Ronnie Van Zant wrote the Lynyrd Skynyrd classic "Gimme Three Steps" after making the mistake of dancing with a girl whose boyfriend was in the bar and probably had a gun. He asked for a 3-step head start.
"Back In The U.S.S.R." by The Beatles was play on "California Girls" by The Beach Boys, with "Moscow girls" and "Ukraine girls" instead of the all-American girls.
"Truckin'" was written as the Grateful Dead were starting their long, strange trip, settling into a life of constant touring. They rode busses and holed up in modest hotels to stay grounded.
Beck's "Where It's At" is a nod to the early years of hip-hop, when DJs would use two turntable to loop drum breaks, and a microphone to hype the crowd.
The Mary J. Blige song "No More Drama" samples the theme to the appropriately dramatic soap opera The Young And The Restless.
"Crank That (Soulja Boy)" was the most successful digital track of 2007 in the US with 2,909,000 downloads. On January 6, 2008 it became the first song ever to sell 3 million digital copies in the States.
The head of Drake's estate shares his insights on the late folk singer's life and music.
Starting in Virginia City, Nevada and rippling out to the Haight-Ashbury, LSD reshaped popular music.
Brenda talks about the inspiration that drove her to write hit songs like "Get Here" and "Piano in the Dark," and why a lack of formal music training can be a songwriter's best asset.
Petula talks about her hits "Downtown" and "Don't Sleep In The Subway," and explains her Michael Jackson connection.
Here is the church, here is the steeple - see if you can identify these lyrics that reference church.
Did Eric Clapton really write "Cocaine" while on cocaine? This question and more in the Clapton edition of Fact or Fiction.