"Grenade" was a term used on the show Jersey Shore to mean an ugly girl. Bruno Mars says his hit song with that title was written before the show started.
"Mercedes Boy" by Pebbles is about a real guy she fell in love with - they both drove Mercedes when she wrote it.
"Celebration" by Kool & the Gang has a deeper meaning - it was inspired by a verse in the Quran where angels celebrate as God creates man.
The disco song "Good Tmes" by Chic was a huge influence on early rap, providing the bassline for "Rapper's Delight."
"Soul Man" was a new term when the song was written in 1967. As defined by Sam & Dave, the "soul man" was a farmer "comin' to ya on a dusty road."
"I Won't Back Down" is a very personal song for Tom Petty. "I thought it wasn't that good because it was so naked," he said.
"Lullaby" singer Shawn Mullins on "Beautiful Wreck," beating the Devil, and his writing credit on the Zac Brown Band song "Toes."
Switchfoot's frontman and main songwriter on what inspires the songs and how he got the freedom to say exactly what he means.
The Kiss rocker covers a lot of ground in this interview, including why there are no Kiss collaborations, and why the Rock Hall has "become a sham."
Their frontman (Chris Cornell) started out as their drummer, so Soundgarden takes a linear approach when it comes to songwriting. Kim explains how they do it.
Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai were two of Graham's co-writers for some '80s rock classics.
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)."