Debbie Gibson was 17 years old when "Foolish Beat" topped the Hot 100. This gave her the honor of becoming the youngest artist ever to write, perform, and produce a #1 single.
Madonna's hit "Don't Tell Me" was written by her brother-in-law, Joe Henry, who has produced albums by Hugh Laurie and Bonnie Raitt.
Ozzy Osbourne's "Shot In The Dark" is titled after a Pink Panther movie.
In Meat Loaf's "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)" what he won't do is a list of six items in the lyrics, including "Forget the way you feel right now" and "Be screwing around."
Willa Ford came up with her hit "I Wanna Be Bad" when her record company told her to tone down her music in a effort to differentiate her from Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, who were in their "bad girl" eras.
The first Good Charlotte hit, "Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous," is a send-up of celebrity culture, but the group's leaders, Joel and Benji Madden, both married celebrities: Nicole Richie and Cameron Diaz, respectively.
Dan cracked the Top 40 with "Ritual," then went to India and spent 2 hours with the Dalai Lama.
The lead singer/lyricist for Anberlin breaks down "Impossible" and covers some tracks from their 2012 album Vital.
Was a Beatles song a TV theme? And who came up with those Fresh Prince and Sopranos songs?
The guy who brought us "Stacy's Mom" also wrote the Jane Lynch Emmy song and Stephen Colbert's Christmas songs.
Eddie (played by Johnny Depp in the video) found fame fleeting, but Chuck Berry's made-up musician fared better.
Andrew Farriss on writing with Michael Hutchence, the stories behind "Mystify" and other INXS hits, and his country-flavored debut solo album.