The Texas songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker wrote "Mr. Bojangles" after a weekend in jail where a fellow inmate told him his life story.
"In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" was supposed to be titled "In The Garden Of Eden," but someone in the studio wrote down the title phonetically, and it stuck.
Al Gore chose an inspiring but obscure campaign song when he ran for president in 2000: "Let The Day Begin" by The Call.
The longest-running #1 US hit for a member of the Jackson family is Janet's "That's The Way Love Goes," with eight weeks on top.
David Gilmour really was "Learning To Fly" when he co-wrote the Pink Floyd song - the aviation jargon came from his lessons.
"Personal Jesus," a song about "being a Jesus for somebody else," was inspired by Elvis and Priscilla Presley.
Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai were two of Graham's co-writers for some '80s rock classics.
The frontman for one of Canada's most well-known punk rock bands talks about his Eddie Vedder encounter, Billy Talent's new album, and the importance of rock and roll.
Bowie's "activist" days of 1964 led to Ziggy Stardust.
Inspired by his dear friend, "Seasons in the Sun" paid for Terry's boat, which led him away from music and into a battle with Canadian paper mills.
Nick made some of the biggest videos on MTV, including "The Final Countdown," "Heaven" and "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)."
Armed with a childhood spent devouring books, Mike Scott's heart was stolen by the punk rock scene of 1977. Not surprisingly, he would go on to become the most literate of rockers.
