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The Motörhead Classic Lemmy Eventually Started to Hate
Throughout his 50-plus year career, Lemmy Kilmister started writing psychedelic rock while in the Sam Gopal band in the ’60s and spacier things in Hawkwind by the early 1970s before landing on his...
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Images of the Old West: The Story Behind “Heroes and Villains” by The Beach Boys
In 1966, when Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys was released, it wasn’t exactly greeted with open arms by the public or critics. Brian Wilson used the recording studio as an instrument and embraced the idea...
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“Take Me Home Tonight”: The 1986 Comeback for Ronnie Spector and Eddie Money
When Eddie Money was working on his sixth album Can’t Hold Back, he was at a low point. Years of drug and alcohol abuse took a toll on his career, and he needed a strong comeback since releasing...
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With A Little Help From the Coppers: The Story Behind “Let’s Spend the Night...
In February 1967, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones were arrested for drug possession. The bust happened at Redlands, Richards’ country house estate in West Sussex, England. They...
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Defying the “Punk Rock Police”: The Story Behind “Train In Vain (Stand By...
The Clash were always a band that had to walk both sides of the line. They took a DIY/punk rock stance while signing with a major label. Their first album wasn’t released in America until two years...
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The Band Misfortune that Inspired “Fade to Black” by Metallica
Heavy metal and suicide can make for an unintentionally volatile combination. Ozzy Osbourne released the song “Suicide Solution” on his debut album Blizzard of Ozz in 1980, and five years later he was...
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Why Kenny Chesney Thought “Don’t Blink” Would End His George Strait-Inspired...
In the late 90s and early 2000s, every country singer wanted to be like George Strait — except for Kenny Chesney. Struggling to find his authenticity within a sea of belt-buckled lookalikes, Chesney’s...
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The Inner Exploration Behind Peter Gabriel’s “Digging in the Dirt”
After leaving Genesis in 1975, Peter Gabriel gradually grew from having a relatively modest but devoted following as a solo artist to becoming an international superstar. His 1986 album So was the...
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The Heartbreaking Real-Life Story Behind George Strait’s “You’ll Be There”
The best songs can morph their meanings to reflect an individual listener’s life experiences. And the best artists can ensure an effortless transfer of these ideas, memories, and feelings. Such was the...
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Just Need One More Hit: The Story Behind “Crumblin’ Down” by John Cougar...
“I don’t hear a hit.” How many times has that sentence been uttered after an established artist turns in their latest project to a record label? John Cougar was coming off his breakthrough album...
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As ‘Diamond Dogs’ Turns 50, the Meaning Behind “Rebel Rebel” by David Bowie
Exhausted and creatively in flux, David Bowie released his 1973 album Pin Ups to appease his record label. Then, he disbanded the Spiders from Mars and planned to create a musical. Desperate to move on...
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The Reluctantly Political Meaning Behind Death Cab for Cutie’s “Gold Rush”
When Ben Gibbard was writing songs for Death Cab for Cutie’s 2018 album Thank You for Today, he penned some lyrics about American politics during the Donald Trump presidency. He didn’t much care for...
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Andy Warhol Hated the Song David Bowie Wrote About Him
Andy Warhol had a more indirect influence on a young David Bowie. Fascinated by everything happening at the artist’s muse-flocked art space, The Factory, Bowie was particularly drawn to Warhol’s use of...
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The Meaning Behind “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga and Why ‘The Fame Monster’...
Lady Gaga is relaunching her Jazz & Piano residency show in Las Vegas, which began in 2018. The residency combines music from the Great American Songbook with stripped-down versions of her hits....
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The Story Behind “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys” by...
“Let’s go to Luckenbach, Texas, with Waylon, Willie, and the boys!” The song “Luckenbach, Texas” proved to be Waylon Jennings‘ biggest hit. Although it is credited solely to Jennings, another voice...
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The Meaning Behind “Don’t Bring Me Down” by Electric Light Orchestra and the...
When groups like The Flaming Lips and Daft Punk borrow sounds from the past to create futuristic music, Electric Light Orchestra is often the reference—Daft Punk even shares an album title with ELO’s...
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The Story Behind “Wishlist” by Pearl Jam and How It Started Out as an Experiment
Pearl Jam’s fifth studio album, Yield, released in 1998, was notable for a shift in the band’s approach to songwriting. On previous albums, frontman Eddie Vedder dominated the songwriting process,...
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Four Personalities Rolled into One: The Story Behind “5:15” by The Who
Does Jimmy live or die? That is the big question raised after listening to The Who‘s 1973 album Quadrophenia. The main character, Jimmy, is a composite based on many people, including Who band members...
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The Story Behind “Spies Like Us” by Paul McCartney and Its Unlikely...
Paul McCartney‘s catalog, both during and after his time with The Beatles, has been analyzed like few musical bodies of work. But what if we told you that the guy posted a Top 10 hit in the U.S. that...
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The Meaning Behind “Rich Girl” by Hall & Oates and the Important Change that...
When you hear “Rich Girl” by Hall & Oates on the radio, even today so many years after its release in 1976, it still practically pops out of the speakers with its many hooks and the potency of...
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