Bob Dylan helped popularize the concept of "burnout" in his 1975 song "Shelter From the Storm" when he sang: "I was burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail." That's how many Americans were feeling at the time as they worked harder for less pay.
"Dude (Looks Like A Lady)" by Aerosmith was inspired by Vince Neil from Motley Crue.
MC Skat Kat was created for the remix of "Opposites Attract," which was released as the last single from Paula Abdul's Forever Your Girl album. The team that created the Kat also did a-ha's "Take On Me" video.
"Instant Karma" is one of John Lennon's most hopeful songs, written and recorded in one day at a time when he felt people were pulling together in a positive direction.
The inspiration for Gordon Lightfoot's "Sundown" came when he was worrying about his girlfriend, who was out at bars all day while he was home writing songs.
Lady Gaga is a big fan of horror movies; listen for the names of these three Alfred Hitchcock films in the lyrics to "Bad Romance": Psycho, Vertigo, Rear Window.
Mike is lead guitarist with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and co-writer of classic songs like "Boys Of Summer," "Refugee" and "The Heart Of The Matter."
Whether he's splitting ears or burning Nazis, Quentin Tarantino uses memorable music in his films. See if you can match the song to the scene.
Switchfoot's frontman and main songwriter on what inspires the songs and how he got the freedom to say exactly what he means.
The renown rock singer talks about "The House of the Rising Sun" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood."
Nick made some of the biggest videos on MTV, including "The Final Countdown," "Heaven" and "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)."
He wrote "She Blinded Me With Science" so he could direct a video about a home for deranged scientists.