Alan Lomax, along with his father John, helped catalogue, record and preserve folk music from every corner of the globe. He could also play; in this photo from the Library of Congress, he's playing the Mountain Music Festival in Asheville, North Carolina.
Bob Dylan helped popularize the concept of "burnout" in his 1975 song "Shelter From the Storm" when he sang: "I was burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail." That's how many Americans were feeling at the time as they worked harder for less pay.
The events described in Alanis Morissette's song "Ironic," like rain on your wedding day, are not examples of irony. Irony is the use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning.
The names Louise, Jack, Marie and Milo all show up in the song "Footloose." Marie was the mother of Dean Pitchford, who co-wrote it.
"Margaritaville" is a state of mind, but it's most associated with Key West, Florida, where Jimmy Buffett moved when he was 24.
Avril Lavigne has a perfume named after her song "Black Star." It smells much better than her Sk8er Boi scent, which reeks of Axe body spray and road grime.
"Heaven Is A Place On Earth" writer Ellen Shipley got the idea for the song from a gas station greeting card that said "Heaven On Earth."
An original member of Depeche Mode, Vince went on to form Erasure and Yaz.
From "Some Day My Prince Will Come" to "Let It Go" - how Disney princess songs (and the women who sing them) have evolved.
With a few clues (Works at a diner, dreams of running away), can you name the character in the song?
Mike is lead guitarist with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and co-writer of classic songs like "Boys Of Summer," "Refugee" and "The Heart Of The Matter."
The former Metallica bassist talks about his first time writing a song with James Hetfield, and how a hand-me-down iPad has changed his songwriting.
