You wouldn't know it from the upbeat melody, but "Walkin' On The Sun" by Smash Mouth is about the 1992 Los Angeles Riots.
Pete Townshend wrote the lyrics for "My Generation" during a train ride from London to Southampton on his 20th birthday.
The closing lyrics in "One Week" by Barenaked Ladies are "Birchmount Stadium, home of the Robbie," which refers to a soccer tournament in Ontario.
The only cover of "American Pie" to chart is by Madonna, whose 2000 version was a minor hit in America but went to #1 in the UK.
The most famous pop song featuring a bassoon: "The Tears of a Clown" by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles.
"Tenderness" by General Public was partly inspired by the outbreak of AIDS, which at the time was thought to be contagious.
Graham Nash tells the stories behind some of his famous songs and photos, and is asked about "yacht rock" for the first time.
The (Meat)puppetmaster takes us through songs like "Lake Of Fire" and "Backwater," and talks about performing with Kurt Cobain on MTV Unplugged.
You may not recognize his name, but you will certainly recognize Peter Lord's songs. He wrote the bevy of hits from Paula Abdul's second album, Spellbound.
When Judd Apatow needed under-appreciated rockers for his Knocked Up sequel, he immediately thought of Parker, who just happened to be getting his band The Rumour back together.
The Brazilian rocker sees pictures in his riffs. When he came up with one of his gnarliest songs, there was a riot going on.
Phil was a songwriter, producer and voice behind many Philadelphia soul classics. When disco hit, he got an interesting project: The Village People.
