No Doubt's hit "Don't Speak" is about Gwen Stefani's breakup with the band's bass player, Tony Kanal, after seven years together.
The Texas songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker wrote "Mr. Bojangles" after a weekend in jail where a fellow inmate told him his life story.
The Motown team of Holland-Dozier-Holland wrote "Where Did Our Love Go" with The Marvelettes in mind, but they turned it down. When The Supremes recorded the tune, Diana Ross was forced to sing in a lower, breathier style than she was used to because it wasn't written for her.
Neil Young's song "Old Man" was inspired by the caretaker of the ranch he bought in 1970. Neil was the young man at the time, just 25.
"One Week" by Barenaked Ladies was a #1 hit in America - for exactly one week in 1998.
Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" is about their founding member Syd Barrett, who became an acid casualty. Notice the S-Y-D in the title.
They sang about pink torpedoes and rocking you tonight tonight, but some real lyrics are just as ridiculous. See if you can tell which lyrics are real and which are Spinal Tap in this lyrics quiz.
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.
Dennis DeYoung explains why "Mr. Roboto" is the defining Styx song, and what the "gathering of angels" represents in "Come Sail Away."
Holly Knight talks about some of the hit songs she wrote, including "The Warrior," "Never" and "The Best," and explains some songwriting philosophy, including how to think of a bridge.
One of Canada's most popular and eclectic performers, Hawksley tells stories about his oldest songs, his plentiful side projects, and the ways that he keeps his songwriting fresh.
P.F. was a teenager writing hits and playing on tracks for Jan & Dean when he wrote a #1 hit that got him blackballed.