An Allen Ginsberg line from his poem Howl inspired "Machinehead" by Bush: "Machine says I saw the best minds of my generation."
"Total Eclipse Of The Heart" by Bonnie Tyler is a tribute to the vampire movie Nosferatu, depicting an immortal "love in the dark."
"True" by Spandau Ballet is about chief songwriter Gary Kemp's unrequited love for Altered Images singer and Gregory's Girl star Clare Grogan.
"Womanizer" was Britney Spears' comeback song, going to #1 about 10 months after she was institutionalized to get treatment for addictions and mental health issues.
When Marc Cohn played "True Companion" to his girlfriend, she thought he was proposing. He wasn't, but he did eventually marry her.
Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" was inspired by how she'd learned to deal with all the false rumors that circulated about her. She realized she could either let it get to her or "just shake it off."
Phone booths are nearly extinct, but they provided storylines for some of the most profound songs of the pre-cell phone era.
Sheryl Crow's longtime songwriting partner/guitarist Jeff Trott reveals the stories behind many of the singer's hits, and what its like to be a producer for Leighton Meester and Max Gomez.
Pete produced Dwight Yoakam, Michelle Shocked, Meat Puppets, and a very memorable track for Roy Orbison.
The king of Christian worship music explains talks about writing songs for troubled times.
Songwriters have used cards and card games to make sense of heartache, togetherness, and even Gonorrhea.
Known in America for the hit "If You Leave," OMD is a huge influence on modern electronic music.