The line, "I feel the snakebite enter my veins," led many to believe the Godsmack song "Voodoo" is about drugs, but it's really about Wiccan ritual, inspired in part by the Wes Craven movie The Serpent and the Rainbow.
"Cotton Eye Joe" is a folk song dating to the 1800s, but it became a hit when a Swedish act called Rednex did a psychokinetic version in 1994.
There's a lot of Americana in "Uncle John's Band" by the Grateful Dead, including references to "Buckdancer's Choice" (an Appalachian folk song) and "Fire And Ice," a Robert Frost poem.
A problem with his eyes gave Jackson Browne the idea for "Doctor My Eyes," which became a song about a man whose mental health suffers when he sees the world for what it really is.
Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova starred in the movie Once, which featured their song "Falling Slowly." Bob Dylan liked the song and movie so much he gave them an opening slot on his tour.
At the end of AC/DC's "Night Prowler," you hear Bon Scott say, "Shazbot, Nanu Nunu." Those were Robin Williams' sayings on his TV show Mork & Mindy. Scott was a big fan.
When he joined Guns N' Roses in 1990, Matt helped them craft an orchestral sound; his mezzo fortes and pianissimos are all over "November Rain."
Cain talks about the divine inspirations for "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Faithfully."
Ian talks about his 3 or 4 blatant attempts to write a pop song, and also the ones he most connected with, including "Locomotive Breath."
A popular contemporary folk singer, Williams still remembers the sticky note that changed her life in college.
Is "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" about Vietnam? Was John Fogerty really born on a Bayou? It's the CCR edition of Fact or Fiction.
Eddie (played by Johnny Depp in the video) found fame fleeting, but Chuck Berry's made-up musician fared better.