Dan Tyminski, the singer on Avicii's "Hey Brother" is the same guy who sang lead vocal on "A Man Of Constant Sorrow" in the movie O’ Brother, Where Art Thou.
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.
The Goo Goo Dolls got the title for their song "Iris" from a country singer named Iris DeMent. The word doesn't show up in the lyric; lead singer Johnny Rzeznik said he was "trying to be pretentious and arty by calling it that."
"Killing An Arab" by The Cure was inspired by Albert Camus' book The Stranger.
The CCR song "Run Through the Jungle" is about gun control.
Thanks to the line "shake it like a Polaroid picture," Outkast's "Hey Ya!" made Polaroid cameras cool again. Many other artists have since mentioned Polaroid in their lyrics, including Eminem, Imagine Dragons, Keith Urban, Gorillaz and Tim McGraw.
Rick Astley on "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Cry For Help," and his remarkable resurgence that gave him another #1 UK album.
Long before Eminem, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj created alternate personas, David Bowie, Bono, Joni Mitchell and even Hank Williams took on characters.
Meshell Ndegeocello talks about recording "Wild Night" with John Mellencamp, and explains why she shied away from the spotlight.
The lead singer and pianist for Procol Harum, Gary talks about finding the musical ideas to match the words.
Lyrics don't always follow the rules of grammar. Can you spot the ones that don't?
One of Canada's most popular and eclectic performers, Hawksley tells stories about his oldest songs, his plentiful side projects, and the ways that he keeps his songwriting fresh.