"Hangin' Tough" came at the peak of New Kids on the Block mania. Their writer/producer Maurice Starr wrote it about the struggles the band faced early on. It was #1 in England and America.
Mariah Carey's "My All" is about her affair with New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.
The Devo song "Freedom Of Choice" is about mindless consumerism - how people like to make frivolous choices, but otherwise want to be told what to do.
"Here Comes Your Man" is the closest the Pixies came to a hit in America. It was rumored to be about a drug dealer, but Black Francis says it's just a story about some hobos who travel by train and die in an earthquake.
The Bryan Adams song "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" was almost rejected for the movie Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves because it didn't sound medieval enough.
"Name" by The Goo Goo Dolls was partly inspired by lead singer John Rzeznik's flirtation with the MTV VJ Kennedy, who didn't want him to tell anyone her real name.
Before he was the champ, Ali released an album called I Am The Greatest!, but his musical influence is best heard in the songs he inspired.
Was Justin the first to be Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher? Did Britney really blame him for her meltdown? Did his bandmates think he was gay?
Our chat with Barney Hoskyns, who covers the wild years of Woodstock - the town, not the festival - in his book Small Town Talk.
The longtime Eagle talks about soaring back to his solo career, and what he learned about songwriting in the group.
Newman makes it look easy these days, but in this 1974 interview, he reveals the paranoia and pressures that made him yearn for his old 9-5 job.
A talented lyricist, Philip helped revive Neil Sedaka's career with the words to "Laughter In The Rain" and "Bad Blood."
