Katy Perry's song "E.T." came from a beat originally intended for the rap group Three Six Mafia. When her producer accidentally pulled up the beat, Perry asked to use it.
"Rio" by Duran Duran is a metaphor for America, where the band was trying to break through.
The '40s hit "Rum and Coca-Cola" is really about American soldiers soliciting prostitutes in Trinidad.
It really was so easy for Linda Ronstadt to score a hit with her Buddy Holly cover of "It's So Easy." She would sometimes change the lyric to: "It's so easy to have a hit, all you have to do is recycle it."
Ed Sheeran wrote the 2014 love song "Thinking Out Loud" about his girlfriend at the time, Athina Andrelos. They split the following year, and Ed started seeing Cherry Seaborn, whom he married in 2019; songs like "Perfect" and "No Strings" are about her.
The Eagles' first single, "Take It Easy," was written by Jackson Browne, who was living in the apartment below Glenn Frey when he wrote it.
Steppenwolf frontman John Kay talks about "Magic Carpet Ride," "Born To Be Wild," and what he values more than awards and accolades.
Rosanne talks about the journey that inspired her songs on her album The River & the Thread, including a stop at the Tallahatchie Bridge.
Iron Maiden, Adele, Toto, Eminem and Earth, Wind & Fire are just some of the artists with songs directly inspired by movies - and not always good ones.
Don breaks down "Hotel California" and other songs he wrote as a member of the Eagles. Now we know where the "warm smell of colitas" came from.
Dwarfs on stage with an oversize Stonehenge set? Dabbling in Satanism? Find out which Spinal Tap-moments were true for Black Sabbath.
As a 5-year-old, Brandi was writing lyrics to instrumental versions lullabies. She still puts her heart into her songs, including the one Elton John sings on.