Neil Young later apologized for "Southern Man," calling it "accusatory and condescending" in its portrayal of the American South.
The Strokes admitted to purloining Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' "American Girl" for their hit "Last Nite."
The game Lana Del Rey sings about in "Video Games" is World of Warcraft - her ex used to play it all the time.
Katmandu, the capital of Nepal, was the archetype for faraway mysticism when Bob Seger wrote a song about it in 1975.
The rockabilly sound was big in the late 1950s, when Buddy Holly was popular. One of the biggest hits in that genre was the #1 "Party Doll" by Buddy Knox, which used a cardboard box filled with cotton as the drums.
The Hollies hit "The Air That I Breathe" was written in part as a reaction to the smog in Los Angeles.
A big list of musical marriages and family relations ranging from the simple to the truly dysfunctional.
Petula talks about her hits "Downtown" and "Don't Sleep In The Subway," and explains her Michael Jackson connection.
Rufus Wainwright on "Hallelujah," his album Unfollow The Rules, and getting into his "lyric trance" on 12-hour walks.
The top chant artist in the Western world, Krishna Das talks about how these Hindu mantras compare to Christian worship songs.
The man who created Yacht Rock with "Sailing" wrote one of his biggest hits while on acid.
Toto's keyboard player explains the true meaning of "Africa" and talks about working on the Thriller album.