The actress Michelle Pfeiffer gets namechecked in the 2014 megahit "Uptown Funk" ("Michelle Pfeiffer, that white gold"). When it was released, "Riptide" by Vance Joy was on the charts; that song also mentions her ("Closest thing to Michelle Pfeiffer that you've ever seen").
"Slow Hand" was a #1 Country hit for Conway Twitty in 1982, a year after The Pointer Sisters recorded it.
Avril Lavigne's 2011 song "Darlin" was written much earlier; she says it's the second song she ever wrote, composed when she was an unsigned 15-year-old living in Napanee, Ontario. The song reflects those years when she was "trying to figure it all out."
Hoyt Axton wrote the Three Dog Night hit "Joy To The World." He said the "Jeremiah was a bullfrog" line just came into his head after having a drink of wine.
The James Blunt song "You're Beautiful" is not romantic: it's a about a creepy subway encounter with an ex.
Eric Clapton wrote "Layla" about his love for Pattie Harrison, who was married to George Harrison at the time. He eventually married Pattie, and managed to stay friends with George.
Psychedelic Furs lead singer Richard Butler talks about their first album since 1991 and explains what's really going on in "Pretty In Pink."
The first of Billy's five #1 hits was the song that propelled Madonna to stardom. You'd think that would get you a backstage pass, wouldn't you?
Tyler talks about his true love: songwriting. How he identifies the beauty in a melody and turns sorrow into art.
An Electronic music pioneer with Asperger's Syndrome. This could be interesting.
A renowned guitarist and rock revivalist, Dave took "I Hear You Knocking" to the top of the UK charts and was the first to record Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk."
