"Bittersweet Symphony" by The Verve samples an obscure orchestral arrangement of the 1965 Rolling Stones song "The Last Time." The Verve had to sign away most of the royalties before they could release the song.
"Closing Time" by Semisonic was written by the lead singer when his wife was pregnant. Some of the lyrics are about being born.
Before launching his career as a singer, Bruno Mars was a writer/producer. He and his co-writers pitched "Just The Way You Are" to Cee-Lo Green; when he turned it down, Bruno recorded it himself and released it in 2010 as his first single as a lead artist.
Despite his hit "Forever In Blue Jeans," Neil Diamond was rarely seen in denim. He said the jeans are a symbol for how "the simple things are really the important things."
In Meat Loaf's "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)" what he won't do is a list of six items in the lyrics, including "Forget the way you feel right now" and "Be screwing around."
The Cure lead singer Robert Smith wrote "Lovesong" as a wedding present for his fiancée, Mary, shortly before their marriage. They met when he was 14; he says Mary helped him through many difficult periods and essentially saved his life.
How a country weeper and a blues number made "rolling stone" the most popular phrase in rock.
When he was playing Ozzfest with Black Label Society, a kid told Zakk he was the best Ozzy guitarist - Zakk had to correct him.
Katy Perry mentions McDonald's, Beyoncé calls out Red Lobster, and Supertramp shouts out Taco Bell - we found the 10 restaurants most often mentioned in songs.
Producer Rupert Hine talks about crafting hits for Tina Turner, Howard Jones and The Fixx.
It took him seven years to recover from his American hit "Fool (If You Think It's Over)," but Chris Rea became one of the top singer-songwriters in his native UK.
