"Losing My Religion" isn't about religion, but unrequited love. The title is based on a Southern expression meaning "at my wit's end."
Bono came up with the idea of focusing on a soldier's last thoughts as he dies from his wounds in the U2 song "White As Snow" after reading William Golding's 1956 novel Pincher Martin.
Australian singer-songwriter Sia Furler wrote "Diamonds" for Rihanna in just 14 minutes.
"Me And Bobby McGee" was written by Kris Kristofferson and first recorded by Roger Miller. Janis Joplin's famous version turned Bobby into a boy.
Elton John and his lyricist Bernie Taupin got the name "Levon" from Levon Helm, who was the drummer in The Band.
"Cruise" climbed from 6-5 on the Hot 100 in its 34th week. In doing so it set a record for the slowest ascent to the Top 5 in the chart's history, which was beaten by Imagine Dragon's "Radioactive" 42-week clamber to #4 three weeks later.
The Nails lead singer Marc Campbell talks about those 44 women he sings about over a stock Casio keyboard track. He's married to one of them now - you might be surprised which.
Pete produced Dwight Yoakam, Michelle Shocked, Meat Puppets, and a very memorable track for Roy Orbison.
The 5-octave voice of the classical rock band Renaissance, Annie is big on creative expression. In this talk, she covers Roy Wood, the history of the band, and where all the money went in the '70s.
A drummer for one of the most successful metal bands of the last decade, Chris talks about what it's like writing and performing with Slipknot. Metal-neck is a factor.
It took him seven years to recover from his American hit "Fool (If You Think It's Over)," but Chris Rea became one of the top singer-songwriters in his native UK.
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.
