Buddy Holly got the title for his hit song "That'll Be The Day" from a phrase John Wayne repeats in the 1956 movie The Searchers.
"Personal Jesus," a song about "being a Jesus for somebody else," was inspired by Elvis and Priscilla Presley.
Willa Ford came up with her hit "I Wanna Be Bad" when her record company told her to tone down her music in a effort to differentiate her from Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, who were in their "bad girl" eras.
Bruce Springsteen wrote "Blinded By The Light," which was a #1 hit for Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The "Madman Drummers" line is a reference to Springsteen's first E-Street drummer, Vinnie "Mad dog" Lopez.
The Simon & Garfunkel song "Mrs. Robinson" was originally called "Mrs. Roosevelt," most likely after First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The title was changed when it was considered for use in the film The Graduate, where Anne Bancroft's character is Mrs. Robinson.
Elton John's songwriting partner Bernie Taupin wrote the original lyrics for Starship's "We Built This City." It was the first Hot 100 Top 10 hit Taupin wrote without John.
Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.
Steppenwolf frontman John Kay talks about "Magic Carpet Ride," "Born To Be Wild," and what he values more than awards and accolades.
Rise Against frontman Tim McIlrath explains the meanings behind some of their biggest songs and names the sci-fi books that have influenced him.
Songwriters have used cards and card games to make sense of heartache, togetherness, and even Gonorrhea.
Meshell Ndegeocello talks about recording "Wild Night" with John Mellencamp, and explains why she shied away from the spotlight.
In the name of song explanation, Al talks about scoring heroin for William Burroughs, and that's not even the most shocking story in this one.