Paul McCartney based the "Eleanor Rigby" story on old ladies he met at his housing estate. He saw how sometimes when they died, nobody really noticed.
Avril Lavigne's 2011 song "Darlin" was written much earlier; she says it's the second song she ever wrote, composed when she was an unsigned 15-year-old living in Napanee, Ontario. The song reflects those years when she was "trying to figure it all out."
Katy Perry's "Dark Horse" was co-written by Sarah Hudson, who was a member of the pop group Ultraviolet Sound. Though Sarah isn't related to Katy (whose real name is Katy Hudson), she is the first cousin of another famous person with the same name, the actress Kate Hudson.
Train wrote the 2011 song "Brand New Book" for the TV show The Biggest Loser - part of the song was used in the opening credits.
One of the moodiest hits of the '90s is "Creep" by Radiohead. It was the group's first single, and to their dismay, it became their biggest hit - it wasn't the song they wanted to be known for.
The video for "Informer" by Snow that ran on MTV was subtitled so viewers could understand what he was saying.
On Glen's résumé: hit songwriter, Facebook dominator, and member of Styx.
The writer of "Rainy Night in Georgia" and "Polk Salad Annie" explains how he cooks up his Louisiana swamp rock.
Evelyn McDonnell, editor of the book Women Who Rock, on why the Supremes are just as important as Bob Dylan.
How a gym teacher, a janitor, and a junkie became part of some very famous band names.
Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai were two of Graham's co-writers for some '80s rock classics.
Was Justin the first to be Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher? Did Britney really blame him for her meltdown? Did his bandmates think he was gay?