Johnny Cash's wife, June Carter, wrote "Ring Of Fire" about their relationship.
The motto for Boys Town, which was a Nebraska home for troubled youth, inspired the song "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" by The Hollies.
In Gary Numan's "Cars," the message is that cars lead to a mechanical society devoid of personal interaction. This didn't stop automakers from using it in commercials. Both Nissan and Oldsmobile have used it in ads.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers' biggest hit is "Under The Bridge," a ballad not typical of their sound. Frontman Anthony Kiedis wrote the lyric after an acute bout of loneliness.
"Step On," the most famous song by the Happy Mondays ("You're twistin' my melon man!") is a thoroughly revamped cover of a song from 1971 about the plight of indigenous peoples called "He's Gonna Step On You Again" by John Kongos.
Roger Daltrey stutters the vocal on "My Generation" by The Who. The idea was to sound like a British kid on speed.
The Brazilian rocker sees pictures in his riffs. When he came up with one of his gnarliest songs, there was a riot going on.
His keyboard work helped define the Muscle Shoals sound and make him an integral part of many Neil Young recordings. Spooner is also an accomplished songwriter, whose hits include "I'm Your Puppet" and "Cry Like A Baby."
Guitarist Tony Iommi on the "Iron Man" riff, the definitive Black Sabbath song, and how Ozzy and Dio compared as songwriters.
How a goofy detective movie, a disenchanted director and an unlikely songwriter led to one of the biggest hits in pop history.
Songwriters have used cards and card games to make sense of heartache, togetherness, and even Gonorrhea.
Dwarfs on stage with an oversize Stonehenge set? Dabbling in Satanism? Find out which Spinal Tap-moments were true for Black Sabbath.