Bono came up with the idea of focusing on a soldier's last thoughts as he dies from his wounds in the U2 song "White As Snow" after reading William Golding's 1956 novel Pincher Martin.
There really is a China Grove (in Texas), but Tom Johnston didn't know about it when he wrote the Doobie Brothers song.
Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" is about the commercialization of Hawaii. On her first trip to the islands, she looked out of her hotel window and saw a parking lot as far as the eye could see.
Mariah Carey and P. Diddy show up in the Mary J. Blige "No More Drama" video, since they were going through Shakespeare-level drama.
The opening lines to "Free Bird," "If I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me?" came from the girlfriend of Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Allen Collins, who asked him that question during an argument.
Carla Thomas became the first woman to achieve a Top 10 hit on the Hot 100 with a song she wrote herself when "Gee Whiz (Look At His Eyes)" reached #10 in 1961. Thomas was just 16 years old when she wrote it.
Prince is shrouded in mystery, making him an excellent candidate for Fact or Fiction. Is he really a Scientologist? Does he own an exotic animal?
Many unusual folks appear in Grateful Dead songs. Can you identify them?
Glen Ballard talks about co-writing and producing Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill album, and his work with Dave Matthews, Aerosmith and Annie Lennox.
A band so baffling, even their names were contrived. Check your score in the Ramones version of Fact or Fiction.
The Def Leppard frontman talks about their "lamentable" hit he never thought of as a single, and why he's juiced by his Mott The Hoople cover band.
The longtime BS&T frontman tells the "Spinning Wheel" story, including the line he got from Joni Mitchell.