ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson conceived "Dancing Queen" as a dance song with the working title "Boogaloo," drawing inspiration from the 1974 George McCrae disco hit "Rock Your Baby." Their manager Stig Anderson came up with the title "Dancing Queen."
Ronnie Van Zant wrote the Lynyrd Skynyrd classic "Gimme Three Steps" after making the mistake of dancing with a girl whose boyfriend was in the bar and probably had a gun. He asked for a 3-step head start.
When "When I Think of You" hit #1, Janet and Michael Jackson became the first siblings with chart topping solo hits in the United States.
k.d. lang is a credited writer on the Rolling Stones song "Anybody Seen My Baby?" because it sounds so much like her hit "Constant Craving."
The Simon & Garfunkel song "Mrs. Robinson" was originally called "Mrs. Roosevelt," most likely after First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The title was changed when it was considered for use in the film The Graduate, where Anne Bancroft's character is Mrs. Robinson.
"Jessie's Girl" was the #1 song in America when MTV went on the air. They put it in hot rotation right away, making the song even more popular.
Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.
Before he was the champ, Ali released an album called I Am The Greatest!, but his musical influence is best heard in the songs he inspired.
Billie Jean, Delilah, Sara, Laura and Sharona - do you know who the girls in the songs really are?
Rick has a surprising dark side, a strong feminine side and, in a certain TV show, a naked backside. But he still hasn't found Jessie's Girl.
"Dead Skunk" became a stinker for Loudon when he felt pressure to make another hit - his latest songs deal with mortality, his son Rufus, and picking up poop.
Kristian talks songwriting technique, like how the chorus should redefine the story, and how to write a song backwards.