Katmandu, the capital of Nepal, was the archetype for faraway mysticism when Bob Seger wrote a song about it in 1975.
When he met Delilah DiCrescenzo, Plain White T's lead singer Tom Higgenson told her he'd write a song about her, and came up with the first verse of "Hey There Delilah" on the spot.
Kid Rock's "All Summer Long" is a mashup of "Werewolves Of London" and "Sweet Home Alabama." The album it came from was released in October, 2007, but the song wasn't issued as a single until summer, 2008 for a more seasonable release.
Buck Dharma of Blue Oyster Cult wrote "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" after he was diagnosed with a heart condition and started thinking about his own mortality.
Michael Jackson's 1995 song "You Are Not Alone" was the first single in US history to enter the Billboard Hot 100 chart at #1
"Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?" was written by Boy George about his relationship with Culture Club's drummer Jon Moss.
Dan cracked the Top 40 with "Ritual," then went to India and spent 2 hours with the Dalai Lama.
Fishbone has always enjoyed much more acclaim than popularity - Angelo might know why.
Laura Nyro talks about her complex, emotionally rich songwriting and how she supports women's culture through her art.
Pool balls, magpies and thorns without roses - how well do you know your Tom Waits lyrics?
The king of Christian worship music explains talks about writing songs for troubled times.
"Missing You" was a spontaneous outpouring of emotion triggered by a phone call. John tells that story and explains what MTV meant to his career.