Linda Lovelace (1949-2002), seen here in the poster for her movie Linda Lovelace for President, inspired the John Lees song "Polk Street Rag". Linda Susan Boreman grew up in a strict Catholic household, the daughter of a New York police officer. After "starring" in Deep Throat and other porn films she was busted for possession before finding the God she had lost. She spent the rest of her life campaigning against the porn industry.
"Closing Time" by Semisonic was written by the lead singer when his wife was pregnant. Some of the lyrics are about being born.
When "Turn On The Radio" topped the January 1, 2011 Country chart, Reba McEntire became the first female solo act to have a #1 hit on that tally in four straight decades.
When the Velvet Underground song "Heroin" got screechy, Maureen Tucker stopped drumming, figuring it would bust the take, but her bandmates kept going. You can hear it at the 5:20 mark.
"Paper Planes" was inspired by M.I.A.'s hassles trying to get a visa to enter America.
The Four Seasons' "Walk Like a Man," released in 1963, was the first Hot 100 #1 hit with a simile in its title.
Sarah McLachlan's "Possession" contains passages from letters a stalker sent her. He sued her for using them but died by suicide before the trial.
The singer-songwriter Melanie talks about her spiritual awakening at Woodstock, "Brand New Key," and why songwriting is an art, not a craft.
Bradley Cooper, Michael J. Fox, Rami Malek, Reese Witherspoon, Gwyneth Paltrow and George Clooney: Which actors really sang in their movies?
They sang about pink torpedoes and rocking you tonight tonight, but some real lyrics are just as ridiculous. See if you can tell which lyrics are real and which are Spinal Tap in this lyrics quiz.
Writing great prog metal isn't easy, especially when it's for 60 musicians.
The Sevendust frontman talks about the group's songwriting process, and how trips to the Murder Bar helped forge their latest album.
With Bernie Taupin, Martin co-wrote the #1 hits "We Built This City" and "These Dreams." After writing the Pretty Woman song for Go West, he had his own hit with "In the House of Stone and Light."