"Fight The Power" was written for the Spike Lee movie Do The Right Thing. It opens the film and serves as the motif.
The Bangles song "Eternal Flame" was inspired by a display at Graceland that honored Elvis Presley.
The title of Florence + the Machine's "How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful" was inspired by the Los Angeles skyline.
"Soul Man" was a new term when the song was written in 1967. As defined by the song's co-writer, David Porter, the Soul Man doesn't have a fancy big-city slant, but has "the emotional thing happening inside of him that made people really love him."
Bono came up with the idea of focusing on a soldier's last thoughts as he dies from his wounds in the U2 song "White As Snow" after reading William Golding's 1956 novel Pincher Martin.
The MTV classic "Voices Carry" is by 'Til Tuesday, a group fronted by Aimee Mann. She wrote the lyric about a friend who's partner wanted to keep their fling a secret.
Wilder's hit "Break My Stride" had an unlikely inspiration: a famous record mogul who rejected it.
How a gym teacher, a janitor, and a junkie became part of some very famous band names.
A Soul Train dancer takes us through a day on the show, and explains what you had to do to get camera time.
Not everyone can be a superhero, but that hasn't stopped generations of musicians from trying to be Superman.
Martyn talks about producing Tina Turner, some Heaven 17 hits, and his work with the British Electric Foundation.
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.