Jethro Tull lead singer Ian Anderson wrote "Aqualung" after looking at pictures of homeless men that his wife took. She got a co-writing credit on the song.
Gina in Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer" is based on a singer named Maria Vidal, who was working as a singing waitress using the name Gina Velvet.
Tom Cochrane wrote "Life Is A Highway" to pull himself out of a funk following an exhausting humanitarian trip to Africa.
ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson conceived "Dancing Queen" as a dance song with the working title "Boogaloo," drawing inspiration from the 1974 George McCrae disco hit "Rock Your Baby." Their manager Stig Anderson came up with the title "Dancing Queen."
The "pompatus of love" from the Steve Miller song "The Joker" comes from a line in a '50s doo-wop song Miller misheard: "puppetutes of love."
When he met Delilah DiCrescenzo, Plain White T's lead singer Tom Higgenson told her he'd write a song about her, and came up with the first verse of "Hey There Delilah" on the spot.
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.
A drummer for one of the most successful metal bands of the last decade, Chris talks about what it's like writing and performing with Slipknot. Metal-neck is a factor.
The Celtic music maker Loreena McKennitt on finding musical inspiration, the "New Age" label, and working on the movie Tinker Bell.
Julian tells the stories behind his hits "Valotte" and "Too Late for Goodbyes," and fills us in on his many non-musical pursuits. Also: what MTV meant to his career.
Lori's songs have been recorded by Faith Hill and Sara Evans. She's performed on the CMAs and on Oprah. She also has five kids.
Glen Ballard talks about co-writing and producing Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill album, and his work with Dave Matthews, Aerosmith and Annie Lennox.