"Are You Gonna Go My Way" by Lenny Kravitz is from the perspective of Jesus Christ: "I am the chosen I'm the one."
Eric Clapton's only Hot 100 #1, either solo or with one of his many bands, was his cover of Bob Marley's "I Shot The Sheriff."
David Bowie's "Station to Station" is over 10 minutes long. Bowie was doing a lot of drugs at the time and later said, "I have only flashes of making it."
Bob Seger's "Against The Wind" has the famous mind-bending line, "Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then." Seger was going to cut it, but his Eagles buddies Glenn Frey and Don Henley told him it was the best line in the song.
Cheap Trick's original version of "I Want You To Want Me" was countrified and kind of hokey. When they sped it up for their Live At Budokan album, it became a huge hit.
The third verse of "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies ("they shook and lurched all over the church floor...") was inspired by girl whose parents would speak in tongues at their Pentecostal service.
"London Bridge," "Ring Around the Rosie" and "It's Raining, It's Pouring" are just a few examples of shockingly morbid children's songs.
The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.
The writer of "Rainy Night in Georgia" and "Polk Salad Annie" explains how he cooks up his Louisiana swamp rock.
Emilio talks about what it's like to write and perform with the Tower of Power horns, and why every struggling band should have a friend like Huey Lewis.
An interview with Ray and Derek Shulman of the progressive rock band Gentle Giant to discuss counterpoint, polyrhythms, and... Bon Jovi.
The lead singer/lyricist of The Beach Boys talks about coming up with the words for "Good Vibrations," "Fun, Fun, Fun," "Kokomo" and other classic songs.