Bono came up with the idea of focusing on a soldier's last thoughts as he dies from his wounds in the U2 song "White As Snow" after reading William Golding's 1956 novel Pincher Martin.
John Lennon wrote "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill" about Richard Cooke, a hunter he met at the Maharishi's camp in India. Cooke hasn't shot anything since the camp, except with his camera - he became a freelance photographer for National Geographic.
Neil Young wrote the CSN&Y song "Ohio" about the Kent State Shootings, when the National Guard opened fire on students at Kent State University in Ohio, killing four.
The Annie Lennox hit "No More I Love You's" is a cover, originally sung by a man.
The eerie percussion and guitar for Portsihead's "Sour Times" was sampled from Lalo Schifrin's "Danube Incident," music composed by the Argentine composer for an episode of Mission Impossible.
ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson conceived "Dancing Queen" as a dance song with the working title "Boogaloo," drawing inspiration from the 1974 George McCrae disco hit "Rock Your Baby." Their manager Stig Anderson came up with the title "Dancing Queen."
Dave reveals the inspiration for "Feelin' Alright" and explains how the first song he ever wrote became the biggest hit for his band Traffic.
Tyler talks about his true love: songwriting. How he identifies the beauty in a melody and turns sorrow into art.
Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.
On Glen's résumé: hit songwriter, Facebook dominator, and member of Styx.
The trail runs from flying saucer songs in the '50s, through Bowie, blink-182 and Katy Perry.
Songwriters have used cards and card games to make sense of heartache, togetherness, and even Gonorrhea.