"The Cave" by Mumford & Sons is based on the philosophy of Plato and his work called "Allegory of the Cave."
"Hangin' Tough" came at the peak of New Kids On The Block mania (1988). Their writer/producer Maurice Starr wrote it about the struggles the band faced early on. It was a #1 hit in both America and the UK.
"Diamonds From Sierra Leone" by Kanye West is about the "blood diamonds" mined using child labor in Africa. It also serves as a shout-out to Roc-A-Fella records, known for a diamond-shaped hand signal.
"Truckin'" was written as the Grateful Dead were starting their long, strange trip, settling into a life of constant touring. They rode busses and holed up in modest hotels to stay grounded.
Keith Richards did some studio alchemy on "Street Fighting Man," which is all acoustic except the bass.
Angus Young created the distinctive opening guitar part for AC/DC's "Thuderstruck" by playing with all the strings taped up except the B. He learned the studio trick from his older brother George Young, who was the rhythm guitarist for The Easybeats.
Smith breaks down some of his worship tracks as well as his mainstream hits, including "I Will Be Here For You" and "A Place In This World."
The renown Texas songwriter has been at it for 40 years, with tales to tell about The Flatlanders and The Clash - that's Joe's Tex-Mex on "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"
Chad tells tales from his time as drummer for Nirvana, and talks about his group Before Cars.
P.F. was a teenager writing hits and playing on tracks for Jan & Dean when he wrote a #1 hit that got him blackballed.
The Evanescence frontwoman on the songs that have shifted meaning and her foray into kids' music.
The top chant artist in the Western world, Krishna Das talks about how these Hindu mantras compare to Christian worship songs.