"St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)" was not written for the movie, but for Rick Hanson, a wheelchair athlete whose 1985 "Man In Motion" tour logged 24,856 miles on his wheelchair in 34 countries while raising $26 million for spinal cord research.
"1979" by Smashing Pumpkins is about Billy Corgan entering adulthood. A more accurate year would be 1983, but 1979 was easier to rhyme.
Americans know the song "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers thanks to the 1993 Johnny Depp movie Benny & Joon, where it plays in the opening scene. The song was first released in 1988 but got little attention in the US until it showed up in the film.
The Hollies hit "The Air That I Breathe" was written in part as a reaction to the smog in Los Angeles.
k.d. lang is a credited writer on the Rolling Stones song "Anybody Seen My Baby?" because it sounds so much like her hit "Constant Craving."
"Cotton Eye Joe" is a folk song dating to the 1800s, but it became a hit when a Swedish act called Rednex did a psychokinetic version in 1994.
On Glen's résumé: hit songwriter, Facebook dominator, and member of Styx.
"Lullaby" singer Shawn Mullins on "Beautiful Wreck," beating the Devil, and his writing credit on the Zac Brown Band song "Toes."
The lead singer of Everclear, Art is also their primary songwriter.
After cutting his teeth on hardcore punk videos, Paul defined the grunge look with his work on "Hunger Strike" and "Man in the Box."
Mike is lead guitarist with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and co-writer of classic songs like "Boys Of Summer," "Refugee" and "The Heart Of The Matter."
