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.
Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons of Kiss wrote "Rock And Roll All Nite" as a "rallying cry for all of our fans." In later years, members of Kiss wrote songs separately.
The Nicolette Larson hit "Lotta Love" was written by Neil Young, who recorded a very different version of the song.
R.E.M. got the title "Shiny Happy People" from a Chinese propaganda poster.
Scott Stapp of Creed wrote "With Arms Wide Open" when he found out he was going to be a dad. He named his son Jagger.
The voice of Waldo in Van Halen's "Hot For Teacher" video was the late Phil Hartman of Saturday Night Live Fame.
Shears does very little promotion, which has kept him secluded from the spotlight. What changed when Cyndi Lauper had a hit with his song? Not much, really.
On Glen's résumé: hit songwriter, Facebook dominator, and member of Styx.
A founding member of the band War, Harold gives a first-person account of one of the most important periods in music history.
Michelle Branch talks about "Everywhere," "The Game Of Love," and her run-in with a Christian broadcasting network.
Andrew Farriss on writing with Michael Hutchence, the stories behind "Mystify" and other INXS hits, and his country-flavored debut solo album.
Soul music legend Bill Withers on how life experience and the company you keep leads to classic songs like "Lean On Me."