The opening lines to "Free Bird," "If I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me?" came from the girlfriend of Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Allen Collins, who asked him that question during an argument.
The Creedence Clearwater Revival song "Fortunate Son" is about how the Vietnam war was being fought by soldiers without the privilege or connections to get out of it. "It's the old saying about rich men making war and poor men having to fight them," John Fogerty said.
Before launching his career as a singer, Bruno Mars was a writer/producer. He and his co-writers pitched "Just The Way You Are" to Cee-Lo Green; when he turned it down, Bruno recorded it himself and released it in 2010 as his first single as a lead artist.
"Up Around The Bend" by Creedence Clearwater Revival had a different meaning to British listeners. In England, to go "Around the bend" means to go crazy.
Bob Seger's "Against The Wind" has the famous mind-bending line, "Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then." Seger was going to cut it, but his Eagles buddies Glenn Frey and Don Henley told him it was the best line in the song.
The guy who wrote Taylor Dayne's "Tell It To My Heart" owns a collection of famous baseballs, including the one that went through Bill Buckner's legs in the 1986 World Series.
What are the biggest US hits with French, Spanish (not "Rico Suave"), Italian, Scottish, Greek, and Japanese titles?
Taylor talks about "The Machine" - the hits, the videos and Clive Davis.
David Gray explains the significance of the word "Babylon," and talks about how songs are a form of active imagination, with lyrics that reveal what's inside us.
The Scorpions and UFO guitarist is also a very prolific songwriter - he explains how he writes with his various groups, and why he was so keen to get out of Germany and into England.
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.
The drummer for Anthrax is also a key songwriter. He explains how the group puts their songs together and tells the stories behind some of their classics.