The Red Hot Chili Peppers' biggest hit is "Under The Bridge," a ballad not typical of their sound. Frontman Anthony Kiedis wrote the lyric after an acute bout of loneliness.
Songwriter Wayne Carson came up with "Always On My Mind" on the phone to his wife when he was apologizing to her for being stuck at the office.
In The Band song "The Weight," Nazareth ("Went down to Nazareth") refers to a town in Pennsylvania where the Martin Guitar company was located.
"Paranoid" reflects a feeling Black Sabbath bass player Geezer Butler often felt after using drugs.
"Rockin' In The Free World" is a very pro-America title, but the song takes on politicians who are indifferent to the poor and disenfranchised.
The kid in Madonna's "Open Your Heart" video became a successful songwriter. His songs include Amy Winehouse's "You Sent Me Flying" and James Blunt's "1973."
The king of Christian worship music explains talks about writing songs for troubled times.
Writing great prog metal isn't easy, especially when it's for 60 musicians.
"Missing You" was a spontaneous outpouring of emotion triggered by a phone call. John tells that story and explains what MTV meant to his career.
Nick made some of the biggest videos on MTV, including "The Final Countdown," "Heaven" and "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)."
Nirvana, Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen are among those who wrote songs with cities that show up in this quiz.
The guitarist/songwriter explains how he came up with his signature sound, and deconstructs some classic Fear Factory songs.