"Mr. Roboto" by Styx was written by their keyboard player, Dennis DeYoung, who used Japanese words and imagery to create an allegory about censorship.
The Matchbox Twenty song "3 AM" is about the difficult times lead singer Rob Thomas spent caring for his mother, who had cancer.
"Sloop John B" is a traditional West Indian folk song, and it was a huge hit for The Beach Boys in 1966. They tweaked the lyric, "This is the worst trip since I've been born" to "...I've ever been on" as a wink to acid culture.
Jay-Z's version of "99 Problems" is a cover of a 1993 song by Ice-T with the lyrics changed to be about Jay's rise to fame.
"This Must Be The Place" is a rare love song by the Talking Heads, with a very personal lyric from David Byrne likely inspired by the woman who became his first wife.
Ray Parker Jr. had to get the word "Ghostbusters" in the title when he wrote the theme song for the 1984 film, which was no easy task. When it came time to sing the title in the chorus, he brought in friends to make it a gang vocal.
Rockers, rappers and pop stars have been known to quote the Bible in their songs. See if you match the artist to the biblical lyric.
What happens when Kurt Cobain, Iron Maiden and Johnny Lydon are told to lip-synch? Some hilarious "performances."
The Cult frontman tells who the "Fire Woman" is, and talks about performing with the new version of The Doors.
Kooper produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, played with Dylan and the Stones, and formed BS&T.
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.
The country sweetheart opines about the demands of touring and talks about writing songs with her famous father.