Rihanna's 2012 hit "Diamonds" was written by Sia Furler, who two years later had a huge hit on her own with "Chandelier." Sia also wrote the David Guetta hit "Titanium."
Robin Thicke had a #1 hit with "Blurred Lines" in 2013, but he wasn't the first in his family with a hit song. His mom, Gloria Loring, was a singer who had a hit in 1986 with "Friends And Lovers," a duet with Carl Anderson.
"Think As You Drunk" by Riley Green is based on a scene in the show Reno 911! where a guy gets pulled over and starts dancing (quite well) during his sobriety test. When the cop asks if he's a dancer, he says, "No, I'm just drunk." Green found it hilarious.
"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" is based on billboards John Lennon and Yoko Ono posted two years earlier declaring "War Is Over! If You Want It."
The White Stripes song "We're Going To Be Friends" is very innocent, but Jack White feared it would be interpreted cynically. It wasn't, and was even adapted into a children's book.
An Allen Ginsberg line from his poem Howl inspired "Machinehead" by Bush: "Machine says I saw the best minds of my generation."
Was a Beatles song a TV theme? And who came up with those Fresh Prince and Sopranos songs?
Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz on where the term "new wave" originated, the story of "Naive Melody," and why they never recorded another cover song after "Take Me To The River."
Martyn talks about producing Tina Turner, some Heaven 17 hits, and his work with the British Electric Foundation.
It started with a bouncy MTV classic. Nirvana and MCR made them scary, then Gwen, Avril and Madonna put on the pom poms.
The Bush frontman on where he finds inspiration for lyrics, if his "machine head" is a guitar tuner, and the stories behind songs from the album The Kingdom.
When you have a song called "Fire," it's tempting to set one - these guys did.