"Piano Man" was inspired by Billy Joel's time playing at a piano bar in Los Angeles. The "real estate novelist" was a guy who always talked about writing a book, but spent all his spare time in the bar.
Bob Seger got inspired to write "Night Moves" after watching the movie American Graffiti, which showed young people growing up in his "neck of the woods."
The Fratellis song "Chelsea Dagger" was named for their lead singer's wife - it was her burlesque name.
Eddie Van Halen played the guitar solo on "Beat It" as a favor to Quincy Jones, who produced the album.
The guy who wrote "Tell It To My Heart" owns a collection of famous baseballs, including the one that went through Bill Buckner's legs.
"Here Comes Your Man" is the closest the Pixies came to a hit in America. It was rumored to be about a drug dealer, but Black Francis says it's just a story about some hobos who travel by train and die in an earthquake.
Bowie's "activist" days of 1964 led to Ziggy Stardust.
Despite appearances on Carson, Leno and a Pennebaker film, Williams remains a hidden treasure.
When a waitress wouldn't take him home, Jack wrote what would become one of the Eagles most enduring hits.
The drummer for Anthrax is also a key songwriter. He explains how the group puts their songs together and tells the stories behind some of their classics.
Joe talks about the challenges of of making a Duke Ellington tribute album, and tells the stories behind some of his hits.
Their frontman (Chris Cornell) started out as their drummer, so Soundgarden takes a linear approach when it comes to songwriting. Kim explains how they do it.
