Dolly Parton is just fine with Whitney Houston's cover of "I Will Always Love You." Said Parton: "She can have the credit. I just want my cash."
The line in John Mellencamp's "Cherry Bomb" that sounds like "that's when a smoke was a smoke" is actually "that's when a sport was a sport," according to the published lyric. In that sense, "sport" is an endearment for someone of good nature.
Johnny Cash promised to stay true to his first wife in "I Walk The Line," but when the song became a hit he found himself on the road, having an affair with June Carter, who became his second wife.
George Michael was 17 and on a bus to his job at the cinema when he came up with the idea for "Careless Whisper" and the lyrics, "Something in your eyes calls to mind a silver screen."
The Ben Folds Five song "Brick" is about a difficult time when Folds' girlfriend got an abortion.
The UK band The Lightning Seeds of "Pure" fame got their name from a misheard line in Prince's "Raspberry Beret," mistaking "thunder drowns out what the lightning sees" for "thunder drowns out the lightning seeds."
For songwriters, Johnny represents the American man. He has been angry, cool, magic, a rebel and, of course, marching home.
The story of the legendary lupine DJ through the songs he inspired.
The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.
Gramm co-wrote this gorgeous ballad and delivered an inspired vocal, but the song was the beginning of the end of his time with Foreigner.
Laura Nyro talks about her complex, emotionally rich songwriting and how she supports women's culture through her art.
