Lyrically, Elvis Costello's "Watching The Detectives" was inspired by American detective shows; musically, it was inspired by The Clash.
The "Free Bird" lyric, "If I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me?" was something Lynyrd Skynyrd's guitarist's girlfriend said to him during a fight.
Paul McCartney wrote "Blackbird" in Scotland after reading about race riots in the U.S. when federal courts forced the racial desegregation of the Arkansas capital's school system.
Lily Allen wrote "Something's Not Right" for the soundtrack of the Peter Pan prequel, Pan. The song was inspired by the heartache that Allen experienced after suffering a miscarriage when she was six months pregnant with her first child by husband Sam Cooper in 2010.
Madonna didn't write "Papa Don't Preach," which deals with abortion. What drew her to the song was the singer standing up to male authority.
Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl" is about Christie Brinkley, who he married, but it started as a song about Elle McPherson, who he also went out with.
Billy Joel and Hall & Oates hated making videos, so they chose a director with similar contempt for the medium. That was Jay Dubin, and he has a lot to say on the subject.
Toto's keyboard player explains the true meaning of "Africa" and talks about working on the Thriller album.
A top session musician, Carol played on hundreds of hits by The Beach Boys, The Monkees, Frank Sinatra and many others.
As Procol Harum's lyricist, Keith wrote the words to "A Whiter Shade Of Pale." We delve into that song and find out how you can form a band when you don't sing or play an instrument.
Is Owl City on a quest for another hit like "Fireflies?" Adam answers that question and explains the influences behind many others.
