Jethro Tull lead singer Ian Anderson wrote "Aqualung" after looking at pictures of homeless men that his wife took. She got a co-writing credit on the song.
Don't play "I Will Always Love You" at your wedding - Dolly Parton wrote it about leaving someone behind to strike out on her own.
One of the most enduring songs from the '90s is "Iris" by The Goo Goo Dolls, which got huge on social media and streaming in the 2020s. The song was written for a movie called City Of Angels, about an angel (Nicolas Cage) who falls in love with a human (Meg Ryan).
The Temptations sang backup on "Super Freak" by Rick James. He mentions them in the song when he says, "Temptations, sing!"
Stevie Nicks got the title for the Fleetwood Mac song "Silver Springs" from the city of Silver Spring, Maryland, but the song has nothing to do with the city - it's a message to her bandmate Lindsey Buckingham following their split.
The line in John Mellencamp's "Cherry Bomb" that sounds like "that's when a smoke was a smoke" is actually "that's when a sport was a sport," according to the published lyric. In that sense, "sport" is an endearment for someone of good nature.
Iron Maiden, Adele, Toto, Eminem and Earth, Wind & Fire are just some of the artists with songs directly inspired by movies - and not always good ones.
The outlaw country icon talks about the spiritual element of his songwriting and his Bob Dylan mention.
"I'll Be" was what Edwin called his "Hail Mary" song. He says it proves "intention of the songwriter is 180 degrees from potential interpretation by an audience."
"Come On Eileen" was a colossal '80s hit, but the band - far more appreciated in their native UK than stateside - released just three albums before their split. Now, Dexys is back.
Richie talks about the impact of "Amazed," and how his 4-year-old son inspired another Lonestar hit.
