"How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You" by Marvin Gaye was inspired by Jackie Gleason's saying, "How Sweet It Is!"
If what you get equals what you give away, you might as well give it all away. That's the concept behind "Give It Away" by Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Shaggy wrote his swaggering hit "Boombastic" after learning what "shag" means in the UK.
"Open Arms" was a pioneering power ballad. Stadium rock bands like Journey shied away from slow songs, but when they reluctantly agreed to record the song, it became their biggest chart hit.
Weird Al Yankovic proposed a parody of "Black Or White" called "Snack All Night," but Michael Jackson asked him not to.
Rickie Lee Jones on songwriting, social media, and how she's handling Trump.
The trail runs from flying saucer songs in the '50s, through Bowie, blink-182 and Katy Perry.
The Brazilian rocker sees pictures in his riffs. When he came up with one of his gnarliest songs, there was a riot going on.
His keyboard work helped define the Muscle Shoals sound and make him an integral part of many Neil Young recordings. Spooner is also an accomplished songwriter, whose hits include "I'm Your Puppet" and "Cry Like A Baby."
The Stax legend on how he cooked up "Green Onions," the first time he and Otis Redding saw hippies, and if he'll ever play a digital organ.
The Bush frontman on where he finds inspiration for lyrics, if his "machine head" is a guitar tuner, and the stories behind songs from the album The Kingdom.
