The Texas songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker wrote "Mr. Bojangles" after a weekend in jail where a fellow inmate told him his life story.
Thomas Dolby wrote "She Blinded Me With Science" so he could direct the video, which was inspired by silent films and set in a "home for deranged scientists."
"The Way" by Fastball was inspired by the story of an elderly couple from Texas who drove to a nearby family reunion and kept going. Fastball's bass player imagined them taking off and having fun like they were young. The story didn't end well: the couple was later found dead after they crashed in a canyon.
Train wrote the 2011 song "Brand New Book" for the TV show The Biggest Loser - part of the song was used in the opening credits.
"Heaven Is A Place On Earth" writer Ellen Shipley got the idea for the song from a gas station greeting card that said "Heaven On Earth."
A big list of musical marriages and family relations ranging from the simple to the truly dysfunctional.
Prince is shrouded in mystery, making him an excellent candidate for Fact or Fiction. Is he really a Scientologist? Does he own an exotic animal?
Some songs get a second life when they find a new audience through a movie, commercial, TV show, or even the Internet.
Joe talks about the challenges of of making a Duke Ellington tribute album, and tells the stories behind some of his hits.
Nick made some of the biggest videos on MTV, including "The Final Countdown," "Heaven" and "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)."
The Prince-penned "Manic Monday" was the first song The Bangles heard coming from a car radio, but "Eternal Flame" is closest to Susanna's heart, perhaps because she sang it in "various states of undress."
