There really is a Girl From Ipanema. Her name is Helo Pinheiro, and she would walk "Like a samba" past the bar the songwriters frequented, providing the inspiration.
Before she was famous, Lady Gaga was a staff songwriter, and wrote the song "Quicksand," which Britney Spears recorded in 2008.
The chorus of "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir" in "Lady Marmalade" is French for "Do you want to sleep with me tonight?" When Labelle performed it on television, they had to change it to "Voulez-vous danser avec moi ce soir" (Do you want to dance with me tonight?).
Robert Plant's "Heaven Knows" is a satirical look at the '80s, when style seemed to trump substance.
James Brown's "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" was the first Hot 100 hit with the word "sex" in the title.
Neil Diamond got a big boost in 1994 when Urge Overkill's cover of his song 'Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon" was used in the movie Pulp Fiction. His catalog sales ramped up, and suddenly he was cool.
His song "Into The Night" is one of the most-played of all time. For Benny, it took him to hell and back.
The Guns N' Roses rhythm guitarist in the early '90s, Gilby talks about the band's implosion and the side projects it spawned.
U2, Carly Simon, Joanna Newsom, Brian Wilson and Fiona Apple have all gone to Van Dyke Parks to make their songs exceptional.
It wasn't her biggest hit as a songwriter (that would be "Bette Davis Eyes"), but "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" had a family connection for Jackie.
Bob was the bass player and lyricist for the first two Ozzy Osbourne albums. Here's how he wrote songs like "Crazy Train" and "Mr. Crowley" with Ozzy and Randy Rhoads.
An interview with Dr. John Covach, music professor at the University of Rochester whose free online courses have become wildly popular.
