The Cure lead singer Robert Smith wrote "Lovesong" as a wedding present for his fiancée, Mary, shortly before their marriage. They met when he was 14; he says Mary helped him through many difficult periods and essentially saved his life.
The philosophical Kansas song "Dust In The Wind" is inspired by a line of Native American poetry: "For all we are is dust in the wind."
John Fogerty was not born on the bayou - he's from Berkeley, California. He got the idea for the song when CCR was on tour in Louisiana.
"If It Makes You Happy" by Sheryl Crow is about the sour grapes some of her collaborators from her first album expressed to the media when they felt slighted.
The Mary J. Blige song "No More Drama" samples the theme to the appropriately dramatic soap opera The Young And The Restless.
Kelly Rowland was the first Destiny's Child member to have a hit away from the group: her Nelly duet "Dilemma."
Dean's saga began with "Ariel," a song about falling in love with a Jewish girl from New Jersey.
"Great songwriters don't necessarily have hit songs," says Chris. He's written a bunch, but his fans are more interested in the intricate jams.
Where words like "email," "thirsty," "Twitter" and "gangsta" first showed up in songs, and which songs popularized them.
U2, Carly Simon, Joanna Newsom, Brian Wilson and Fiona Apple have all gone to Van Dyke Parks to make their songs exceptional.
If the name Citizen Dick means anything to you, there's a chance you'll get some of these right.
