Ronnie Van Zant wrote the Lynyrd Skynyrd classic "Gimme Three Steps" after making the mistake of dancing with a girl whose boyfriend was in the bar and probably had a gun. He asked for a 3-step head start.
Grazing In The Grass by The Friends Of Distinction was the first big hit to use the phrase "dig it" in the lyric.
The first big hit by an X Factor winner was "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis, who won the British version of the show in 2008. The song was intended for Jesse McCartney, who wrote it with Ryan Tedder.
Neither Peter Frampton nor Lynyrd Skynyrd ever had a #1 hit, but when Will To Power mashed up their songs "Baby, I Love Your Way" and "Free Bird" into a lite-rock medley in 1988, it hit the top spot.
The "Ms. Jackson" in the OutKast song is Erykah Badu's mother. Andre 3000 had a child with Badu, and felt she was portraying him as a lousy dad.
"Light My Fire" was the first song Doors guitarist Robby Krieger wrote. Looking for a universal theme, he decided to write about one of the four elements (air, earth, water, fire).
Soul music legend Bill Withers on how life experience and the company you keep leads to classic songs like "Lean On Me."
The Sevendust frontman talks about the group's songwriting process, and how trips to the Murder Bar helped forge their latest album.
U2, Carly Simon, Joanna Newsom, Brian Wilson and Fiona Apple have all gone to Van Dyke Parks to make their songs exceptional.
It wasn't her biggest hit as a songwriter (that would be "Bette Davis Eyes"), but "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" had a family connection for Jackie.
Songwriters have used cards and card games to make sense of heartache, togetherness, and even Gonorrhea.
Katy Perry mentions McDonald's, Beyoncé calls out Red Lobster, and Supertramp shouts out Taco Bell - we found the 10 restaurants most often mentioned in songs.