Alicia Keys wrote "If I Ain't Got You" just after she'd heard the news that Aaliyah had passed away. in a plane crash.
Katmandu, the capital of Nepal, was the archetype for faraway mysticism when Bob Seger wrote a song about it in 1975.
Pink wrote "Just Give Me A Reason" about how one partner can feel jilted over something trivial, like how her boyfriend passes her the butter.
"Don't Dream It's Over" is the biggest hit for Crowded House, whose lead singer, Neil Finn, sang it on tour when he joined Fleetwood Mac. He wrote the song when he was feeling a bit lost as a way of urging himself on.
Dolly Parton wrote her #1 hit "9 to 5" for the 1980 movie she starred in as a secretary. The film is a comedy and the song has a lighthearted feel, but the message of gender discrimination in the office was very real. Both the song and movie helped bring the issue to the fore.
When the Velvet Underground song "Heroin" got screechy, Maureen Tucker stopped drumming, figuring it would bust the take, but her bandmates kept going. You can hear it at the 5:20 mark.
Howard explains his positive songwriting method and how uplifting songs can carry a deeper message.
The co-writer/guitarist on many Alice Cooper hits, Dick was also Lou Reed's axeman on the Rock n' Roll Animal album.
Christopher Cross with Deep Purple? Kenny Loggins in Caddyshack? A Fact or Fiction all about yacht rock and those who made it.
Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai were two of Graham's co-writers for some '80s rock classics.
In this quiz, spot the artist who put Romeo into a song lyric.
One of rock's top photographers talks about artistry in photography, raising funds for a documentary, and enjoying a County Fair with Tom Waits.