Ellie Goulding's hit single "Burn" was originally demoed by Leona Lewis for her 2011 Glassheart album. She scrapped the tune when the project was retooled to include more ballads.
Prince released "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World" on his own label to prove he could generate a hit song whenever he wanted. He made his point: It was a big hit around the world.
The guys from Chic wrote "Le Freak" as a message to a doorman who wouldn't let them into a club. Originally, it was "F--- Off."
"Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen was the song of the summer in 2012 and a major meme. It got some help from her fellow Canadian Justin Bieber, who tweeted that it was "possibly the catchiest song I've ever heard."
Adam Levine of Maroon 5 made it obvious who their song "This Love" was about when he named the album "Songs About Jane."
"Burning Down The House" by Talking Heads was inspired by chant band members heard at a P-Funk show where the crowd yelled, "burn down the house... burn down the house."
Gary Lewis and the Playboys had seven Top 10 hits despite competition from The Beatles. Gary talks about the hits, his famous father, and getting drafted.
In her days with The Runaways, Joan Jett saw The Arrows perform "I Love Rock And Roll," which Alan Merrill co-wrote - that story and much more from this glam rock pioneer.
Into the vaults for this talk with Bolton from the '80s when he was a focused on writing songs for other artists.
Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai were two of Graham's co-writers for some '80s rock classics.
The lead singer and pianist for Procol Harum, Gary talks about finding the musical ideas to match the words.
Keyboard great David Sancious talks about his work with Sting, Seal, Springsteen, Clapton and Aretha, and explains what quantum physics has to do with making music.