Neil Diamond originally wrote "I'm A Believer" for the Country artist Eddy Arnold. He was surprised when record executive Don Kirshner passed it instead to The Monkees.
Elton John had a huge hit duetting with Kiki Dee on "Don't Go Breaking My Heart," but he's also performed it with RuPaul and Miss Piggy.
"Mickey" by Toni Basil was originally a song called "Kitty" by a male group. She picked the new name after Micky Dolenz of The Monkees.
Christina Aguilera did her "Beautiful" vocal in one take; the opening line, "Don't look at me," is something she said to her friend in the studio who was there to offer support.
The Information Society hit "What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy)" samples the voice of Leonard Nimoy (Spock) from an episode of Star Trek.
The "Ms. Jackson" in the OutKast song is Erykah Badu's mother. Andre 3000 had a child with Badu, and felt she was portraying him as a lousy dad.
The man who created Yacht Rock with "Sailing" wrote one of his biggest hits while on acid.
A popular contemporary folk singer, Williams still remembers the sticky note that changed her life in college.
When you have a song called "Fire," it's tempting to set one - these guys did.
Billy Joel and Hall & Oates hated making videos, so they chose a director with similar contempt for the medium. That was Jay Dubin, and he has a lot to say on the subject.
The Celtic music maker Loreena McKennitt on finding musical inspiration, the "New Age" label, and working on the movie Tinker Bell.