Kung Fu was big in 1974, with movies by Bruce Lee and a TV series called Kung Fu. Carl Douglas brought it to the dance floor that year with "Kung Fu Fighting," a #1 hit.
Gwen Stefani wrote the early No Doubt song "Just a Girl" as a message to her overprotective father.
The inspiration for Gordon Lightfoot's "Sundown" came when he was worrying about his girlfriend, who was out at bars all day while he was home writing songs.
"Islands in the Stream" was originally written by The Bee Gees as an R&B song. It was originally written by the brothers for Marvin Gaye, however it was recorded instead as a duet by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton with the Gibb Brothers also contributing vocals.
Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves had both gone through divorces when they wrote and recorded the wrenching duet "I Remember Everything." It was the first #1 Hot 100 hit for each of them.
The Four Seasons' "Walk Like a Man," released in 1963, was the first Hot 100 #1 hit with a simile in its title.
Brenda talks about the inspiration that drove her to write hit songs like "Get Here" and "Piano in the Dark," and why a lack of formal music training can be a songwriter's best asset.
How the American gangsta rappers made history by getting banned in the UK.
Was Janet secretly married at 18? Did she gain 60 pounds for a movie role that went to Mariah Carey? See what you know about Ms. Jackson.
Dokken frontman Don Dokken explains what broke up the band at the height of their success in the late '80s, and talks about the botched surgery that paralyzed his right arm.
In this talk from the '80s, the Kansas frontman talks turning to God and writing "Dust In The Wind."
He wrote "She Blinded Me With Science" so he could direct a video about a home for deranged scientists.