"Aberdeen" by Cage The Elephant is named after the birthplace of Kurt Cobain. It's in Grays Harbor County, Washington.
Ellie Goulding's hit song "Lights" is about her fear of the dark, which forces the singer to sleep with the lights on.
Fall Out Boy's "The Phoenix" samples the classical work "Allegro Non Troppo," which was composed by Dmitri Shostakovich in 1941. Vocalist Patrick Stump was inspired by "the creepiness" of the strings.
After Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale coupled up in 1996, Rossdale's Bush bandmates referred to their hit song "Everything Zen" as "Everything Gwen."
"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.
Kacey Musgraves offered "Follow Your Arrow" to her friend Katy Perry, but Perry thought Musgraves should record the song herself, telling Kacey it seemed "like something that you would totally say."
For songwriters, Johnny represents the American man. He has been angry, cool, magic, a rebel and, of course, marching home.
Tom stopped performing Thompson Twins songs in 1987, in part because of their personal nature: "Hold Me Now" came after an argument with his bandmate/girlfriend Alannah Currie.
Steve Cropper on the making of "In the Midnight Hour," the chicken-wire scene in The Blues Brothers, and his 2021 album, Fire It Up.
"Dead Skunk" became a stinker for Loudon when he felt pressure to make another hit - his latest songs deal with mortality, his son Rufus, and picking up poop.
Did Al play on a Beach Boys record? Did he have beef with George Lucas and Coolio? See if you can spot weird but true stories.
Prince is shrouded in mystery, making him an excellent candidate for Fact or Fiction. Is he really a Scientologist? Does he own an exotic animal?