Joni Mitchell wrote "Woodstock" - the most popular song about the festival - but didn't attend the event because she was booked on The Dick Cavett Show.
Jay-Z's "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" is based on the song "It's A Hard Knock Life" from the Broadway play Annie.
"Jessie's Girl" was the #1 song in America when MTV went on the air. They put it in hot rotation right away, making the song even more popular.
"Name" by The Goo Goo Dolls was partly inspired by lead singer John Rzeznik's flirtation with the MTV VJ Kennedy, who didn't want him to tell anyone her real name.
The electronic instruments in "Atomic Dog" represent the coming computer age, which is balanced by the instinctual dog, who barks and pants throughout the song.
Elvis Costello says "Everyday I Write The Book" is a knockoff of Nick Lowe's "When I Write the Book."
Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.
With the rise of Kindie rock, more musicians are embracing their inner child with tunes for tots - here, we look at pop stars who recorded kids' albums.
Bradley Cooper, Michael J. Fox, Rami Malek, Reese Witherspoon, Gwyneth Paltrow and George Clooney: Which actors really sang in their movies?
The revered singer-songwriter talks inspiration and explains why she put a mahout in "Drop the Pilot."
From the cowbell on "Mississippi Queen" to recording with The Who when they got the wrong Felix, stories from one of rock's master craftsmen.
The former Metallica bassist talks about his first time writing a song with James Hetfield, and how a hand-me-down iPad has changed his songwriting.