The "pompatus of love" from the Steve Miller song "The Joker" comes from a line in a '50s doo-wop song Miller misheard: "puppetutes of love."
Frank Sinatra was 64 when he had his last hit: "New York, New York." The song pegged him to New York City, leaving Las Vegas to Elvis.
It took John Fogerty just 20 minutes to write "Fortunate Son" for Creedence Clearwater Revival's Willy And The Poorboys album..
Buck Dharma of Blue Oyster Cult wrote "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" after he was diagnosed with a heart condition and started thinking about his own mortality.
Puff Daddy didn't get permission to sample the Police song "Every Breath You Take" on his Notorious B.I.G. tribute "I'll Be Missing You," but he later reached an agreement and even performed the song with Sting.
"Teardrop" by Massive Attack has vocals by Elizabeth Fraser of The Cocteau Twins, who wrote the lyric after learning that Jeff Buckley had died.
When he was asked to write a song for the Singles soundtrack, Mark thought the Seattle grunge scene was already overblown, so that's what he wrote about.
These Three famous songs actually describe how they were written - late into the evening.
"Mony Mony," "Crimson and Clover," "Draggin' The Line"... the hits kept coming for Tommy James, and in a plot line fit for a movie, his record company was controlled by the mafia.
Dave reveals the inspiration for "Feelin' Alright" and explains how the first song he ever wrote became the biggest hit for his band Traffic.
A big list of musical marriages and family relations ranging from the simple to the truly dysfunctional.
Kristian talks songwriting technique, like how the chorus should redefine the story, and how to write a song backwards.