One of the most defining country-western musicians ever created one of his biggest hits with “I Walk the Line” shortly after his marriage to Vivian Liberto, his first wife. He meant it as a declaration of fidelity since she was his first wife. While we can’t speak about fidelity, Cash would eventually divorce Liberto in order to marry June Carter.
In the 2005 biopic about the man in black, the song was used as a ballad to help Cash woo Carter, a slight manipulation of events, one has to admit. It’s still one of the most famous country songs ever.
“Philadelphia Freedom” by Elton John
Rock star Elton John and tennis star Billie Jean King made for an unlikely friendship, but a deep and lasting friendship they nevertheless forged. John asked his longtime songwriting partner and lyricist Bernie Taupin to help him write a song in her honor, to be called “Philadelphia Freedom” after her professional tennis team, the Philadelphia Freedoms. Taupin claimed he had no idea how to write a song about tennis. In the end, Taupin wrote a song about life, and every listener simply filled in the meaning in their own head about what the song meant to them. The song was a smash number-one hit single.
Over the years, Elton John and Billie Jean King have leveraged their friendship and their respective fame to create a major philanthropic movement that has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for HIV/AIDS causes and LGBT rights causes as well.
“Candle in the Wind” by Elton John
Elton John first released “Candle in the Wind” in 1974 as a memorial to Marilyn Monroe. Almost a quarter-century later, when his good friend Diana Princess of Wales, died in an automobile accident, John was inconsolable. He discussed with his longtime writing partner and lyricist Bernie Taupin the possibility of adapting their classic song in memory of Diana. Within a few days, the new version was ready. He performed it at Diana’s funeral, and a studio version was released. It was not only more successful than the original version but indeed went on to become one of the best-selling singles of all time, behind only “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby. It captured the imagination and hearts of people worldwide who had just lost one of the most beloved public figures of the century.
Elton John has been one of the most popular performers in the world for nearly half a century. Together with his longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin he has written hundreds of songs, including dozens of smash hit singles, making him one of the highest-selling musicians of all time. But who would have imagined that his greatest success would come from a revision of one of his oldest songs?
“Wild Horses” by The Rolling Stones
Despite having a name that is anything but gentle, this delicate love song has gone down as a sweet staple of this legendary British rock band. While the band the Flying Burrito Brothers released a version first, it all came from the Stones. Mick Jagger was hanging out with Gram Parsons, who was part of the FBB, and just came up with some music.
Keith Richards had just had a son and hated spending time away, but eventually, it became a little more of a love song for Marianne Faithfull, who was in a relationship with Jagger at the time.
“Go Your Own Way” by Fleetwood Mac
From their eleventh studio album, Fleetwood Mac delivered one of their greatest tunes. If you're a classic rock fan, you've certainly heard this famous song, and you probably know the backstory, too. Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham were in a public relationship for some time, but it eventually hit rocky ground.
Problem is, the two were still in a band together, and they were the two biggest names as well. Just like the rest of the songs on the album “Rumors,” none of the instruments were recorded live together. Nicks and Buckingham managed to record the song despite their breakup.