The melody to "Yesterday" came to Paul McCartney in a dream, but the lyrics he had to write consciously. His first attempt at the title was "Scrabble Eggs."
When Keith Urban played "Somebody Like You" for his girlfriend, she called him a hypocrite because he "sucked at relationships."
Billy Joel's song "Allentown" was written as "Levittown," which is the town in Long Island where he grew up. He got the idea to change it after taking a trip to Pennsylvania.
Chaka Khan's hit "I Feel For You" was written and originally recorded by Prince four years before she covered it.
With his song "The G.O.A.T.," as in Greatest Of All Time, LL Cool J popularized that saying in hip-hop. He credits the boxer Muhammad Ali, who called himself "The Greatest," as inspiration.
The Genesis song "Invisible Touch" was inspired by the Prince-written Sheila E. track "The Glamorous Life."
Dean's saga began with "Ariel," a song about falling in love with a Jewish girl from New Jersey.
With Bernie Taupin, Martin co-wrote the #1 hits "We Built This City" and "These Dreams." After writing the Pretty Woman song for Go West, he had his own hit with "In the House of Stone and Light."
Meshell Ndegeocello talks about recording "Wild Night" with John Mellencamp, and explains why she shied away from the spotlight.
Edie Brickell on her collaborations with Paul Simon, Steve Martin and Willie Nelson, and her 2021 album with the New Bohemians.
Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.
