The EMF song "Unbelievable" samples the raunchy comic Andrew Dice Clay saying, "What the f--k was that!"
On the surface, "Summer Breeze" by Seals & Crofts is just a song about a guy coming home from work, but the duo claimed it had a deeper meaning about finding direction in one's personal life.
Madonna didn't write "Papa Don't Preach," which deals with abortion. What drew her to the song was the singer standing up to male authority.
"Kickstart My Heart" is about all the ways Motley Crue gets their blood flowing without drugs. It was inspired by their bass player Nikki Sixx, who claimed he had to be revived with a shot of adrenaline to the heart after an overdose.
Jack & Diane started off as an interracial couple; Mellencamp took race references out of the song at the request of his record company.
The 2001 Dirty Vegas hit "Days Go By" was written by their lead singer when he was longing for his ex-girlfriend. The sad song gave him a happy ending though: They got back together after it was released and eventually got married.
The Christian rapper talks about where his trip to Haiti and his history of addiction fit into his songs.
The Sevendust frontman talks about the group's songwriting process, and how trips to the Murder Bar helped forge their latest album.
In this talk from the '80s, the Kansas frontman talks turning to God and writing "Dust In The Wind."
The writer of "Rainy Night in Georgia" and "Polk Salad Annie" explains how he cooks up his Louisiana swamp rock.
The Brazilian rocker sees pictures in his riffs. When he came up with one of his gnarliest songs, there was a riot going on.
Fiona's highly-anticipated third album almost didn't make it. Here's how it finally came together after two years and a leak.