Feist's "1234" is "about lost love, and the hope to recapture what you once had," but it's best known for the Sesame Street version about counting to four.
"Friends In Low Places" by Garth Brooks was written by two Nashville songwriters after a meal in a local restaurant. One of them forgot his money, but said not to worry, "I have friends in low places. I know the cook."
Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl" was originally called "Brown Skinned Girl," and was about an interracial relationship.
The "Electric Avenue" in the Eddy Grant song is a real street. It got its name because it was the first street in London with electric lights.
"Everybody Wants To Rule The World" was a line from a 1980 Clash song called "Charlie Don't Surf." Tears For Fears used it as the title of their 1985 hit.
James Taylor wrote "Sweet Baby James" during a road trip to Virginia in honor of his brother’s new baby, also named James, whom he was about to meet for the first time.
10 Questions for the author of Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces
The Kiss rocker covers a lot of ground in this interview, including why there are no Kiss collaborations, and why the Rock Hall has "become a sham."
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.
Oliver Leiber talks about writing and producing hits for Paula Abdul, and explains his complicated relationship with his father, the songwriter Jerry Leiber.
Doubt led to drive for Francis, who still isn't sure why one of Status Quo's biggest hits is so beloved.
Kristian talks songwriting technique, like how the chorus should redefine the story, and how to write a song backwards.
