Jim Croce was killed in a plane crash on September 30, 1973. A few weeks later, his song "Time In A Bottle" hit #1.
The electronic instruments in "Atomic Dog" represent the coming computer age, which is balanced by the instinctual dog, who barks and pants throughout the song.
"Airplanes" by B.o.B was written by Lupe Fiasco, who recorded it but decided to pass.
Jay-Z's version of "99 Problems" is a cover of a 1993 song by Ice-T with the lyrics changed to be about Jay's rise to fame.
"November Rain" by Guns N' Roses has a literary influence: The lyric is based on a story called Without You by Del James.
Ronnie Van Zant wrote the Lynyrd Skynyrd classic "Gimme Three Steps" after making the mistake of dancing with a girl whose boyfriend was in the bar and probably had a gun. He asked for a 3-step head start.
Joe talks about the challenges of of making a Duke Ellington tribute album, and tells the stories behind some of his hits.
The top Contemporary Christian artist of all time on song inspirations and what she learned from Johnny Carson.
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.
Before he was the champ, Ali released an album called I Am The Greatest!, but his musical influence is best heard in the songs he inspired.
In 1986, a Stephen King novella was made into a movie, with a classic song serving as title, soundtrack and tone.
Outrageously gifted and just plain outrageous, Millie is an R&B and Rap innovator.
