The death of John Lennon was an influence on the Stevie Nicks hit "Edge Of Seventeen." He's the one with the "words of a poet and voice from a choir."
"The Way" by Fastball was inspired by the story of an elderly couple from Texas who drove to a nearby family reunion and kept going. Fastball's bass player imagined them taking off and having fun like they were young. The story didn't end well: the couple was later found dead after they crashed in a canyon.
Sia Furler originally sent "Pretty Hurts" to Katy Perry, but she didn't see the email, so Beyonce ended up recording it instead.
The Ozzy Osbourne song "Mr. Crowley" is about Aleister Crowley, a British practitioner of dark magic in the early 1900s.
Every film star mentioned in Madonna's "Vogue" has since died. The last was Lauren Bacall, who passed away in 2014.
"Wanted Dead Or Alive" by Bon Jovi got the Unplugged craze going when Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora performed it with just their acoustic guitars at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards.
A big list of musical marriages and family relations ranging from the simple to the truly dysfunctional.
10 Questions for the author of Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces
With $50 and a glue stick, Bruce Pavitt created Sub Pop, a fanzine-turned-label that gave the world Nirvana and grunge. He explains how motivated individuals can shift culture.
The hitmaking songwriter/producer Sam Hollander with stories about songs for Weezer, Panic! At The Disco, Train, Pentatonix, and Fitz And The Tantrums.
Graham Nash tells the stories behind some of his famous songs and photos, and is asked about "yacht rock" for the first time.
