"Mr. Roboto" by Styx was written by their keyboard player, Dennis DeYoung, who used Japanese words and imagery to create an allegory about censorship.
Taylor Swift's “Shake It Off” was inspired by how she'd learned to deal with all the false rumors that circulated about her. "The only thing we can control is our reaction to that ,” said Swift. "You can either let it get to you … [or] you just shake it off."
Elton John and his lyricist Bernie Taupin got the name "Levon" from Levon Helm, who was the drummer in The Band.
Before she was famous, Lady Gaga was a staff songwriter, and wrote the song "Quicksand," which Britney Spears recorded in 2008.
Chuck Berry's only #1 hit was "My Ding-a-Ling," a novelty song about a boy and his... you know.
Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova starred in the movie Once, which featured their song "Falling Slowly." Bob Dylan liked the song and movie so much he gave them an opening slot on his tour.
The Doobies guitarist and lead singer, Tom wrote the classics "Listen To The Music," "Long Train Runnin'" and "China Grove."
Taylor talks about "The Machine" - the hits, the videos and Clive Davis.
"Mr. Jones" took on new meaning when the song about a misguided view of fame made Adam famous.
The "All I Want" singer went through a long depression, playing some shows when he didn't want to be alive.
Who writes a song about a name they found in a phone book? That's just one of the everyday things these guys find to sing about. Anything in their field of vision or general scope of knowledge is fair game. If you cross paths with them, so are you.
The "Lowdown" and "Lido Shuffle" singer makes a habit of playing with the best in the business.
