"Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" is about a guy Jim Croce met in the National Guard, which Jim joined to keep him out of Vietnam. Leroy went AWOL, but got caught when he tried to pick up his paycheck.
The Eagles' first single, "Take It Easy," was written by Jackson Browne, who was living in the apartment below Glenn Frey when he wrote it.
The "Doctor of philosophy" in the Indigo Girls' song "Closer To Fine" is based on a teacher Emily Saliers had who had a poster of Rasputin on his door.
The phrase "Hasta la vista, baby" was popularized in the 1987 Jody Watley song "Looking For A New Love," four years before Arnold Schwarzenegger said it in the movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
Jessie J had a lyric from her song "Who You Are" tattooed on her hip, but she spelled "lose" incorrectly so it reads: "Don't loose who you are in the blur of the stars."
"Kickstart My Heart" is about all the ways Motley Crue gets their blood flowing without drugs. It was inspired by their bass player Nikki Sixx, who claimed he had to be revived with a shot of adrenaline to the heart after an overdose.
Did this Eagle come up with the term "Parrothead"? And what is it like playing "Hotel California" for the gazillionth time?
Brian has unearthed outtakes by Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello and hundreds of other artists for reissues. Here's how he does it.
Songs where something goes horribly wrong (literally or metaphorically), and help is needed right away.
Don breaks down "Hotel California" and other songs he wrote as a member of the Eagles. Now we know where the "warm smell of colitas" came from.
His keyboard work helped define the Muscle Shoals sound and make him an integral part of many Neil Young recordings. Spooner is also an accomplished songwriter, whose hits include "I'm Your Puppet" and "Cry Like A Baby."
