"November Rain" by Guns N' Roses has a literary influence: The lyric is based on a story called Without You by Del James.
Keith Richards did some studio alchemy on "Street Fighting Man," which is all acoustic except the bass.
Fall Out Boy's "The Kids Aren't Alright" song title is not a reference to The Offspring's 1998 single of the same name. It actually alludes to The Who's 1979 rockumentary film called The Kids Are Alright.
Janet Jackson's "Alright" video features Cab Calloway and Cyd Charisse, stars of musicals she loved as a kid.
Weird Al Yankovic proposed a parody of "Black Or White" called "Snack All Night," but Michael Jackson asked him not to.
Bono wrote U2's song "Sweetest Thing" for his wife to make up for working on her birthday. For the video, he staged an "apology parade," complete with Irish step dancers and an elephant.
We've heard of artists putting their hearts into their music, but some take it literally.
Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.
For songwriters, Johnny represents the American man. He has been angry, cool, magic, a rebel and, of course, marching home.
Many unusual folks appear in Grateful Dead songs. Can you identify them?
The author of Help! 100 Songwriting, Recording And Career Tips Used By The Beatles, explains how the group crafted their choruses so effectively.
Bowie's "activist" days of 1964 led to Ziggy Stardust.