"Killing An Arab" by The Cure was inspired by Albert Camus' book The Stranger.
"It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" was inspired by a dream where Michael Stipe conjured up images of people with the initials L.B.: Lester Bangs, Leonid Breshnev, Lenny Bruce and Leonard Bernstein.
Otis Day And The Knights, the fictional band created to perform "Shout" in the movie Animal House, became a real band, performing the song at colleges and other venues.
"The House Of The Rising Sun" is a traditional folk song, either about a brothel or a prison.
Ed Sheeran wrote the 2014 love song "Thinking Out Loud" about his girlfriend at the time, Athina Andrelos. They split the following year, and Ed started seeing Cherry Seaborn, whom he married in 2019; songs like "Perfect" and "No Strings" are about her.
"Oh Happy Day" was recorded in a church and sold to raise money for the choir. It's the only genuine gospel song to become a pop hit.
When he was asked to write a song for the Singles soundtrack, Mark thought the Seattle grunge scene was already overblown, so that's what he wrote about.
As Procol Harum's lyricist, Keith wrote the words to "A Whiter Shade Of Pale." We delve into that song and find out how you can form a band when you don't sing or play an instrument.
Steve Cropper on the making of "In the Midnight Hour," the chicken-wire scene in The Blues Brothers, and his 2021 album, Fire It Up.
Writing with Phil Lynott, Scott saw their ill-fated frontman move to a darker place in his life and lyrics.
Charlie discusses the songs that made him a Southern Rock icon, and settles the Devil vs. Johnny argument once and for all.
The Prince-penned "Manic Monday" was the first song The Bangles heard coming from a car radio, but "Eternal Flame" is closest to Susanna's heart, perhaps because she sang it in "various states of undress."