"St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)" was not written for the movie, but for Rick Hanson, a wheelchair athlete whose 1985 "Man In Motion" tour logged 24,856 miles on his wheelchair in 34 countries while raising $26 million for spinal cord research.
Lucinda Williams' track "Compassion" is based on a poem by her father, lauded Arkansas poet Miller Williams.
"Closing Time" by Semisonic was written by the lead singer when his wife was pregnant. Some of the lyrics are about being born.
The riff for The Sex Pistols' "Pretty Vacant" was pinched from a very unpunk song, the ABBA ballad "S.O.S."
"Zombie" by The Cranberries is about an IRA bombing in England that killed two children.
Adam Levine of Maroon 5 made it obvious who their song "This Love" was about when he named the album "Songs About Jane."
Fiona's highly-anticipated third album almost didn't make it. Here's how it finally came together after two years and a leak.
Country songs with titles so bizarre they can't possibly be real... or can they?
Medley looks back on "Unchained Melody" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" - his huge hits from the '60s that were later revived in movies.
Rob Halford, Richie Faulkner and Glenn Tipton talk twin guitar harmonies and explain how they create songs in Judas Priest.
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.
Rick has a surprising dark side, a strong feminine side and, in a certain TV show, a naked backside. But he still hasn't found Jessie's Girl.