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50 Cent’s “Many Men” and the Actual Near-Death Experience That Inspired It
Some rappers write about violence because it’s en vogue, but 50 Cent’s triple-platinum track “Many Men (Wish Death)” proves that the award-winning artist doesn’t just rap about what’s on trend. He raps...
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The Story Behind “Badlands” by Bruce Springsteen and How It Was Inspired by...
Following Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen faced a giant hurdle. How do you follow up one of the biggest-selling albums of the 1970s? His manager, Mike Appel, pushed for a live album, while Bruce wanted...
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The Controversial Song Mick Jagger Said He Would “Never Write” Today
The Rolling Stones built an entire musical career on making pearl-clutchers blush, but some tracks have ended up being too scandalous even for these long-time rockers, including the controversial song...
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The Meaning Behind “Everything You Want,” Vertical Horizon’s Early 2000s...
The Washington, D.C.-based band Vertical Horizon toiled in obscurity throughout the 1990s, but their patience paid off once the new millennium arrived. The group made its first entry onto the Billboard...
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The Fascinating Story Behind “Where the Wild Things Are,” the Single That...
Luke Combs started his career with a winning streak. Starting with his debut single “Hurricane” in 2016, every single the North Carolina native released went to No. 1 on either the Billboard Hot...
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The Meaning Behind “Somebody Save Me” by Eminem and Jelly Roll and Why the...
On Eminem’s new song “Somebody Save Me,” the Detroit rapper apologizes to his kids with help from country singer and rapper Jelly Roll. The emotional track closes The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de...
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Behind the Meaning of Kelsea Ballerini’s “Blindsided”
The latest era of Kelsea Ballerini‘s career has proven her to be a consequential and unbridled songwriter. She hasn’t shied away from expressing the somber sides of her life. One of her best songs in...
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The Beatles Song John Lennon Denied Writing, Calling It a “Piece Of Rubbish”
The collaborative approach to the Beatles’ songwriting allowed John Lennon and Paul McCartney to bolster one another creatively, and it also opened the door for one musician to blame a song on another,...
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The Story and Meaning Behind “Early 1970,” Ringo Starr’s Take on The Beatles’...
For anybody wondering about the state of relations among the four Beatles following the announcement of their breakup in 1970, Ringo Starr came through with an update. He did it via the song “Early...
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Behind the Meaning of Jelly Roll’s ‘Twisters’ Soundtrack Inclusion, “Dead End...
Jelly Roll recently released his soundtrack inclusion for the buzzed about film, Twisters. While the blockbuster has a lot going for it, the soundtrack is proving to be one of its strongest aspects....
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The Story and Meaning Behind “Hi, Hi, Hi,” a Briefly Banned Hit by Paul...
Needing a bit of a hit, Paul McCartney and Wings embraced a little bit of controversy on the 1972 single “Hi, Hi, Hi.” Some of that controversy was accidental, some of it was warranted, but all of it...
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The Story and Meaning Behind “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away,” a Track...
The Beatles were growing fast in a musical sense by 1965, incorporating a wide variety of influences into their new music. Bob Dylan was one of those influences, and the Help! track “You’ve Got to Hide...
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Why John Mellencamp Said Recording “Jack and Diane” Was So Difficult
When you’re just starting out as a songwriter, finding your own voice (especially in a full band arrangement) can be an overwhelming challenge, one that John Mellencamp would later say contributed to...
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The Story and Meaning Behind “Stuck in the Middle with You,” Stealers Wheel’s...
It was a hit when it came out, and it received a big boost from its inclusion in an ultra-cool movie. But many people have no idea what Gerry Rafferty was singing about when he crooned his way through...
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The Story Behind “A Quick One, While He’s Away” by The Who and How It Bubbled...
The Who started as a band that focused more on singles than albums but transformed into a group that used the long-form format to their advantage like few others. Before the 1950s, the single was king....
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The Story Behind Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin’s Orgasmic “Je T’Aime… Moi...
After a disappointing date with his then-girlfriend actress and singer, Brigitte Bardot, who was marred at the time, Serge Gainsbourg was tasked by the French actress with writing her “the most...
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The Story Behind “Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression, Part 2,” a Portion of an...
Sometimes, a piece of music just finds a way to be heard in the face of any odds stacked against it. You can start to appreciate that notion when it comes to Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s “Karn Evil 9:...
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The Story and Meaning Behind “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five,” Paul...
The song arrived just a dozen years before the date promised in its forward-looking title. But thanks to the cleverness and talents of Paul McCartney and Wings, “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five”...
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Post-Millennial Masterpiece: “The Modern Leper” by Frightened Rabbit, a...
Frightened Rabbit’s 2008 album Midnight Organ Fight is one of those revelatory releases, one where a band seems to rise up from nowhere with a work of rare insight and inspiration. It was written by...
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The Story and Meaning Behind “Father and Son,” Cat Stevens’ Touching Look at...
On his 1970 album Tea for the Tillerman, Cat Stevens managed to touch a nerve with the wider culture with a set of songs featuring lovely melodies and piercing lyrics. “Father and Son,” one of the...
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