A key line in "Africa" is "I seek to cure what's deep inside, frightened of this thing that I've become," which is about drifting away from what you really want in life. Toto keyboard player David Paich, who wrote the song, felt his work was consuming him.
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.
Ann Peebles' "I Can't Stand The Rain" originated from a comment made by the singer to her husband, Don Bryant, when they were preparing to head out to a blues show and it began tipping down with rain.
Thanks to a Newsweek article, there was a long-standing rumor that Bob Dylan stole the song "Blowin' In The Wind."
Harry Chapin's wife Sandy wrote the lyrics to "Cat's In The Cradle," which were actually about her first husband.
MTV wanted Weezer to record a version of their song "Hash Pipe" as "Half Pipe" to appeal to the skateboarding crowd. The band refused, and MTV listed the song as "H*** Pipe."
The stories behind the biggest hit songs about trucking.
What's the deal with "Summer of '69"? Bryan explains what the song is really about, and shares more of his songwriting insights.
A talk with Martin Popoff about his latest book on Rush and how he assessed the thousands of albums he reviewed.
Tyler talks about his true love: songwriting. How he identifies the beauty in a melody and turns sorrow into art.
Rufus Wainwright on "Hallelujah," his album Unfollow The Rules, and getting into his "lyric trance" on 12-hour walks.
