Harriet Schock, an acclaimed performing artist in her own right, has had covers of her songs recorded by numerous artists, including Helen Reddy, Smokey Robinson, Roberta Flack, Lee Greenwood, Johnny Mathis, Nancy Wilson, Manfred Mann, Vicki Carr, Jeannie Kendall, and the new Supremes. She is also a teacher and a coach to aspiring songwriters and the author of her own book about songwriting.
When singing "Cradle Of Love," Billy Idol typically changes a line to, "This song is so cheesy."
Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" received more airplay during the 2000s than any other song in the UK.
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.
"Just Dance" was Lady Gaga's first hit, and it also brought the techno-synth sound that had been popular in Europe for the previous decade to the United States.
New Order got the title for "Blue Monday" from an illustration that read "Goodbye Blue Monday" in the Kurt Vonnegut book Breakfast Of Champions. The image refers to the invention of the washing machine improving housewives' lives.
Bernie Taupin was 17 when he wrote the lyrics to Elton John's "Your Song." Looking back, he says it's "one of the most naïve and childish lyrics in the entire repertoire of music."
Foreigner's songwriter/guitarist tells the stories behind the songs "Juke Box Hero," "I Want To Know What Love Is," and many more.
Established as a redoubtable singer-songwriter, the Men At Work frontman explains how religion, sobriety and Jack Nicholson play into his songwriting.
Test your metal - Priest, Maiden, and Beavis and Butt-head show up in this one.
Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.
Rob Halford dives into some of his Judas Priest lyrics, talking about his most personal songs and the message behind "You've Got Another Thing Comin'."
