The "Doctor of philosophy" in the Indigo Girls' song "Closer To Fine" is based on a teacher Emily Saliers had who had a poster of Rasputin on his door.
Andre 3000 played all the instruments on Outkast's "Hey Ya" except bass. Aaron Mills from Cameo played that.
Otis Redding often ad-libbed vocals at the end of songs, but for "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" he just whistled instead - it became some of the most famous whistling in song history.
"Diamonds From Sierra Leone" by Kanye West is about the "blood diamonds" mined using child labor in Africa. It also serves as a shout-out to Roc-A-Fella records, known for a diamond-shaped hand signal.
Neil Diamond got a big boost in 1994 when Urge Overkill's cover of his song 'Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon" was used in the movie Pulp Fiction. His catalog sales ramped up, and suddenly he was cool.
Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" was inspired by how she'd learned to deal with all the false rumors that circulated about her. She realized she could either let it get to her or "just shake it off."
For songwriters, Johnny represents the American man. He has been angry, cool, magic, a rebel and, of course, marching home.
Steppenwolf frontman John Kay talks about "Magic Carpet Ride," "Born To Be Wild," and what he values more than awards and accolades.
The evolution of the symbol that was Prince's name from 1993-2000.
Deep Purple's guitarist since 1994, Steve talks about writing songs with the band and how he puts his own spin on "Smoke On The Water."
Go beyond The Beatles to see what you know about the British Invasion.
The Stooges guitarist (and producer of the Kill City album) talks about those early recordings and what really happened with David Bowie.