The party tune "Mambo No 5 (A Little Bit Of)" was the theme song for the 2000 Democratic Convention (the party of Bill Clinton), until someone noticed the line, "A little bit of Monica in my life."
The line, "Gotta keep 'em separated" in "Come Out And Play" by The Offspring came to lead singer Dexter Holland when he was a medical student and needed to keep bacteria samples away from each other.
Lady Gaga says that "Poker Face" is about her personal experience with bisexuality; being with a man but thinking about a woman.
"Return To Innocence" by Enigma is based on a Taiwanese chant by a husband and wife. The couple won a lawsuit granting them royalties from the song.
"Killing An Arab" by The Cure was inspired by Albert Camus' book The Stranger.
"Tenderness" by General Public was partly inspired by the outbreak of AIDS, which at the time was thought to be contagious.
The former Dead Kennedys frontman on the past, present and future of the band, what music makes us "pliant and stupid," and what he learned from Alice Cooper.
The revered singer-songwriter talks inspiration and explains why she put a mahout in "Drop the Pilot."
A song he wrote and recorded from "sheer spiritual inspiration," Allen's didn't think "Southern Nights" had hit potential until Glen Campbell took it to #1 two years later.
After studying in Paris with a famous composition teacher, Charles became the most successful writer of TV theme songs.
P.F. was a teenager writing hits and playing on tracks for Jan & Dean when he wrote a #1 hit that got him blackballed.
The trail runs from flying saucer songs in the '50s, through Bowie, blink-182 and Katy Perry.
