In "I Walk The Line," Johnny Cash hums before each verse. He did this to get his pitch, as the song changes key several times.
With his song "The G.O.A.T.," as in Greatest Of All Time, LL Cool J popularized that saying in hip-hop. He credits the boxer Muhammad Ali, who called himself "The Greatest," as inspiration.
The Doobie Brothers' swampy #1 hit "Black Water" is about the Mississippi River, evoking the rafting adventures Mark Twain and Huckleberry Finn.
"Strawberry Letter 23" by The Brothers Johnson was written by Shuggie Otis, whose girlfriend would send him letters written on strawberry-scented paper.
Aimee Mann's "Save Me" was inspired by her relationship with the actor Dave Foley, who had gone through a divorce and was an emotional train wreck.
"The Night Chicago Died" was written and recorded by the British group Paper Lace. They talk about Al Capone in the song, but got a lot of details wrong - understandable since they wrote it based on gangster movies.
The Brazilian rocker sees pictures in his riffs. When he came up with one of his gnarliest songs, there was a riot going on.
The Stax legend on how he cooked up "Green Onions," the first time he and Otis Redding saw hippies, and if he'll ever play a digital organ.
How well do you know your David Bowie lyrics? Take this quiz to find out.
A selection of songs made to be terrible - some clearly achieved that goal.
The king of Christian worship music explains talks about writing songs for troubled times.
An Electronic music pioneer with Asperger's Syndrome. This could be interesting.