"Friends In Low Places" by Garth Brooks was written by two Nashville songwriters after a meal in a local restaurant. One of them forgot his money, but said not to worry, "I have friends in low places. I know the cook."
"Walking In Memphis" isn't so much about Memphis, as it is The Hollywood Cafe in Mississippi, where Marc Cohn encountered an old woman named Murial playing piano.
Al Green wrote the lyrics for “Let's Stay Together” in five minutes after Willie Mitchell gave him a rough mix of a tune that he and drummer Al Jackson had developed.
"Truckin'" was written as the Grateful Dead were starting their long, strange trip, settling into a life of constant touring. They rode busses and holed up in modest hotels to stay grounded.
The chorus of "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir" in "Lady Marmalade" is French for "Do you want to sleep with me tonight?" When Labelle performed it on television, they had to change it to "Voulez-vous danser avec moi ce soir" (Do you want to dance with me tonight?).
"Magic" was the first word to serve as both the title of a #1 hit (Olivia Newton-John's 1980 tune "Magic") and the name of an artist behind a chart-topping song (Magic!'s 2014 hit "Rude").
Have you got the smarts to know which of these graduation song stories are real?
The writer of "Rainy Night in Georgia" and "Polk Salad Annie" explains how he cooks up his Louisiana swamp rock.
Some album art was at least "inspired" by others. A look at some very similar covers.
Franti tells the story behind his hit "Say Hey (I Love You)" and explains why yoga is an integral part of his lifestyle and his Soulshine tour.
Taylor talks about "The Machine" - the hits, the videos and Clive Davis.
Who writes a song about a name they found in a phone book? That's just one of the everyday things these guys find to sing about. Anything in their field of vision or general scope of knowledge is fair game. If you cross paths with them, so are you.
