
Neil Young was married when he wrote "Cinnamon Girl," which clearly was not about his wife. He had a hard time explaining it to her.

Bruce Springsteen originally wrote "Fire" for Elvis Presley in 1977, and even sent him a demo. Sadly the King died before he ever heard it, and it was left to the Pointer Sisters to record the song.

"November Rain" by Guns N' Roses has a literary influence: The lyric is based on a story called Without You by Del James.

"Step On," the most famous song by the Happy Mondays ("You're twistin' my melon man!") is a thoroughly revamped cover of a song from 1971 about the plight of indigenous peoples called "He's Gonna Step On You Again" by John Kongos.

Brad Pitt and Elvis both get mentions in the 1997 Shania Twain hit "That Don't Impress Me Much."

Radiohead's "Paraonid Android" was written after a confrontation in a Los Angeles bar with an irate woman.
When you free your mind, your ass may follow, but you have to make sure someone else doesn't program it while it's wide open.
The powerhouse producer behind Janet Jackson's hits talks about his Boyz II Men ballads and regrouping The Time.
Michelle Branch talks about "Everywhere," "The Game Of Love," and her run-in with a Christian broadcasting network.
Petula talks about her hits "Downtown" and "Don't Sleep In The Subway," and explains her Michael Jackson connection.
The (Meat)puppetmaster takes us through songs like "Lake Of Fire" and "Backwater," and talks about performing with Kurt Cobain on MTV Unplugged.
Roger tells the stories behind some of his biggest hits, including "Give a Little Bit," "Take the Long Way Home" and "The Logical Song."