The idea for "The Man Comes Around" came to Johnny Cash from a dream he had where he was in Buckingham Palace and the Queen said to him, "Johnny Cash, you're just like a thorn tree in a whirlwind."
The Doobie Brothers' swampy #1 hit "Black Water" is about the Mississippi River, evoking the rafting adventures Mark Twain and Huckleberry Finn.
The actor Dan Aykroyd sang on "We Are The World." LaToya Jackson did too, so we know they weren't all that picky.
Rachel Platten refused to talk politics when her "Fight Song" became the anthem for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, a decision she came to regret.
Janet Jackson's "Alright" video features Cab Calloway and Cyd Charisse, stars of musicals she loved as a kid.
Australian singer-songwriter Sia Furler wrote "Diamonds" for Rihanna in just 14 minutes.
Some album art was at least "inspired" by others. A look at some very similar covers.
Here is the church, here is the steeple - see if you can identify these lyrics that reference church.
Emilio talks about what it's like to write and perform with the Tower of Power horns, and why every struggling band should have a friend like Huey Lewis.
Greg talks about writing songs of "universal truth" for King Crimson and ELP, and tells us about his most memorable stage moment (it involves fireworks).
It wasn't her biggest hit as a songwriter (that would be "Bette Davis Eyes"), but "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" had a family connection for Jackie.
