Avril Lavigne has a perfume named after her song "Black Star." It smells much better than her Sk8er Boi scent, which reeks of Axe body spray and road grime.
"Closing Time" by Semisonic was written by the lead singer when his wife was pregnant. Some of the lyrics are about being born.
"Ho Hey" by The Lumineers is about New York City, where lead singer Wesley Schultz moved to make it in music. He was dismayed to find many "trust fund kids" in the music scene while he struggled to pay the rent.
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."
Elton John's "Rocket Man" is based on a Ray Bradbury story called The Rocket Man published in 1951.
One of the moodiest hits of the '90s is "Creep" by Radiohead. It was the group's first single, and to their dismay, it became their biggest hit - it wasn't the song they wanted to be known for.
The lead singer/lyricist for Anberlin breaks down "Impossible" and covers some tracks from their 2012 album Vital.
Webb talks about his classic songs "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman" and "MacArthur Park."
Smith breaks down some of his worship tracks as well as his mainstream hits, including "I Will Be Here For You" and "A Place In This World."
If you can recall the days when MTV played videos, you know that there are lots of stories to tell. See if you can spot the real ones.
Songwriters have used cards and card games to make sense of heartache, togetherness, and even Gonorrhea.
Newman makes it look easy these days, but in this 1974 interview, he reveals the paranoia and pressures that made him yearn for his old 9-5 job.