't Mean Nothing" features Joe Walsh on guitar.
The first female rapper to perform on a #1 hit? Surprisingly, it's Lil' Kim with the 2001 remake of "Lady Marmalade" for the movie Moulin Rouge. She was was joined on the track by Christina Aguilera, Missy Elliott, Pink and Mya.
Before launching his career as a singer, Bruno Mars was a writer/producer. He and his co-writers pitched "Just The Way You Are" to Cee-Lo Green; when he turned it down, Bruno recorded it himself and released it in 2010 as his first single as a lead artist.
The Pretenders are named after the 1956 song "The Great Pretender" by The Platters.
The voice is that says "here we go" in the AJR song "Bang!" belongs to Charlie Pellett, the announcer on the New York City subway ("stand clear of the closing doors, please").
Guitarist Tony Iommi on the "Iron Man" riff, the definitive Black Sabbath song, and how Ozzy and Dio compared as songwriters.
He wrote "She Blinded Me With Science" so he could direct a video about a home for deranged scientists.
Just how much did these monsters of rock dabble in the occult?
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.
The longtime BS&T frontman tells the "Spinning Wheel" story, including the line he got from Joni Mitchell.
Chris Stein of Blondie shares photos and stories from his book about the New York City punk scene.