The inspiration for Gordon Lightfoot's "Sundown" came from the songwriter worrying about his girlfriend, who was out at bars all day while he was at home penning songs.
Don Johnson, who starred as Sonny Crockett in Miami Vice, had a #5 hit in 1986 with "Heartbeat."
Billy Joel is surprised that "Piano Man" is so successful. He called it "an old, long song about a guy at a depressing piano bar."
The Goo Goo Dolls got the title for their song "Iris" from a country singer named Iris DeMent.
In "Kiss From A Rose," seal sings "kiss from a rose on a gray," not "grave," but he won't explain the lyric, feeling listeners should adapt the song to their own experience.
Mariah Carey's song "The Roof" is about her first kiss with Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.
Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.
The lead singer/lyricist of The Beach Boys talks about coming up with the words for "Good Vibrations," "Fun, Fun, Fun," "Kokomo" and other classic songs.
Michelob commercials generated hits for Eric Clapton, Genesis and Steve Winwood in the '80s, even as some of these rockers were fighting alcoholism.
Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.
The stories behind the biggest hit songs about trucking.
Wilder's hit "Break My Stride" had an unlikely inspiration: a famous record mogul who rejected it.