Beyonce Knowles and Michelle Williams wrote the Destiny's Child song "Girl" for Kelly Rowland as an encouragement for her to end her relationship with a verbally and physically abusive boyfriend.
An unknown Kesha (known then as Ke$ha) sang on Flo-Rida's #1 hit "Right Round," but refused to appear in the video because she wanted to make a name for herself.
The Cure's "Lullaby" is based on a recurring nightmare frontman Robert Smith had as a child where he was eaten by a giant spider.
The Foo Fighters song "Everlong" isn't about Kurt Cobain, but Dave Grohl's girlfriend at the time, Veruca Salt frontwoman Louise Post.
The original, 1930s version of "Puttin' On the Ritz" has lyrics about Lenox Avenue in Harlem, not Park Avenue.
The voice of Waldo in Van Halen's "Hot For Teacher" video was the late Phil Hartman of Saturday Night Live Fame.
Even before Soundgarden wrote a song about him, Artis was the most famous spoon player of all time. So why has he always been broke?
Brenda talks about the inspiration that drove her to write hit songs like "Get Here" and "Piano in the Dark," and why a lack of formal music training can be a songwriter's best asset.
Ian talks about his 3 or 4 blatant attempts to write a pop song, and also the ones he most connected with, including "Locomotive Breath."
When you have a song called "Fire," it's tempting to set one - these guys did.
We've heard of artists putting their hearts into their music, but some take it literally.
