"Take On Me" was just a minor hit in Norway until a new version was released with the iconic video, making it a global smash.
The Kenny G instrumental "Songbird" owes much of its success to VH1, which launched a year earlier and played the video to death.
An unexpected guest vocal: Marianne Faithfull on the Metallica song "The Memory Remains." A star in the '60s, this collaboration helped revive her career.
The actress Michelle Pfeiffer gets namechecked in the 2014 megahit "Uptown Funk" ("Michelle Pfeiffer, that white gold"). When it was released, "Riptide" by Vance Joy was on the charts; that song also mentions her ("Closest thing to Michelle Pfeiffer that you've ever seen").
The biggest hit of 2015 was "Uptown Funk," a collaboration between Bruno Mars and guitarist/producer Mark Ronson. Ronson says making it took "six or seven months of chasing Bruno around on tour."
Lil Wayne does an unlikely rap in a remix of the Joe Jonas song "Just In Love." The pair met at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards.
Billie Jean, Delilah, Sara, Laura and Sharona - do you know who the girls in the songs really are?
Fagen talks about how the Steely Dan songwriting strategy has changed over the years, and explains why you don't hear many covers of their songs.
The author of Help! 100 Songwriting, Recording And Career Tips Used By The Beatles, explains how the group crafted their choruses so effectively.
Petula talks about her hits "Downtown" and "Don't Sleep In The Subway," and explains her Michael Jackson connection.
Michelob commercials generated hits for Eric Clapton, Genesis and Steve Winwood in the '80s, even as some of these rockers were fighting alcoholism.
With the rise of Kindie rock, more musicians are embracing their inner child with tunes for tots - here, we look at pop stars who recorded kids' albums.