Roger Daltrey stutters the vocal on "My Generation" by The Who. The idea was to sound like a British kid on speed.
The songwriting team Leiber and Stoller wrote "Hound Dog" for a blues singer named Big Mama Thronton, who first recorded the song in 1953. Elvis covered it in 1956, and it became his biggest hit.
"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.
The Ozzy Osbourne song "Mr. Crowley" is about Aleister Crowley, a British practitioner of dark magic in the early 1900s.
Jack & Diane started off as an interracial couple; Mellencamp took race references out of the song at the request of his record company.
"I Swear" was a #1 country hit for John Michael Montgomery before All-4-One made it a #1 pop hit.
The drummer for Anthrax is also a key songwriter. He explains how the group puts their songs together and tells the stories behind some of their classics.
When Dave recorded the first version of the song with his group the Blasters, producer Nick Lowe gave him some life-changing advice.
Howard explains his positive songwriting method and how uplifting songs can carry a deeper message.
Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris and Lyle Lovett are just a few of the artists who have looked to Clark for insightful, intelligent songs.
We ring the Hell's Bells to see what songs and rockers are sincere in their Satanism, and how much of it is an act.
