Radiohead's "Paraonid Android" was written after a confrontation in a Los Angeles bar with an irate woman.
The Ben Folds Five song "Brick" is about a difficult time when Folds' girlfriend got an abortion.
Radiohead's "Harry Patch (In Memory Of)" is about the last surviving World War I veteran to fight in the trenches.
"Return To Innocence" by Enigma is based on a Taiwanese chant by a husband and wife. The couple won a lawsuit granting them royalties from the song.
When Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse's version of "Body and Soul" made the Hot 100, Bennett became at age 85, the oldest living artist to chart.
"Personal Jesus," a song about "being a Jesus for somebody else," was inspired by Elvis and Priscilla Presley.
Who writes a song about a name they found in a phone book? That's just one of the everyday things these guys find to sing about. Anything in their field of vision or general scope of knowledge is fair game. If you cross paths with them, so are you.
Joe talks about the challenges of of making a Duke Ellington tribute album, and tells the stories behind some of his hits.
Long before Eminem, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj created alternate personas, David Bowie, Bono, Joni Mitchell and even Hank Williams took on characters.
"I'll Be" was what Edwin called his "Hail Mary" song. He says it proves "intention of the songwriter is 180 degrees from potential interpretation by an audience."
Was a Beatles song a TV theme? And who came up with those Fresh Prince and Sopranos songs?
