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Jewel Was Lucky to Survive Her Solo Busking Trip from Traverse City to...
Three months before she turned 21, Jewel’s debut album on Atlantic Records, Pieces of You, arrived in stores. It was unusual in that a majority of the album was captured live at the Innerchange coffee...
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The Meaning Behind Taylor Swift’s Ode to Starting Over, “Begin Again”
Taylor Swift has explored the lifespan of love a million times over. From new beginnings to tumultuous ends to everything in the middle, Swift has a song for it. One of her most affecting songs in that...
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The Meaning Behind the Song “Someday Never Comes” by Creedence Clearwater...
“Someday Never Comes” was the last Top 40 hit by Creedence Clearwater Revival. Taken from their last album, Mardi Gras, it has stood the test of time as one of John Fogerty’s finest compositions. CCR...
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Anti-War, Anti-Establishment, Anti-Hero: The Meaning Behind Pete Townshend’s...
As The Who’s primary songwriter, Pete Townshend was always thinking on a large scale. Some of his big ideas were brought to life with the concept albums Tommy and Quadrophenia, and on the tracks...
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The Meaning Behind One of Tom Petty’s Most Classic Classic Rock Staples...
Tom Petty wrote “American Girl” during the mid-1970s, while living in a rented apartment in Encino, California. He was a newcomer to the West Coast, having left his hometown of Gainesville, Florida,...
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The Meaning Behind “Crazy over You” by Foster and Lloyd
“I had the lick,” says Bill Lloyd. “Radney [Foster] had the title, and then we worked out all the kind of internal rhymes and stuff.” Lloyd is thinking back along with American Songwriter on writing...
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The Summertime Story Behind the Mel Tormé-Penned Nat King Cole ‘Chestnuts’...
In 1946, Nat King Cole recorded one of the most famous holiday standards. Though, “The Christmas Song” was originally co-written by another crooner of the time. A Summer Song It was a sweltering summer...
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Charles Esten Talks the Meaning Behind His Emotional Track “Somewhere in the...
You should see this place, it’s beautiful / It’s every place we ever tried to find, is the opening line to Charles Esten‘s affecting track, “Somewhere in the Sunshine.” Esten and songwriter Jon Nite...
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The Song Credit Debacle and Mystery “Writer” Behind Chuck Berry’s 1958...
Shortly after Chuck Berry wrote “Run Rudolph Run” in 1958, it was credited to two writers who had nothing to do with writing the festive hit. Once written, Berry realized that the name “Rudolph” was...
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The Meaning Behind R.E.M.’s “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?,” Which Is Not...
Right from their first EP, Chronic Town, R.E.M. gained a reputation for lyrics that were impenetrable, either because they were hard to actually hear clearly or because the meanings were sometimes...
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The Cinematic Meaning Behind Yet Another Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Dig...
Tom Petty was notoriously wary of the music industry. From courtroom battles with MCA Records to protest songs like “The Last DJ,” he regularly made a point of standing up to the deep-pocketed CEOs and...
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Romantic Melancholy Underneath the Guard Towers of the Berlin Wall: The...
David Bowie always seemed ageless. Though he used reinvention as a primary tool, he never seemed to do so to slow time. He was an alien rock star masquerading as a pop star. His work cycled through...
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The Meaning Behind “The Tears of a Clown” by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles...
Berry Gordy met Smokey Robinson in 1957, who was singing in a doo-wop group called the Matadors. Though Robinson was only seventeen, the meeting would eventually break racial barriers and forever...
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Behind the Meaning of Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton’s Holiday Love Song,...
Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton cemented their power couple status by sharing a Christmas song together in 2017. The playful tune “You Make It Feel Like Christmas” marries the best of Stefani’s pop...
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The Train Ride and Early Evolution of Elvis Presley’s Holiday Hit “Blue...
Recorded in September of 1957, Elvis’ Christmas Album has remained the best-selling Christmas album of all time. Throughout the album, Elvis Presley owned each song, from his renditions of previous...
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Behind the Meaning of Kelsea Ballerini’s “LOVE IS A COWBOY”
Country artists often write songs with a wink and nod. Every country artist has a song or two that is expertly crafted around an extended metaphor. Kelsea Ballerini practiced that skill on her 2022...
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The Meaning Behind Jimmy Buffett’s First Hit and a Song That Helped Save His...
Headed out to San Francisco for the Labor Day weekend show … And honey I didn’t know that I’d be missin’ you so sings Jimmy Buffett on his 1974 hit “Come Monday.” Released on Buffett’s fourth album...
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Behind the Holiday Fling in Taylor Swift’s “’tis the damn season”
For many of us, the holidays mean returning home, which can be a comfort. For others though, it can dig up memories that we’d prefer to forget–or habits we wish we’d break. The latter is the case for...
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The Meaning Behind the Carpenters’“We’ve Only Just Begun”; It Was Written to...
We’ve only just begun to liveWhite lace and promisesA kiss for luck, and we’re on our wayWe’ve only begun Shortly after this Carpenters song was released, it became a popular wedding song. It...
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Behind the Meaning of Carrie Underwood’s Murder Ballad “Church Bells”
Murder ballads are a dime a dozen in country music, meaning an artist has to deliver something truly unique for their take on the theme to stand out. Carrie Underwood has several emotionally-driven...
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