If what you get equals what you give away, you might as well give it all away. That's the concept behind "Give It Away" by Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Billy Joel's song "Allentown" was written as "Levittown," which is the town in Long Island where he grew up. He got the idea to change it after taking a trip to Pennsylvania.
"All I Wanna Do" by Sheryl Crow started with the first line from an obscure poem called "Fun" that read, "All I wanna do is have some fun."
The original "Venus" was a #1 hit for the Dutch band Shocking Blue. Listen to the first line and you'll hear a muffed word: "goddess" was sung as "goddness."
The phrase "Mamma Mia" was big in 1976. It was the name of a popular Abba song, and also showed up in the lyrics to "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen.
The "Doctor of philosophy" in the Indigo Girls' song "Closer To Fine" is based on a teacher Emily Saliers had who had a poster of Rasputin on his door.
Rick has a surprising dark side, a strong feminine side and, in a certain TV show, a naked backside. But he still hasn't found Jessie's Girl.
Fagen talks about how the Steely Dan songwriting strategy has changed over the years, and explains why you don't hear many covers of their songs.
U2, Carly Simon, Joanna Newsom, Brian Wilson and Fiona Apple have all gone to Van Dyke Parks to make their songs exceptional.
Martyn talks about producing Tina Turner, some Heaven 17 hits, and his work with the British Electric Foundation.
Billie Jean, Delilah, Sara, Laura and Sharona - do you know who the girls in the songs really are?
Lori's songs have been recorded by Faith Hill and Sara Evans. She's performed on the CMAs and on Oprah. She also has five kids.