"London Calling" by The Clash was written amid widespread fears that the Thames River was going to flood the city.
The Mission: Impossible theme is in 5/4 time. Composer Lalo Schifrin joked that he did it so 5-legged aliens could dance to it.
Pat Benatar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" was written by a guy named Eddie after going through a weird therapy session where he punched pillows to get out his aggressions.
Mickey Mantle and John Madden both appear in the video for "Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard" by Paul Simon. Biz Markie and Big Daddy Kane do a rap intro.
45% of the royalties for "Somebody That I Used To Know" go to the estate of the Brazilian classical guitarist Luiz Bonfá, whose song "Seville" Gotye sampled.
The TV show Cheers was nearly canceled after its first season, but the theme song, "Where Everybody Knows Your Name," was very popular. To satisfy viewer demand, the theme was made into a full song and released as a single.
Tim and his brother Richard are the Furs' foundation; Tim explains how they write and tells the story of "Pretty In Pink."
Known in America for the hit "If You Leave," OMD is a huge influence on modern electronic music.
The renown rock singer talks about "The House of the Rising Sun" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood."
She thinks of herself as a "song interpreter," but back in the '80s another country star convinced Emmylou to take a crack at songwriting.
The renown Texas songwriter has been at it for 40 years, with tales to tell about The Flatlanders and The Clash - that's Joe's Tex-Mex on "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"
Rob Halford dives into some of his Judas Priest lyrics, talking about his most personal songs and the message behind "You've Got Another Thing Comin'."