In Meat Loaf's "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)" what he won't do is a list of six items in the lyrics, including "Forget the way you feel right now" and "Be screwing around."
A gospel choir appears in Sam Smith's "Stay With Me" video, but the vocals on the song are all Smith - about 20 tracks of his voice were used to make him sound like a chorus.
"Oh Happy Day" was recorded in a church and sold to raise money for the choir. It's the only genuine gospel song to become a pop hit.
"Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" is about a guy Jim Croce met in the National Guard, which Jim joined to keep him out of Vietnam. Leroy went AWOL, but got caught when he tried to pick up his paycheck.
The third verse of "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies ("they shook and lurched all over the church floor...") was inspired by girl whose parents would speak in tongues at their Pentecostal service.
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."
Edie Brickell on her collaborations with Paul Simon, Steve Martin and Willie Nelson, and her 2021 album with the New Bohemians.
Justin wrote the classic "Nights In White Satin," but his fondest musical memories are from a different decade.
Rufus Wainwright on "Hallelujah," his album Unfollow The Rules, and getting into his "lyric trance" on 12-hour walks.
Writing with Phil Lynott, Scott saw their ill-fated frontman move to a darker place in his life and lyrics.
Dean's saga began with "Ariel," a song about falling in love with a Jewish girl from New Jersey.
Known in America for the hit "If You Leave," OMD is a huge influence on modern electronic music.