The Genesis song "Invisible Touch" was inspired by the Prince-written Sheila E. track "The Glamorous Life."
A perfume called Wonderstruck was named after a line in Taylor Swift's song "Enchanted": "I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home."
The Simpsons theme song was composed by Danny Elfman, who went on to write music for films like Edward Scissorhands and Men In Black. He had a band at the time called Oingo Boingo, which did the theme song to the 1985 movie Weird Science.
Irving Berlin, who wrote "God Bless America," said it was "not a patriotic song, but rather an expression of gratitude."
"Teardrop" by Massive Attack has vocals by Elizabeth Fraser of The Cocteau Twins, who wrote the lyric after learning that Jeff Buckley had died.
"Should I Stay or Should I Go?" by The Clash features some Spanish lines ("esta indecisión me molesta!") by the Texas singer Joe Ely.
The former Dead Kennedys frontman on the past, present and future of the band, what music makes us "pliant and stupid," and what he learned from Alice Cooper.
The leader of the Modern A Cappella movement talks about the genre.
Since emerging from MySpace with her hit "Bubbly," Colbie has become a top songwriter, even crafting a hit with Taylor Swift.
It took him seven years to recover from his American hit "Fool (If You Think It's Over)," but Chris Rea became one of the top singer-songwriters in his native UK.
The Stooges guitarist (and producer of the Kill City album) talks about those early recordings and what really happened with David Bowie.
The revered singer-songwriter talks inspiration and explains why she put a mahout in "Drop the Pilot."