Johnny Cash's wife, June Carter, wrote "Ring Of Fire" about their relationship.
Phil Oakey recorded his vocals for "Don't You Want Me" in the studio bathroom. The recording was disrupted by guitarist Jo Callis reaching through an open window from outside to repeatedly flush one of the toilets.
Icona Pop considers "I Love It" a kiss-off to their boyfriends: "we just wanted to get the song out and get the pigs to hear it," Jawo said.
Michael Jackson's "Liberian Girl" opens with the South African female singer Letta Mbulu saying the Swahili phrase "Naku penda piya-naku taka piya-mpenziwe." There was some geographic liberty here, as Swahili is not spoken in the West African nation of Liberia.
Bob Seger got inspired to write "Night Moves" after watching the movie American Graffiti, which showed young people growing up in his "neck of the woods."
Eddie Vedder often changes the words when he sings "Yellow Ledbetter." The basic story is about a guy whose brother dies in the first Gulf War. Apparently, bad news in the army is given in yellow envelopes.
The lead singer of Everclear, Art is also their primary songwriter.
A founding member of the band War, Harold gives a first-person account of one of the most important periods in music history.
Don breaks down "Hotel California" and other songs he wrote as a member of the Eagles. Now we know where the "warm smell of colitas" came from.
Some songs get a second life when they find a new audience through a movie, commercial, TV show, or even the Internet.
"Come On Eileen" was a colossal '80s hit, but the band - far more appreciated in their native UK than stateside - released just three albums before their split. Now, Dexys is back.
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."
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