"Bittersweet Symphony" by The Verve samples an obscure orchestral arrangement of the 1965 Rolling Stones song "The Last Time." The Verve had to sign away most of the royalties before they could release the song.
Justin Timberlake originally wrote "Gone" for Michael Jackson, but his team turned it down, so 'N Sync cut it instead.
"Zombie" by The Cranberries is about a 1993 IRA bombing in England that killed two children.
New Order got the title for "Blue Monday" from an illustration that read "Goodbye Blue Monday" in the Kurt Vonnegut book Breakfast Of Champions. The image refers to the invention of the washing machine improving housewives' lives.
The first single from the Thriller album was "The Girl Is Mine," chosen over "Billie Jean" and "Beat It" because it was a duet with Paul McCartney and thus guaranteed airplay.
Johnny Cash's wife, June Carter, wrote "Ring Of Fire" about their relationship.
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.
A top New York studio musician, Ralph played guitar on many '60s hits, including "Lightnin' Strikes," "A Lover's Concerto" and "I Am A Rock."
The rock revolutionist on songwriting, quitting smoking, and what she thinks of Rush Limbaugh using her song.
Laura Nyro talks about her complex, emotionally rich songwriting and how she supports women's culture through her art.
Was a Beatles song a TV theme? And who came up with those Fresh Prince and Sopranos songs?
In this quiz, spot the artist who put Romeo into a song lyric.