The Bangles song "Eternal Flame" was inspired by a display at Graceland that honored Elvis Presley.
The Starland Vocal Band got the title "Afternoon Delight" from the late-afternoon appetizer menu at the restaurant Clyde's Of Georgetown in Washington, DC.
Bruce Springsteen's "Born In The U.S.A." was inspired by the book (later a movie) Born On The Fourth Of July by Ron Kovic, a Vietnam veteran who protested the war when he returned home.
Nelly's "Country Grammar" is a celebration of his hometown of St. Louis, which some folks from the coasts consider "country" because it's in the Midwest.
Phil Collins' "Take Me Home" is about a patient in a mental institution and was inspired by the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
"True" by Spandau Ballet has some lyrics based on parts of the Vladimir Nabokov novel Lolita, including "Take your seaside arms," which in the book is "That little girl with her seaside limbs."
The stories behind the biggest hit songs about trucking.
Was a Beatles song a TV theme? And who came up with those Fresh Prince and Sopranos songs?
Gramm co-wrote this gorgeous ballad and delivered an inspired vocal, but the song was the beginning of the end of his time with Foreigner.
Bowie's "activist" days of 1964 led to Ziggy Stardust.
Andrew Farriss on writing with Michael Hutchence, the stories behind "Mystify" and other INXS hits, and his country-flavored debut solo album.
When he joined Guns N' Roses in 1990, Matt helped them craft an orchestral sound; his mezzo fortes and pianissimos are all over "November Rain."