Celine Dion's 1998 festive tune "The Magic of Christmas Day (God Bless Us Everyone)" came from an unlikely source. It was penned by Dee Snider of the heavy metal band Twisted Sister.
"Panama" by Van Halen is not about the country or the canal, but about a stripper David Lee Roth met in Arizona.
The first version of The Beatles "Helter Skelter" was a 27 minute jam, so you can imagine what Ringo was going through pounding away all that time. To convince the guys that he needed a break, he screamed, "I've got blisters on my fingers!" This was included on the fadeout.
In Led Zeppelin's "Fool In The Rain," the guy goes into a funk when he thinks he's been stood up, but is elated when he realizes he's been standing on the wrong corner, and it's all a terrible mess.
"Hangin' Tough" came at the peak of New Kids on the Block mania. Their writer/producer Maurice Starr wrote it about the struggles the band faced early on. It was #1 in England and America.
If what you get equals what you give away, you might as well give it all away. That's the concept behind "Give It Away" by Red Hot Chili Peppers.
The guy who brought us "Stacy's Mom" also wrote the Jane Lynch Emmy song and Stephen Colbert's Christmas songs.
The story of the legendary lupine DJ through the songs he inspired.
Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan explains the "few red lights" in "Smoke On The Water" and talks about songs from their 2020 album Whoosh!
The lead singer of Everclear, Art is also their primary songwriter.
The Scorpions and UFO guitarist is also a very prolific songwriter - he explains how he writes with his various groups, and why he was so keen to get out of Germany and into England.
The longtime Eagle talks about soaring back to his solo career, and what he learned about songwriting in the group.