Tim McGraw recorded "Live Like You Were Dying" just two weeks after his own father passed away.
"Criminal" is Fiona Apple's only chart hit. Royalties from it allow her to make music on her terms, releasing albums several years apart.
The Whitney Houston hit "I Have Nothing" was inspired by Elvis Presley, who dated the song's lyricist, Linda Thompson.
Jimmy Buffett's "Cheeseburger In Paradise" has muenster (cheese), not mustard, as commonly misheard in the line "medium rare with muenster'd be nice."
Listen carefully and you'll hear the sound of birds in "Birds Of A Feather" by Billie Eilish. Her brother/producer Finneas couldn't resist putting them in, but he kept them real quiet in the mix.
In Belgium, where the Battle of Waterloo took place, "Waterloo" by ABBA was a huge hit, #1 for five weeks.
Do you know who wrote Patti Smith's biggest hit? How about the Grease theme song? See if you can match the song to the writer.
The 10 biggest "retirement tours" that didn't take.
A song he wrote and recorded from "sheer spiritual inspiration," Allen's didn't think "Southern Nights" had hit potential until Glen Campbell took it to #1 two years later.
Laura Nyro talks about her complex, emotionally rich songwriting and how she supports women's culture through her art.
Kristian talks songwriting technique, like how the chorus should redefine the story, and how to write a song backwards.
"I'll Be" was what Edwin called his "Hail Mary" song. He says it proves "intention of the songwriter is 180 degrees from potential interpretation by an audience."