The "Doctor of philosophy" in the Indigo Girls' song "Closer To Fine" is based on a teacher Emily Saliers had who had a poster of Rasputin on his door.
Justin Timberlake originally wrote "Gone" for Michael Jackson, but his team turned it down, so 'N Sync cut it instead.
Neither Peter Frampton nor Lynyrd Skynyrd ever had a #1 hit, but when Will To Power mashed up their songs "Baby, I Love Your Way" and "Free Bird" into a lite-rock medley in 1988, it hit the top spot.
Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" is about the commercialization of Hawaii. On her first trip to the islands, she looked out of her hotel window and saw a parking lot as far as the eye could see.
Foreigner got the title for "Double Vision" after watching a hockey game where goalie John Davidson got a concussion. It was announced over the PA system that he was suffering from "Double Vision."
"Fight The Power" was written for the Spike Lee movie Do The Right Thing. It opens the film and serves as the motif.
Was a Beatles song a TV theme? And who came up with those Fresh Prince and Sopranos songs?
We've heard of artists putting their hearts into their music, but some take it literally.
On the "schizoid element" of his lyrics, and a famous line from "Everything Zen."
The Winger frontman reveals the Led Zeppelin song he cribbed for "Seventeen," and explains how his passion for orchestra music informs his songwriting.
Some songs get a second life when they find a new audience through a movie, commercial, TV show, or even the Internet.
Medley looks back on "Unchained Melody" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" - his huge hits from the '60s that were later revived in movies.