Lou Reed's "Walk On The Wild Side" tells the story of real people who were part of Andy Warhol's "factory," including Holly Woodlawn and Candy Darling.
"Spoonman" by Soundgarden is about a real street performer in Seattle: Artis the Spoonman.
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.
In the UK, Michael Jackson's "Thriller" returns to the chart every Halloween, a tradition started in 2007.
"Stuck In The Middle With You" by Stealers Wheel was the unlikely choice for a torture scene in Quentin Tarantino's 1992 movie Reservoir Dogs.
Movie director Michel Gondry played live drums on the Late Registration track, "Diamonds From Sierra Leone." The Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind filmmaker happened to be in the studio on a day when producer Jon Brion was setting up a drum kit
Since emerging from MySpace with her hit "Bubbly," Colbie has become a top songwriter, even crafting a hit with Taylor Swift.
Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.
The top Contemporary Christian artist of all time on song inspirations and what she learned from Johnny Carson.
The Reverend rants on psychobilly and the egghead academics he bashes in one of his more popular songs.
Brian has unearthed outtakes by Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello and hundreds of other artists for reissues. Here's how he does it.
The Guns N' Roses rhythm guitarist in the early '90s, Gilby talks about the band's implosion and the side projects it spawned.
