Lucinda Williams' track "Compassion" is based on a poem by her father, lauded Arkansas poet Miller Williams.
"Grenade" was a term used on the show Jersey Shore to mean an ugly girl. Bruno Mars says his hit song with that title was written before the show started.
When The Kinks released "Lola," most people didn't realize Lola was a man. "I was dancing with this beautiful blonde, then we went out into the daylight and I saw her stubble," Ray Davies said of the inspiration.
Songwriter Wayne Carson came up with the Willie Nelson classic "Always On My Mind" while on the phone to his wife when he was apologizing to her for being stuck at the office.
Rob Thomas put some Spanish flavor in his Carlos Santana collaboration "Smooth" with the line "my muñequita," a pet name for his wife Marisol that means "my little doll."
The first single from the Thriller album was "The Girl Is Mine," chosen over "Billie Jean" and "Beat It" because it was a duet with Paul McCartney and thus guaranteed airplay.
"Mr. Jones" took on new meaning when the song about a misguided view of fame made Adam famous.
For songwriters, Johnny represents the American man. He has been angry, cool, magic, a rebel and, of course, marching home.
Wilder's hit "Break My Stride" had an unlikely inspiration: a famous record mogul who rejected it.
Jon Fratelli talks about the band's third album, and the five-year break leading up to it.
Our chat with Barney Hoskyns, who covers the wild years of Woodstock - the town, not the festival - in his book Small Town Talk.
Queen, Phish and The Stones are among our picks for the best band logos. Here are their histories and a design analysis from an expert.