Alicia Keys wrote "If I Ain't Got You" just after she'd heard the news that Aaliyah had died in a plane crash.
Snow Patrol had a huge hit in 2006 with the love song "Chasing Cars." The title alludes to how dogs chase cars just for the thrill of it, the same way two people deeply in love will embark on open-ended adventures, content to be in each others' company with no clear destination.
One of the first hit songs used in a major marketing campaign was "Start Me Up" by The Rolling Stones. Microsoft paid $3 million to use it in commercials for Windows '95.
Jethro Tull lead singer Ian Anderson wrote "Aqualung" after looking at pictures of homeless men that his wife took. She got a co-writing credit on the song.
The death of John Lennon was an influence on the Stevie Nicks hit "Edge Of Seventeen." He's the one with the "words of a poet and voice from a choir."
Dan Tyminski, the singer on Avicii's "Hey Brother" is the same guy who sang lead vocal on "A Man Of Constant Sorrow" in the movie O’ Brother, Where Art Thou.
The hitmaking songwriter/producer Sam Hollander with stories about songs for Weezer, Panic! At The Disco, Train, Pentatonix, and Fitz And The Tantrums.
Into the vaults for this talk with Bolton from the '80s when he was a focused on writing songs for other artists.
Dennis DeYoung explains why "Mr. Roboto" is the defining Styx song, and what the "gathering of angels" represents in "Come Sail Away."
His song "Into The Night" is one of the most-played of all time. For Benny, it took him to hell and back.
We've heard of artists putting their hearts into their music, but some take it literally.
Armed with a childhood spent devouring books, Mike Scott's heart was stolen by the punk rock scene of 1977. Not surprisingly, he would go on to become the most literate of rockers.