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.
Al Green's commitment classic "Let's Stay Together" launched Tina Turner's comeback when she covered the song in 1983.
"Coming Home" by Diddy - Dirty Money was originally iwritten for for T.I., who was getting out of prison at the time.
"The Rubberband Man" is a "short, fat guy" with rhythm and grace. Spinners producer Thom Bell wrote it to boost the self-esteem of his rotund son.
After the Beastie Boys sampled a bunch of Led Zeppelin songs, Robert Plant did it himself on his 1988 solo hit "Tall Cool One," which sampled "Whole Lotta Love," "Black Dog" and "The Ocean."
Hozier's "Take Me to Church" drew inspiration from the atheist writer Christopher Hitchens. He called it "a bit of a losing your religion song."
The king of Christian worship music explains talks about writing songs for troubled times.
We've heard of artists putting their hearts into their music, but some take it literally.
How did The Edge get his name? Did they name a song after a Tolkien book? And who is "Angel of Harlem" about?
The drummer for Anthrax is also a key songwriter. He explains how the group puts their songs together and tells the stories behind some of their classics.
A Soul Train dancer takes us through a day on the show, and explains what you had to do to get camera time.
The Nails lead singer Marc Campbell talks about those 44 women he sings about over a stock Casio keyboard track. He's married to one of them now - you might be surprised which.