John Lennon wrote "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill" about Richard Cooke, a hunter he met at the Maharishi's camp in India. Cooke hasn't shot anything since the camp, except with his camera - he became a freelance photographer for National Geographic.
"Soul Man" was a new term when the song was written in 1967. As defined by Sam & Dave, the "soul man" was a farmer "comin' to ya on a dusty road."
The voice is that says "here we go" in the AJR song "Bang!" belongs to Charlie Pellett, the announcer on the New York City subway ("stand clear of the closing doors, please").
The Starland Vocal Band got the title "Afternoon Delight" from the late-afternoon appetizer menu at the restaurant Clyde's Of Georgetown in Washington, DC.
"Sloop John B" is a traditional West Indian folk song, and it was a huge hit for The Beach Boys in 1966. They tweaked the lyric, "This is the worst trip since I've been born" to "...I've ever been on" as a wink to acid culture.
The Isley Brother's song, "Contagious," peaked at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100. This meant that the band of brothers became the first group to score a Top 50 hit in six consecutive decades on the chart.
Justin wrote the classic "Nights In White Satin," but his fondest musical memories are from a different decade.
"Great songwriters don't necessarily have hit songs," says Chris. He's written a bunch, but his fans are more interested in the intricate jams.
Does he have beef with Gaga? Is he Sean Lennon's godfather? See if you can tell fact from fiction in the Elton John edition.
Greg talks about writing songs of "universal truth" for King Crimson and ELP, and tells us about his most memorable stage moment (it involves fireworks).
The king of Christian worship music explains talks about writing songs for troubled times.
A scholarly analysis of yacht rock favorites ("Steal Away," "Baker Street"...) with a member of the leading YR cover band.
