Richard Harris, who played Professor Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter movies, had a hit in 1968 with "MacArthur Park."
John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath got its title from a line in "The Battle Hymn of the Republic": "He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored."
The first line of "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone" is "It was the 3rd of September," which is the day lead singer Dennis Edwards' father died.
Paula Abdul's "Forever Your Girl" was written by Oliver Leiber, who despite being the son of Jerry Leiber from Leiber & Stoller, was an unknown songwriter.
"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" was Michael Jaskson's attack on the tabloid press: "They eat off of you, you're a vegetable."
Brian May wrote Queen's "We Will Rock You" so the crowds could participate in the song. They didn't have instruments, but they could clap their hands and stomp their feet.
The co-writer/guitarist on many Alice Cooper hits, Dick was also Lou Reed's axeman on the Rock n' Roll Animal album.
Ian talks about his 3 or 4 blatant attempts to write a pop song, and also the ones he most connected with, including "Locomotive Breath."
Guitarist Tony Iommi on the "Iron Man" riff, the definitive Black Sabbath song, and how Ozzy and Dio compared as songwriters.
Did this Eagle come up with the term "Parrothead"? And what is it like playing "Hotel California" for the gazillionth time?
Dennis DeYoung explains why "Mr. Roboto" is the defining Styx song, and what the "gathering of angels" represents in "Come Sail Away."
