Christine McVie wrote "Songbird" for Fleetwood Mac's Rumours album in just half a hour after she woke up in the middle of the night with the song in her head.
David Bowie was in a mystical state when he wrote "The Man Who Sold The World," which he said happened during his "15 minutes of Buddhism."
Billy Idol got the title for "Rebel Yell" from a brand of whiskey he saw members of The Rolling Stones drinking.
George Michael was 17 and on a bus to his job at the cinema when he came up with the idea for "Careless Whisper" and the lyrics, "Something in your eyes calls to mind a silver screen."
Sheriff had been disbanded for years when "When I'm With You" hit #1 in America thanks to rediscovery by radio stations. The group never re-formed and never made a video for the song.
War got the idea for "Why Can't We Be Friends?" when they were traveling in Japan and found they had a kinship with the citizens even though they didn't speak the same language.
The top chant artist in the Western world, Krishna Das talks about how these Hindu mantras compare to Christian worship songs.
The country sweetheart opines about the demands of touring and talks about writing songs with her famous father.
How well do you know this shock-rock harbinger who's been publicly executed hundreds of times?
Nirvana, Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen are among those who wrote songs with cities that show up in this quiz.
Todd Rundgren explains why he avoids "Hello It's Me," and what it was like producing Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell album.
The singer/bassist for Concrete Blonde talks about how her songs come from clairvoyance, and takes us through the making of their hit "Joey."