Henry Fuseli's "The Nightmare" (1781), a classical depiction of what is now recognized as old hag syndrome. Typically, the victim wakes up unable to move, barely able to breathe, and with an oppressive weight pressing down on his chest. Unsurprisingly, this can also lead to the feeling of an evil presence in the room. In days of yore, this would typically have been interpreted as a demonic visitation, but a modern age demands a modern interpretation, which may well be the reason why according to some reports, over two million Americans believe they have been abducted by aliens at some point.
"The Cave" by Mumford & Sons is based on the philosophy of Plato and his work called "Allegory of the Cave."
Otis Day And The Knights, the fictional band created to perform "Shout" in the movie Animal House, became a real band, performing the song at colleges and other venues.
Journey lead singer Steve Perry wrote the rather dramatic "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" with the opening lyrics, "You make me weep, I wanna die," after seeing his girlfriend kissing another man.
The Kate Bush song "Why Should I Love You?" is a collaboration with Prince. He completely re-worked her demo, so Bush spent a lot of time piecing it back together to keep her imprint.
Paula Abdul's "Forever Your Girl" was written by Oliver Leiber, who despite being the son of Jerry Leiber from Leiber & Stoller, was an unknown songwriter.
References to David Bowie, Tom Waits and Allan Ginsburg are peppered into the Bush song "Everything Zen."
Since emerging from MySpace with her hit "Bubbly," Colbie has become a top songwriter, even crafting a hit with Taylor Swift.
Did this Eagle come up with the term "Parrothead"? And what is it like playing "Hotel California" for the gazillionth time?
Emilio talks about what it's like to write and perform with the Tower of Power horns, and why every struggling band should have a friend like Huey Lewis.
The stories behind the biggest hit songs about trucking.
How a goofy detective movie, a disenchanted director and an unlikely songwriter led to one of the biggest hits in pop history.
With a few clues (Works at a diner, dreams of running away), can you name the character in the song?