"Spoonman" by Soundgarden is about a real street performer in Seattle: Artis the Spoonman.
Kid Rock performed his song "Amen" at Barack Obama's inaugural, but claims he didn't vote for him.
It wasn't one of her biggest hits, but "La Isla Bonita" (from 1986) emerged as one of Madonna's top songs in the age of streaming thanks to widespread usage on TikTok. Creators who visit an island or just want that mood often use it as a soundtrack.
David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust" was likely based on various musicians in his ambit, including Iggy Pop (zIGGY), and Jimi Hendrix, who played guitar left-handed ("He played it left hand").
Ariana Grande's collaboration with Zedd, "Break Free" came about after the Russian-German producer overheard Grande performing at a label showcase while he was backstage, and he mentioned to his team that he wanted to work with her.
The melody to "Yesterday" came to Paul McCartney in a dream, but the lyrics he had to write consciously. His first attempt at the title was "Scrabble Eggs."
The Cult frontman tells who the "Fire Woman" is, and talks about performing with the new version of The Doors.
Rufus Wainwright on "Hallelujah," his album Unfollow The Rules, and getting into his "lyric trance" on 12-hour walks.
Daniel Lanois on his album Heavy Sun, and the inside stories of songs he produced for U2, Peter Gabriel, and Bob Dylan.
John Lennon, Paul Simon and Lynyrd Skynyrd are some of the artists who have written revenge songs. Do you know who they wrote them about?
Keyboard great David Sancious talks about his work with Sting, Seal, Springsteen, Clapton and Aretha, and explains what quantum physics has to do with making music.
