Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl" is about Christie Brinkley, who he married, but it started as a song about Elle McPherson, who he also went out with.
"Dark Fantasy" by Kanye West opens with a reinterpretation of Cinderella as read by Nicki Minaj.
The first #1 hit with a rap was "Rapture" by Blondie in 1980. Debbie Harry's rhymes left lots of room for improvement.
"Frankenstein" by Edgar Winter got its name because it was a monster to edit; they pieced it together like Frankenstein's monster.
The Information Society hit "What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy)" samples the voice of Leonard Nimoy (Spock) from an episode of Star Trek.
"The House Of The Rising Sun" is a traditional folk song, either about a brothel or a prison.
If the name Citizen Dick means anything to you, there's a chance you'll get some of these right.
After studying in Paris with a famous composition teacher, Charles became the most successful writer of TV theme songs.
When Dave recorded the first version of the song with his group the Blasters, producer Nick Lowe gave him some life-changing advice.
Established as a redoubtable singer-songwriter, the Men At Work frontman explains how religion, sobriety and Jack Nicholson play into his songwriting.
Kristian talks songwriting technique, like how the chorus should redefine the story, and how to write a song backwards.
A song he wrote and recorded from "sheer spiritual inspiration," Allen's didn't think "Southern Nights" had hit potential until Glen Campbell took it to #1 two years later.