"Should I Stay or Should I Go?" by The Clash features some Spanish lines by the Texas singer Joe Ely.
The Grateful Dead considered "whipping that chain" and "lugging propane," but settled on "high on cocaine" for "Casey Jones."
Michael Jackson became the first artist in history to score Top 10 hits in five consecutive decades on the Hot 100 when "Love Never Felt So Good" landed at #9 on the chart dated May 31, 2014.
"Closing Time" by Semisonic was written by the lead singer when his wife was pregnant. Some of the lyrics are about being born.
One of the most successful cover songs is Fugees' "Killing Me Softly," a 1996 reworking of Roberta Flack's 1973 hit. Originally, Fugees wanted to change the title to "Killing Him Softly" and make it about the dangers of drug abuse.
A key line in "Africa" is "I seek to cure what's deep inside, frightened of this thing that I've become," which is about drifting away from what you really want in life. Toto keyboard player David Paich, who wrote the song, felt his work was consuming him.
On Glen's résumé: hit songwriter, Facebook dominator, and member of Styx.
The leader of the Modern A Cappella movement talks about the genre.
The Def Leppard frontman talks about their "lamentable" hit he never thought of as a single, and why he's juiced by his Mott The Hoople cover band.
Holly Knight talks about some of the hit songs she wrote, including "The Warrior," "Never" and "The Best," and explains some songwriting philosophy, including how to think of a bridge.
Before "Rap" was a form of music, it was something guys did to pick up girls in nightclubs. Donnie talks about "The Rapper" and reveals the identity of Leah.
The Third Day frontman talks about some of the classic songs he wrote with the band, and what changed for his solo country album.