The Muses Who Inspired 15 of Rock’s Biggest Love Songs

Love is one of the most commonly covered subjects not just in rock ‘n’ roll, but in music in general. However, some of the biggest rock songs in the world are about love and relationships, whether they were inspired by a family member, romantic partner or even a complete stranger.

It’s obvious that when a musician is married or in a relationship that most of the love songs they write are about that person, but it’s not always that simple. Oftentimes, love songs are written about forbidden or unrequited love, such as Eric Clapton‘s “Layla” (which is inspired by the Persian poem “The Myth of Layla and Majnun” but is based on his real life), and other times they could be about a complete stranger, like Rick Springfield‘s “Jessie’s Girl.” Then there are also love songs that sound like they’re about a romantic partner, but are actually about the love for a child or another family member.

We were curious to see who the muses behind some of rock’s biggest love songs are, so we compiled a list of them below. If there are images of the individual, we made sure to include them along with a clip from the music video or a live performance of the artist playing the song. Some of the people mentioned below inspired a bunch of songs, so we made note of that as well.

Scroll through the gallery below to see some of the people who inspired the biggest love songs in rock, and you may learn something about tracks you’ve been listening to for years.