The death of John Lennon was an influence on the Stevie Nicks hit "Edge Of Seventeen." He's the one with the "words of a poet and voice from a choir."
When Rihanna's "Umbrella" was a hit in the summer of 2007, it rained constantly in London, prompting their newspaper The Sun to suggest a "Rihanna Curse."
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.
The Texas songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker wrote "Mr. Bojangles" after a weekend in jail where a fellow inmate told him his life story.
"The Way" by Fastball was inspired by the story of an elderly couple from Texas who drove to a nearby family reunion and kept going. Fastball's bass player imagined them taking off and having fun like they were young. The story didn't end well: the couple was later found dead after they crashed in a canyon.
Katy Perry says her 2008 song "Ur So Gay" is about "guys who wear the guyliner, steal your jeans, and that whole almost hipster emo scene."
Julian tells the stories behind his hits "Valotte" and "Too Late for Goodbyes," and fills us in on his many non-musical pursuits. Also: what MTV meant to his career.
How well do you know this shock-rock harbinger who's been publicly executed hundreds of times?
In this talk from the '80s, the Kansas frontman talks turning to God and writing "Dust In The Wind."
Kiss is the subject of many outlandish rumors - some of which happen to be true. See if you can spot the fakes.
Armed with a childhood spent devouring books, Mike Scott's heart was stolen by the punk rock scene of 1977. Not surprisingly, he would go on to become the most literate of rockers.
