Katmandu, the capital of Nepal, was the archetype for faraway mysticism when Bob Seger wrote a song about it in 1975.
The TV show Cheers was nearly canceled after its first season, but the theme song, "Where Everybody Knows Your Name," was very popular. To satisfy viewer demand, the theme was made into a full song and released as a single.
Rob Reiner named his 1986 movie "Stand By Me" after the song, since he thought The Body, a Stephen King story on which it was based, sounded like a horror movie.
Jethro Tull lead singer Ian Anderson wrote "Aqualung" after looking at pictures of homeless men that his wife took. She got a co-writing credit on the song.
Janet Jackson wrote the lyric to "Nasty" in response to random guys calling her "baby."
The man who created Yacht Rock with "Sailing" wrote one of his biggest hits while on acid.
The Jayhawks' song "Big Star" has special meaning to Gary, who explains how longevity and inspiration have trumped adulation.
Bowie's "activist" days of 1964 led to Ziggy Stardust.
Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai were two of Graham's co-writers for some '80s rock classics.
The Guns N' Roses rhythm guitarist in the early '90s, Gilby talks about the band's implosion and the side projects it spawned.
Was a Beatles song a TV theme? And who came up with those Fresh Prince and Sopranos songs?
