David Bowie's "Heroes" was about his producer Tony Visconti and his girlfriend, but Bowie didn't admit this until the '00s, since Visconti was married at the time.
Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits wrote "Private Dancer," which went to Tina Turner when he realized it wasn't a song for a man to sing.
It has long been speculated that the Soundgarden song "Black Hole Sun" came from the name of a sculpture in Seattle, but according to their frontman Chris Cornell the title came from a phrase he misheard on the news. The band's name did come from a sculpture.
"Ho Hey" by The Lumineers spent 62 weeks on the Hot 100, tying with Lifehouse's 2005 single "You And Me" for the longest stay on the chart for a song by a rock band.
One of Tom Petty's most personal songs is "Room At The Top," which he stopped performing because it brought back painful memories.
Ed Sheeran's "Bloodstream" was written after an experience taking MDMA during a wedding celebration in Ibiza, and it's basically about all the feelings that he got from that time.
"London Bridge," "Ring Around the Rosie" and "It's Raining, It's Pouring" are just a few examples of shockingly morbid children's songs.
The guitarist/songwriter explains how he came up with his signature sound, and deconstructs some classic Fear Factory songs.
Tyler talks about his true love: songwriting. How he identifies the beauty in a melody and turns sorrow into art.
Julian tells the stories behind his hits "Valotte" and "Too Late for Goodbyes," and fills us in on his many non-musical pursuits. Also: what MTV meant to his career.
Producer Rupert Hine talks about crafting hits for Tina Turner, Howard Jones and The Fixx.
A monthly update on our latest interviews, stories and added songs
©2020 Songfacts®, LLC
