Pete Townshend never had a #1 UK hit with The Who or as a solo artist, but he did produce and play on a song that hit the top spot there: "Something In The Air" by Thunderclap Newman, a group he assembled.
Carly Simon wrote "Anticipation" when Cat Stevens was late for their first date. She was "anticipating" his arrival and set down with her guitar to calm her nerves.
The Doobie Brothers' swampy #1 hit "Black Water" is about the Mississippi River, evoking the rafting adventures Mark Twain and Huckleberry Finn.
Jimmy Webb was inspired to write "Up-Up and Away" by a balloon that his friend William F. Williams flew on promotions for radio station KMEN.
The video for Michael and Janet Jackson's "Scream" was the most expensive ever made, costing $7 million.
"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" is based on billboards John Lennon and Yoko Ono posted two years earlier declaring "War Is Over! If You Want It."
Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Mila Kunis and John Malkovich are just a few of the film stars who have moonlighted in music videos.
The Stooges guitarist (and producer of the Kill City album) talks about those early recordings and what really happened with David Bowie.
The Stax legend on how he cooked up "Green Onions," the first time he and Otis Redding saw hippies, and if he'll ever play a digital organ.
Tom talks about the evolution of Cinderella's songs through their first three albums, and how he writes as a solo artist.
Wes Edwards takes us behind the scenes of videos he shot for Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley and Chase Bryant. The train was real - the airplane was not.
Who writes a song about a name they found in a phone book? That's just one of the everyday things these guys find to sing about. Anything in their field of vision or general scope of knowledge is fair game. If you cross paths with them, so are you.