There really is a China Grove (in Texas), but Tom Johnston didn't know about it when he wrote the Doobie Brothers song.
Bruce Springsteen wrote "Blinded By The Light," which was a #1 hit for Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The "Madman Drummers" line is a reference to Springsteen's first E-Street drummer, Vinnie "Mad dog" Lopez.
Australian singer-songwriter Sia Furler wrote "Diamonds" for Rihanna in just 14 minutes.
Lindsay Lohan has some lyrics from Billy Joel's "I Go To Extremes" tattooed on her ribcage: "Clear as a crystal, sharp as a knife I feel like I'm in the prime of my life."
"Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" is the most performed holiday song of all time, according to a Top 30 list released by the performance rights organization ASCAP in December 2014.
Jeff Lynne sang the word "groose" in the chorus of "Don't Bring Me Down" as a nonsense placeholder, but left it in when he found out it means "greetings" in German ("gruss").
With $50 and a glue stick, Bruce Pavitt created Sub Pop, a fanzine-turned-label that gave the world Nirvana and grunge. He explains how motivated individuals can shift culture.
The Canadian superstar talks about his sudden rise to fame, and tells the stories behind his hits "Sunglasses At Night," "Boy In The Box" and "Never Surrender."
The Evanescence frontwoman on the songs that have shifted meaning and her foray into kids' music.
Starting in Virginia City, Nevada and rippling out to the Haight-Ashbury, LSD reshaped popular music.
The Prince-penned "Manic Monday" was the first song The Bangles heard coming from a car radio, but "Eternal Flame" is closest to Susanna's heart, perhaps because she sang it in "various states of undress."
Kristian talks songwriting technique, like how the chorus should redefine the story, and how to write a song backwards.
