Madonna's hit "Don't Tell Me" was written by her brother-in-law, Joe Henry, who has produced albums by Hugh Laurie and Bonnie Raitt.
You wouldn't know it from the upbeat melody, but "Walkin' On The Sun" by Smash Mouth is about the 1992 Los Angeles Riots.
Brian May wrote Queen's "We Will Rock You" so the crowds could participate in the song. They didn't have instruments, but they could clap their hands and stomp their feet.
The Temptations sang backup on "Super Freak" by Rick James. He mentions them in the song when he says, "Temptations, sing!"
"At This Moment" was first released by Billy Vera & the Beaters in 1981, and hit #79. After it was used in two episodes of Family Ties in 1985-1986, it went to #1.
Gina in Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer" is based on a singer named Maria Vidal, who was working as a singing waitress using the name Gina Velvet.
Into the vaults for this talk with Bolton from the '80s when he was a focused on writing songs for other artists.
Rise Against frontman Tim McIlrath explains the meanings behind some of their biggest songs and names the sci-fi books that have influenced him.
The lead singer/lyricist for Anberlin breaks down "Impossible" and covers some tracks from their 2012 album Vital.
Is "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" about Vietnam? Was John Fogerty really born on a Bayou? It's the CCR edition of Fact or Fiction.
The king of Christian worship music explains talks about writing songs for troubled times.
What are the biggest US hits with French, Spanish (not "Rico Suave"), Italian, Scottish, Greek, and Japanese titles?