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Some songwriters know the secret to creating a catchy American standard. Irving Berlin was in on the gig. So was Cole Porter. And Rodgers & Hammerstein. Wander through this magical site, and you might slip an entertainment empire onto the list, too: the Walt Disney Company. In one visit to this blog devoted to covers of Disney songs, we listened to Usher's rendition of a "Tarzan" tune, Jimmy Cliff's take on "The Lion King," The Supremes revisiting "Pinocchio," and Bobby McFerrin's version of that magical "Cinderella" melody, "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo." Put it together and what have you got? Bibbidi-bobbidi-wonderful. The mouse's oeuvre has inspired artists of every musical stripe, from Louis Armstrong to Tom Waits. The site's only been around since July, but it's already drawn guest contributions from fantastic audio bloggers. As another source of classic American tunes would say, "'S marvelous."

Since the dawn of recorded music—or at least since the rise of impish rock stars—musicians have tucked secret songs into corners of their albums. There these buried beauties lurk, waiting to startle unsuspecting listeners. Anyone familiar with the work of They Might Be Giants knows what we're talking about.

For a long time, this hidden-track trickery slipped by without any documentation. But then, HiddenSongs.com hove into view. This inventory of melodic deception not only catalogs the secret sounds, but tells you exactly how to find them on the album.

We reviewed HiddenSongs back in 2004. Now, we check in with Erik, the man behind the site, to see what inspired him to build the encyclopedia of concealed tunes...

Do you remember the first time you heard an unexpected tune on an album? Is that what inspired you to start the site?

It was probably "Endless, Nameless" by Nirvana, off "Nevermind." That was right around the time that CDs were taking over tapes, and not all CD pressings of "Nevermind" had the track. Between that and Nirvana's hidden track from the "No Alternative" compilation, I sort of developed a weird fascination with the idea that there was a... bonus for people who listened all the way through an album. I started making compilations for myself so that I could listen to the songs easily, and figured it only made sense to catalog what I found about each song.  Read the full profile...