"Step On," the most famous song by the Happy Mondays ("You're twistin' my melon man!") is a thoroughly revamped cover of a song from 1971 about the plight of indigenous peoples called "He's Gonna Step On You Again" by John Kongos.
Creedence Clearwater Revival's first single was a cover of a rockabilly song called "Susie Q." When it became a hit, group leader John Fogerty went into a songwriting frenzy so they wouldn't be one-hit wonders, resulting in hits like "Proud Mary" and "Lodi."
Scott Stapp of Creed wrote "With Arms Wide Open" when he found out he was going to be a dad. He named his son Jagger.
"Dark Fantasy" by Kanye West opens with a reinterpretation of Cinderella as read by Nicki Minaj.
Janet Jackson wrote the lyric to "Nasty" in response to random guys calling her "baby."
Cher was 43 in 1989 when she landed one of her biggest hits: "If I Could Turn Back Time." It made her an unlikely MTV star thanks to a video shot on the battleship USS Missouri where she's entertaining the troops in fishnet stockings and a thong.
Writing great prog metal isn't easy, especially when it's for 60 musicians.
Can you be married in one country but not another? Only if you're part of a gay couple. One of the first famous singers to come out as a lesbian, Janis wrote a song about it.
When he was playing Ozzfest with Black Label Society, a kid told Zakk he was the best Ozzy guitarist - Zakk had to correct him.
John tells the "St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)" story and explains why he disappeared for so long.
Andrew Farriss on writing with Michael Hutchence, the stories behind "Mystify" and other INXS hits, and his country-flavored debut solo album.
