Ronnie Dunn wrote "Boot Scootin' Boogie" before he teamed up with Kix Brooks to form Brooks & Dunn. It was originally recorded by the country group Asleep At The Wheel, but Brooks & Dunn did it themselves when it got its own line dance.
Joni Mitchell wrote "Woodstock" - the most popular song about the festival - but didn't attend the event because she was booked on The Dick Cavett Show.
"Panama" by Van Halen is not about the country or the canal, but about a stripper David Lee Roth met in Arizona.
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.
Dr. Luke and Max Martin originally wrote Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" with Pink in mind but she turned it down.
The Grateful Dead considered "whipping that chain" and "lugging propane," but settled on "high on cocaine" for "Casey Jones."
It took him seven years to recover from his American hit "Fool (If You Think It's Over)," but Chris Rea became one of the top singer-songwriters in his native UK.
Switchfoot's frontman and main songwriter on what inspires the songs and how he got the freedom to say exactly what he means.
Emilio talks about what it's like to write and perform with the Tower of Power horns, and why every struggling band should have a friend like Huey Lewis.
When he joined Guns N' Roses in 1990, Matt helped them craft an orchestral sound; his mezzo fortes and pianissimos are all over "November Rain."
Charlotte was established in the LA punk scene when a freaky girl named Belinda approached her wearing a garbage bag.
The singer/bassist for Concrete Blonde talks about how her songs come from clairvoyance, and takes us through the making of their hit "Joey."
