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The Story and Meaning Behind “Luka,” Suzanne Vega’s Fearless Hit Single About...
Scoring a hit single is hard enough. Attempting to do so while tackling a troubling societal issue significantly raises the degree of difficulty. Suzanne Vega managed to thread that needle on “Luka,”...
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The Story and Meaning Behind “(It’s All Down to) Goodnight Vienna,” a Ringo...
After his hit album Ringo featured all three of his Beatles bandmates, Ringo Starr only received help from John Lennon on the follow-up album Goodnight Vienna. But those contributions from Lennon were...
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The Story and Meaning Behind “Blue Jay Way,” One of the Spookiest Beatles Songs
The Beatles experimented throughout their careers with different sounds and techniques, perhaps never more so than on their 1967 EP Magical Mystery Tour, the songs of which appeared in the psychedelic...
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The Link Between Tina Turner’s Comeback Hit “What’s Love Got To Do With It”...
After the songwriting duo written by Graham Lyle and Terry Britten delivered a comeback song for the ages to Tina Turner with “What’s Love Got to Do With It” from her 1984 album Private Dancer, the duo...
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The Story and Meaning Behind “Only Love Remains” by Paul McCartney, an...
Even on an album that largely got away from him, Paul McCartney was able to pull it together and deliver a ballad that can make even the coldest hearts swoon. The album was Press to Play, released in...
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The Story Behind “Like Dreamers Do”: How the Song Scored a Hit for The...
On January 1, 1962, The Beatles drove to Broadhurst Gardens, just a mile north of EMI Studios on Abbey Road, to audition for Decca Records. John Lennon, George Harrison, and Paul McCartney plugged...
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How Spontaneous Inspiration Supercharged “Faint” by Linkin Park
Although they were quickly lumped in with the nu-metal movement that made a lot of noise in the late 1990s into the early 2000s, California sextet Linkin Park were not considered part of that domain by...
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The Pretenders Hit That “Mortified” Chrissie Hynde and Made Her “Cringe”
“I never thought it was that great,” said Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders 1980 hit “Brass in Pocket.” Hynde never wanted “Brass in Pocket” released as a single. Released as the third single from the...
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The Story Behind “Instant Crush,” a Stroke of Genius by Daft Punk Featuring...
The Daft Punk-Julian Casablancas collaboration “Instant Crush” is, as its title suggests, about a boy who falls madly in love with someone in the span of a moment. However, the song itself was hardly...
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The Story Behind “Just Between You and Me” by Charley Pride and How He...
In 1966, Chet Atkins heard a tape of Charley Pride and convinced his superiors at RCA Records to sign the singer to the label. When he played the tape for the suits, the music won them over...
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The Story Behind “2000 Light Years from Home” by The Rolling Stones and the...
On March 30, 1967, The Beatles arrived at photographer Michael Cooper’s Chelsea Manor Photo Studios to pose for the cover of their upcoming album Sgt, Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The project was...
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The Rolling Stones Classic That Keith Richards Disliked and Didn’t Believe...
Sometimes, a band knows they’ve made a hit right away, and other times, it takes a bit of convincing—such was the case for the Rolling Stones hit Keith Richards disliked and insisted wasn’t worth...
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Behind the Meaning of “What Hurts The Most” by Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts has earned many hits throughout their career, but few are as heartbreaking as “What Hurts The Most.” Acrobatic vocals, insatiable melody, and touching sentiment all make this song a...
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Post-Millennial Classic: “Lua” by Bright Eyes, Conor Oberst’s Heartbreaking...
The band Bright Eyes and its prolific singer/songwriter Conor Oberst came rumbling out of Omaha, Nebraska, as one of the most promising indie groups of the 2000s. Relocating to New York City gave...
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The Story and Meaning Behind “I’m Not in Love,” the Clever Slow Song that Put...
It’s one of the most beloved love songs of the 1970s, which is kind of amazing because the title itself appears to deny the whole romance thing. On “I’m Not in Love,” 10cc accomplished that oh-so-rare...
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The Envy Theme of Nik Kershaw’s “Wouldn’t It Be Good”
Pop-rock singer/songwriter Nik Kershaw has had a long-running career, and he made his mark early with five Top-10 and two Top-20 hits in the UK from his first two albums, Human Racing and The Riddle,...
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The Emotional Powderkeg Igniting Judas Priest’s “Panic Attack”
Judas Priest have occasionally injected social commentary into their music, although more has emerged in frontman Rob Halford’s solo work. But “Panic Attack,” the fierce and potent opening track and...
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The Story and Meaning Behind “Sara,” Bob Dylan’s Colossal Ode to His First Wife
Bob Dylan recorded “Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands,” his first massive tribute to his wife, in 1966 to close out his magnificent double album Blonde on Blonde. A decade later, he did it again with...
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The Institutional Problems that Inspired System of a Down’s “Prison Song”
System of a Down have never shied away from dealing with serious topics and on their second album Toxicity, which came out just one week prior to September 11, 2001, the group tackled many different...
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The Story and Meaning Behind “Misty Mountain Hop,” One of the Top Tracks from...
There are so many classic songs on Led Zeppelin’s untitled fourth album, which was released in 1971, that it’s easy for a single one of them to get a little bit lost in the shuffle. No danger of that...
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