When Metallica performed in China in 2013, they weren't allowed to play "Master Of Puppets," probably because the theme of being controlled by a higher authority didn't sit well with the Chinese government.
Cake lead singer John McCrea says their song "The Distance" is about the "failure of success." No matter how much we strive for victory, we'll always want more, particularly in the corporate world.
The guys who wrote "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" had never been to a baseball game but knew it was a good song topic.
"Chasing Pavements" isn't British slang - it's a saying Adele came up with when she found herself running out of a bar after a fight with her boyfriend. "He didn't chase after me! So I was running, just looking at these big wide pavements stretching in front me," she said.
The Four Tops' "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" was written by the Motown team of Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland and Eddie Holland. The phrase "Sugar pie, honey bunch" was something Dozier's grandfather used to say when he was a kid.
"Celebration" by Kool & the Gang has a deeper meaning - it was inspired by a verse in the Quran where angels celebrate as God creates man.
Have you got the smarts to know which of these graduation song stories are real?
What happens when Kurt Cobain, Iron Maiden and Johnny Lydon are told to lip-synch? Some hilarious "performances."
A founding member of the band War, Harold gives a first-person account of one of the most important periods in music history.
The top Contemporary Christian artist of all time on song inspirations and what she learned from Johnny Carson.
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.
One of Canada's most popular and eclectic performers, Hawksley tells stories about his oldest songs, his plentiful side projects, and the ways that he keeps his songwriting fresh.