Blur's "There Are Too Many of Us" was inspired in part by a siege in an Australian chocolate café that Damon Albarn witnessed, which resulted in the death of the gunman and two hostages.
"It Wasn't Me" by Shaggy was based on an Eddie Murphy comedy bit where he would deny everything no matter how badly he was caught.
The lyric to "Hold On" by Wilson Phillips was inspired by Chynna Phillips' struggles with addiction. "Hold on for one more day" is something she heard in AA meetings.
John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath got its title from a line in "The Battle Hymn of the Republic": "He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored."
Lionel Richie hosted the American Music Awards the night he recorded "We Are The World." He wrote the song with Michael Jackson.
Billy Idol got the title for "Rebel Yell" from a brand of whiskey he saw members of The Rolling Stones drinking.
A talk with Martin Popoff about his latest book on Rush and how he assessed the thousands of albums he reviewed.
Queen, Phish and The Stones are among our picks for the best band logos. Here are their histories and a design analysis from an expert.
Oliver Leiber talks about writing and producing hits for Paula Abdul, and explains his complicated relationship with his father, the songwriter Jerry Leiber.
The "All I Want" singer went through a long depression, playing some shows when he didn't want to be alive.
How a goofy detective movie, a disenchanted director and an unlikely songwriter led to one of the biggest hits in pop history.
Michelob commercials generated hits for Eric Clapton, Genesis and Steve Winwood in the '80s, even as some of these rockers were fighting alcoholism.