"Dark Fantasy" by Kanye West opens with a reinterpretation of Cinderella as read by Nicky Minaj.
"Brad Paisley's "River Bank" was inspired by his childhood growing up 500 yards from the Ohio River.
The line in John Mellencamp's "Cherry Bomb" that sounds like "that's when a smoke was a smoke" is actually "that's when a sport was a sport," according to the published lyric. In that sense, "sport" is an endearment for someone of good nature.
"Tush" doesn't have to refer to anatomy, according to ZZ Top. It's a word that also means "lavish."
"Livin' La Vida Loca" is a Latin pop landmark, but "la vida loca" are the only Spanish words in the lyric - "mocha" is English.
Johnny Cash's wife, June Carter, wrote "Ring Of Fire" about their relationship.
A big list of musical marriages and family relations ranging from the simple to the truly dysfunctional.
Billy Joel and Hall & Oates hated making videos, so they chose a director with similar contempt for the medium. That was Jay Dubin, and he has a lot to say on the subject.
Julian tells the stories behind his hits "Valotte" and "Too Late for Goodbyes," and fills us in on his many non-musical pursuits. Also: what MTV meant to his career.
Songs where something goes horribly wrong (literally or metaphorically), and help is needed right away.
Songwriting Hall of Famer Linda Perry talks about her songs "What's Up" and "Beautiful," her songwriting process, and her move into film music.
Who writes a song about a name they found in a phone book? That's just one of the everyday things these guys find to sing about. Anything in their field of vision or general scope of knowledge is fair game. If you cross paths with them, so are you.