"Nuclear Device (The Wizard of Aus)" by The Stranglers was written about the then Premier of Queensland, Joh Bjelke-Petersen. His political shenanigans were observed by the band during their first tour of Australia.
Eric Clapton wrote "Layla" about his love for Pattie Harrison, who was married to George Harrison at the time. He eventually married Pattie, and managed to stay friends with George.
Before launching his career as a singer, Bruno Mars was a writer/producer. He and his co-writers pitched "Just The Way You Are" to Cee-Lo Green; when he turned it down, Bruno recorded it himself and released it in 2010 as his first single as a lead artist.
Eddie Vedder often changes the words when he sings "Yellow Ledbetter." The basic story is about a guy whose brother dies in the first Gulf War. Apparently, bad news in the army is delivered in yellow envelopes.
The "Don't Stop Believin'" lyric was inspired by Sunset Boulevard, making it perfect for the Rock of Ages musical.
The song "Grease," sung by Frankie Valli in the 1978 movie, was written by Barry Gibb of The Bee Gees.
The former Metallica bassist talks about his first time writing a song with James Hetfield, and how a hand-me-down iPad has changed his songwriting.
Paul Stanley on his soul music project, the Kiss songs with the biggest soul influence, and the non-make-up era of the band.
The (Meat)puppetmaster takes us through songs like "Lake Of Fire" and "Backwater," and talks about performing with Kurt Cobain on MTV Unplugged.
"Mr. Jones" took on new meaning when the song about a misguided view of fame made Adam famous.
Ron Nevison explains in very clear terms the Quadrophenia concept and how Heart staged their resurgence after being dropped by their record company.
