"This Must Be The Place" is a rare love song by the Talking Heads, with a very personal lyric from David Byrne likely inspired by the woman who became his first wife.
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.
"Kokomo" gave The Beach Boys their first #1 hit in 22 years. They picked the title because it sounded tropical.
Fleetwood Mac's "Gypsy" is about Stevie Nicks' best friend, who died of leukemia.
Jay-Z's 2012 "Glory" features his daughter Blue Ivy Carter's cries and coos. At less than two days old, she became the youngest ever credited artist to feature on a Billboard chart when the song debuted on R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at #74.
When "Theme From Shaft" won an Oscar in 1972, Isaac Hayes became the first African American to win in the Best Song category.
"Mr. Jones" took on new meaning when the song about a misguided view of fame made Adam famous.
A talented lyricist, Philip helped revive Neil Sedaka's career with the words to "Laughter In The Rain" and "Bad Blood."
A renowned guitarist and rock revivalist, Dave took "I Hear You Knocking" to the top of the UK charts and was the first to record Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk."
Billy Joel and Hall & Oates hated making videos, so they chose a director with similar contempt for the medium. That was Jay Dubin, and he has a lot to say on the subject.
Our chat with Barney Hoskyns, who covers the wild years of Woodstock - the town, not the festival - in his book Small Town Talk.
Brian has unearthed outtakes by Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello and hundreds of other artists for reissues. Here's how he does it.