The eerie percussion and guitar for Portsihead's "Sour Times" was sampled from Lalo Schifrin's "Danube Incident," music composed by the Argentine composer for an episode of Mission Impossible.
The band Simple Minds took their name from the line "He's so simple minded he can't drive his module" in David Bowie's "The Jean Genie."
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.
"The Cave" by Mumford & Sons is based on the philosophy of Plato and his work called "Allegory of the Cave."
The philosophical Kansas song "Dust In The Wind" is inspired by a line of Native American poetry: "For all we are is dust in the wind."
Sia Furler wrote "Titanium" and wanted to give the tune to Katy Perry. She turned it down, so David Guetta recorded it instead using Sia's original demo guide vocal. It became a big hit, especially in the UK, where it went to #1.
On Glen's résumé: hit songwriter, Facebook dominator, and member of Styx.
A song he wrote and recorded from "sheer spiritual inspiration," Allen's didn't think "Southern Nights" had hit potential until Glen Campbell took it to #1 two years later.
The lead singer of Everclear, Art is also their primary songwriter.
Songwriting Hall of Famer Linda Perry talks about her songs "What's Up" and "Beautiful," her songwriting process, and her move into film music.
"Missing You" was a spontaneous outpouring of emotion triggered by a phone call. John tells that story and explains what MTV meant to his career.
