Neil Young's song "Old Man" was inspired by the caretaker of the ranch he bought in 1970. Neil was the young man at the time, just 25.
The guys who wrote "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" had never been to a baseball game but knew it was a good song topic.
Staind's big moment came in 1999 when lead singer Aaron Lewis played "Outside" on Limp Bizkit's Family Values tour. The live, acoustic version earned lots of radio play.
Richard Harris, who played Professor Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter movies, had a hit in 1968 with "MacArthur Park."
"The House Of The Rising Sun" is a traditional folk song, either about a brothel or a prison.
The fadeout on Drake's "Hotline Bling" lasts 55 seconds - one of the longest outros of any hip-hop hit.
Bowie's "activist" days of 1964 led to Ziggy Stardust.
Was a Beatles song a TV theme? And who came up with those Fresh Prince and Sopranos songs?
Director Mark Pellington on Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," and music videos he made for U2, Jon Bon Jovi and Imagine Dragons.
The lead singer on "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me," La La explains how and why Phil Spector replaced The Crystals with Darlene Love on "He's A Rebel."
The Jayhawks' song "Big Star" has special meaning to Gary, who explains how longevity and inspiration have trumped adulation.
Soul music legend Bill Withers on how life experience and the company you keep leads to classic songs like "Lean On Me."