Neil Young was married when he wrote "Cinnamon Girl," which clearly was not about his wife. He had a hard time explaining it to her.
Michael McDonald's "I Keep Forgettin'" is based on a '60s song with the same title written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.
Blur's "There Are Too Many of Us" was inspired in part by a siege in an Australian chocolate café that Damon Albarn witnessed, which resulted in the death of the gunman and two hostages.
Paul McCartney's favorite song that he wrote for someone else is Cilla Black's 1968 UK Top 10 hit "Step Inside Love."
The idea for "The Man Comes Around" came to Johnny Cash from a dream he had where he was in Buckingham Palace and the Queen said to him, "Johnny Cash, you're just like a thorn tree in a whirlwind."
Jack & Diane started off as an interracial couple; Mellencamp took race references out of the song at the request of his record company.
Tyler talks about his true love: songwriting. How he identifies the beauty in a melody and turns sorrow into art.
Kristian talks songwriting technique, like how the chorus should redefine the story, and how to write a song backwards.
The longtime bassist of Earth, Wind & Fire discusses how his band came to do a holiday album, and offers insight into some of the greatest dance/soul tunes of all-time.
The Celtic music maker Loreena McKennitt on finding musical inspiration, the "New Age" label, and working on the movie Tinker Bell.
Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai were two of Graham's co-writers for some '80s rock classics.
The Cult frontman tells who the "Fire Woman" is, and talks about performing with the new version of The Doors.