"Stay" by Lisa Loeb was the first #1 hit by an unsigned artist. It got a boost from Ethan Hawke, who got it into a movie he starred in called Reality Bites.
War got the idea for "Why Can't We Be Friends?" when they were traveling in Japan and found they had a kinship with the citizens even though they didn't speak the same language.
The motto for Boys Town, which was a Nebraska home for troubled youth, inspired the song "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" by The Hollies.
Fall Out Boy's "The Kids Aren't Alright" song title is not a reference to The Offspring's 1998 single of the same name. It actually alludes to The Who's 1979 rockumentary film called The Kids Are Alright.
The horn flourish at the beginning of "Jump Around" comes from Bob and Earl's "Harlem Shuffle"; the squeal throughout the song might be a Prince sample.
Bruce Springsteen originally wrote "Hungry Heart" for The Ramones, but decided to keep it for himself on the advice of his producer and manager, Jon Landau.
With the rise of Kindie rock, more musicians are embracing their inner child with tunes for tots - here, we look at pop stars who recorded kids' albums.
Rick has a surprising dark side, a strong feminine side and, in a certain TV show, a naked backside. But he still hasn't found Jessie's Girl.
Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.
The outlaw country icon talks about the spiritual element of his songwriting and his Bob Dylan mention.
Cain talks about the divine inspirations for "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Faithfully."
The renown rock singer talks about "The House of the Rising Sun" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood."