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The Meaning Behind “Grow Old with Me” by John Lennon and the Songwriting...
It’s hard to talk too much about John Lennon‘s “Grow Old with Me” without referencing the tragedy that rendered the song’s heartfelt wishes an impossibility for Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono. Let’s...
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The Story Behind “Color Him Father” by Linda Martell and the Music Exec Who...
You may know the name Linda Martell because of Beyoncé’s new album, Cowboy Carter. But Martell had already changed country music and smashed barriers when she became the first Black female artist to...
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Remember When: Keith Richards Started The X-Pensive Winos
Guitarist Keith Richards will forever be associated with The Rolling Stones. No matter what else he does, he will always be known as the guitar player from the greatest rock band in the world. In 1986,...
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The Burt Reynolds Line That Inspired One of Toby Keith’s Biggest Hits, “As...
“You know, I’m not as good as I once was, but I’m as good once as I ever was,” said Burt Reynolds in the 1980s. The phrase, coined by Reynolds, was one Toby Keith‘s father, Hubert K. Covel Jr....
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The Story Behind “Pleasant Valley Sunday” by The Monkees and the Distinctive...
A catchy guitar riff can make a good song a great song. Some hits are written around a catchy guitar figure, while other songs rely on a riff for only the intro. Riffs can be a repetitive sequence of...
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Behind the Meaning of John Prine’s “I Remember Everything”
Toward the end of his life, John Prine gifted the world one last stunning, introspective song, “I Remember Everything.” Prine has many songs in the spirit of reminiscing, but this one remains the most...
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The Story Behind “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35” by Bob Dylan and Why It’s...
People assumed Bob Dylan’s “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35” was a drug song for years. In 2012, Dylan told Rolling Stone magazine, “These are people that aren’t familiar with the Book of Acts,”...
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Exploring the Meaning Behind Toad the Wet Sprocket’s “Fall Down,” 30 Years...
When you go to a Toad the Wet Sprocket show, you hear a blend of songs from their 1990s commercial heyday and their two most recent albums, Starting Now and New Constellation. One certainty is you will...
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The Meaning Behind “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim” by Jim Croce and the...
Jim Croce wasn’t referring to himself with the song “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim,” but instead was telling a tale about an ill-fated pool shark. But the title nonetheless made listeners stand up and...
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The Meaning Behind “It’s So Easy” by Linda Ronstadt and How an Afterthought...
Linda Ronstadt steamrolled through the ’70s with a stream of hot-selling singles and well-appointed albums. You can’t go wrong with any of those records, but Simple Dreams, from 1977, probably stands...
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How Beyoncé’s “Ameriican Requiem” Addresses ‘Cowboy Carter’ Haters Head-on
Beyoncé was a country fan long before the release of her eighth studio album ‘Cowboy Carter.’ However, the country music industry hasn’t always been a fan of hers. The meaning of the album’s opening...
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The Story Behind the Beatles Cover That Secretly Helped Launch Their Career
Paul McCartney decided to add some variation to the Beatles‘ sound by including a cover of “Til There Was You” early on in their career. Macca heard The Music Man cut from a Peggy Lee record and...
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The Personal Trauma Behind “Nothing Breaks Like a Heart” by Mark Ronson Ft....
Just weeks before Mark Ronson and Miley Cyrus released “Nothing Breaks Like a Heart,” a California wildfire had destroyed Cyrus’s home. Both artists survived personal turmoil as their heartbreaking...
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How David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” Transformed From Flop Folk Number to...
David Bowie hit a musical milestone 41 years ago today when his iconic pop track “Let’s Dance” hit No. 1 on both the U.K. and U.S. charts, marking the first time the British rocker would achieve the...
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“You’ve Got to Open that Valve Every Once in a While”: The Release Mechanism...
Canadian progressive music icons Saga came to international prominence with their fourth album Worlds Apart which sold half a million copies in America and charted in numerous countries. Released in...
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A Desperate Plea for Harmony: The Meaning Behind “The Great Divide” by Luke...
Luke Combs and Billy Strings collaborated on “The Great Divide” in 2021 to address a country at war with itself. Though Combs hinted at a larger bluegrass project, he chose to confront tribalism as the...
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Waylon Jennings Always Disliked Having His Name Mentioned in This 1977 Hit
Let’s go to Luckenbach, Texas with Waylon and Willie and the boys Waylon Jennings sings on “Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love).” Released on Jennings’ 1977 album Ol’ Waylon, the song also...
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The Meaning Behind “The Killing Moon” by Echo & the Bunnymen and the Fateful...
American mainstream pop audiences didn’t know much about the influential British band Echo & the Bunnymen during their ’80s heyday. But the alternative fans got it, making the band underground...
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The Story Behind the Eagles’“Take It To The Limit”–and the Fight it Caused...
Randy Meisner penned several songs for the Eagles, but “Take It To The Limit” is arguably his best effort. The high note Meisner hits at the end of the song never fails to impress when listening back...
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The Story Behind “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?” by Paula Cole and How It...
Paula Cole’s first hit single “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?” brought some disparate musical influences together, including The Beatles and Prince. Given the country-tinged flavor of the song’s...
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