Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo wrote "Beverly Hills" after seeing a photo of the group Wilson Phillips and imagining what it would be like to marry someone famous.
"Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who is about a revolution, but it doesn't have a happy ending, since in the end the new regime becomes just like the old one. Pete Townshend thought that whoever was in power was destined to become corrupt.
Jonah Hill directed the video for Sara Bareilles' song "Gonna Get Over You." It's a mash-up of Grease and West Side Story.
Ed Sheeran's first single was "The A Team," a song about a drug-addicted prostitute.
Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl" is about Christie Brinkley, who he married, but it started as a song about Elle McPherson, who he also went out with.
"Coming Home" by Diddy - Dirty Money was written for for T.I., who was getting out of prison at the time.
As a 5-year-old, Brandi was writing lyrics to instrumental versions lullabies. She still puts her heart into her songs, including the one Elton John sings on.
On Glen's résumé: hit songwriter, Facebook dominator, and member of Styx.
The Scorpions and UFO guitarist is also a very prolific songwriter - he explains how he writes with his various groups, and why he was so keen to get out of Germany and into England.
Did Eric Clapton really steal George's wife? What's the George Harrison-Monty Python connection? Set the record straight with our Fact or Fiction quiz.
The writer of "Rainy Night in Georgia" and "Polk Salad Annie" explains how he cooks up his Louisiana swamp rock.
