Rod Stewart wrote "Maggie May" about the woman who deflowered him when he was 16.
Two tears roll down Sinead O'Connor's face. toward the end of the video for "Nothing Compares 2 U." They were shed because she associated the song's lyrics of love and loss with her mother, who was killed in a car accident in 1985.
The Kenny G instrumental "Songbird" owes much of its success to VH1, which launched a year earlier and played the video to death.
KT Tunstall's "Suddenly I See" was inspired by Robert Mapplethorpe's photograph of Patti Smith on the cover of her album Horses.
"I Fought The Law" was a hit for The Bobby Fuller Four in 1965. The Clash released their version in 1979, changing the lyrics "I left my baby" to "I killed my baby."
The kid in Madonna's "Open Your Heart" video became a successful songwriter. His songs include Amy Winehouse's "You Sent Me Flying" and James Blunt's "1973."
Rosanne talks about the journey that inspired her songs on her album The River & the Thread, including a stop at the Tallahatchie Bridge.
Kristian talks songwriting technique, like how the chorus should redefine the story, and how to write a song backwards.
Wilder's hit "Break My Stride" had an unlikely inspiration: a famous record mogul who rejected it.
An interview with Frankie Valli, who talks about why his songs - both solo and with The Four Seasons - have endured, and reflects on his time as Rusty Millio on The Sopranos.
A top country songwriter, Barry talks about writing hits for Little Big Town, Tim McGraw and Jason Aldean.
As Procol Harum's lyricist, Keith wrote the words to "A Whiter Shade Of Pale." We delve into that song and find out how you can form a band when you don't sing or play an instrument.
