Jessie J had a lyric from her song "Who You Are" tattooed on her hip, but she spelled "lose" incorrectly so it reads: "Don't loose who you are in the blur of the stars."
"Run To You" by Bryan Adams was written for Blue Oyster Cult, and the guitar part is modeled after "Don't Fear The Reaper." BOC turned it down, so Adams recorded it for his album Reckless.
Desmond Child thought Gavin Rossdale was singing "Kiss The Rain" on the Bush song "Glycerine." When he found out the truth, he wrote a song called "Kiss The Rain" for Billie Myers.
In her 2020 memoir, Mariah Carey revealed that "Honey" is about her fling with New York Yankees superstar Derek Jeter. She and her husband, Tommy Mottola, were in the midst of a breakup.
Elton John's songwriting partner Bernie Taupin wrote the original lyrics for Starship's "We Built This City." It was the first Hot 100 Top 10 hit Taupin wrote without John.
Phil Collins' "I Missed Again" was originally "I Miss You, Babe," and was a very somber song about his recent divorce. Collins decided to lighten it up and inject some humor into the song.
When she released her first album in 1988, Tanita became a UK singing sensation at age 19. She talks about her darkly sensual voice and quirky songwriting style.
Ian talks about his 3 or 4 blatant attempts to write a pop song, and also the ones he most connected with, including "Locomotive Breath."
The Brazilian rocker sees pictures in his riffs. When he came up with one of his gnarliest songs, there was a riot going on.
The Winger frontman reveals the Led Zeppelin song he cribbed for "Seventeen," and explains how his passion for orchestra music informs his songwriting.
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.
A founding member of the band War, Harold gives a first-person account of one of the most important periods in music history.