Paul McCartney wrote "Blackbird" in Scotland after reading about race riots in the US, triggered when federal courts forced the racial desegregation of the Arkansas capital's school system.
"This Must Be The Place" is a rare love song by the Talking Heads, with a very personal lyric from David Byrne likely inspired by the woman who became his first wife.
"Talk To Ya Later" proved the power of MTV when sales of Tubes albums picked up in markets like Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the network was available.
The only cover of "American Pie" to chart is by Madonna, whose 2000 version was a minor hit in America but went to #1 in the UK.
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.
"Cotton Eye Joe" is a folk song dating to the 1800s, but it became a hit when a Swedish act called Rednex did a psychokinetic version in 1994.
Taylor talks about "The Machine" - the hits, the videos and Clive Davis.
The outlaw country icon talks about the spiritual element of his songwriting and his Bob Dylan mention.
Chris Stein of Blondie shares photos and stories from his book about the New York City punk scene.
Some songs get a second life when they find a new audience through a movie, commercial, TV show, or even the Internet.
Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai were two of Graham's co-writers for some '80s rock classics.
The Sevendust frontman talks about the group's songwriting process, and how trips to the Murder Bar helped forge their latest album.