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The Tin Pan Alley Song Paul McCartney Said Had a “Terrible Sound” When He...
Paul McCartney is certainly no stranger to what makes a great hit song and, conversely, what doesn’t—the latter of which he was dealing with when trying to record a Tin Pan Alley song he would later...
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The Meaning Behind Beck’s Saddest Song, “Lost Cause”
Willie Nelson covered Beck’s “Lost Cause” on his latest album Last Leaf on the Tree. Nelson, 91, sings about hopelessness; he’s confronting mortality. Singing about mortality in the abstract is one...
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The Nick Cave Ballad Bob Dylan Connected to One Night in Paris: “I Was Really...
On Sunday, November 17, 2024, Bob Dylan went to see Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds perform at the Accor Arena in Paris, France during some downtime on his tour. A few days after the show, which was part...
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The Story Behind “I Should Have Known Better” by The Beatles and How Bob...
When John Lennon was a child his Uncle George gave him a Hohner harmonica, and the youngster learned to play. Inspired by the song “Hey Baby” by Bruce Channel, Lennon began adding it to his band’s...
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The Paul McCartney Diss Track John Lennon Recruited George Harrison To Play On
A one-on-one fight between friends is always hard to watch, but add another person to one side, and it turns even more vindictive—something perfectly encapsulated by the Paul McCartney diss track John...
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David Gilmour Built Pink Floyd’s Massive Syd Barrett Tribute Out of Just Four...
Pink Floyd’s album Wish You Were Here might have been a comprehensive, album-wide tribute to Syd Barrett, but the nine-part magnum opus “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” is the cornerstone of the entire...
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Behind the Meaning of “Check Yes or No” by George Strait
George Strait has no shortage of timeless tracks to his name. You’d be hard-pressed to pick one that stands out above all the rest, but “Check Yes or No” is certainly on the short list. Uncover the...
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The Story and Meaning Behind “Steppin’ Out,” the Song Where Joe Jackson...
Making a drastic change to your musical style in the middle of a successful career isn’t always the best idea. Joe Jackson did just that in 1982 with the album Night and Day, and he ended up with the...
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The Story Behind the Song Tom Petty Nearly Gave Away to Stevie Nicks
After the explosion of Fleetwood Mac‘s Rumours in 1977, Stevie Nicks wanted to break from the chaos within the band and release venture out as a solo artist. By ’78, she began hounding Tom Petty to...
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The Story and Meaning Behind “Daydream,” The Lovin’ Spoonful’s Groovy...
The Lovin’ Spoonful delivered a batch of hits in the ’60s notable for their variety. This band could turn out modern sounds when so inclined, but they also possessed the ability to reach back to...
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The Story and Meaning Behind “Road to Nowhere,” the Song Where Talking Heads...
’80s fans can probably summon up Talking Heads‘ “Road to Nowhere” in their imagination with no problem: The solemn chorale opening, followed by Tina Weymouth’s bass notes that sound like a lawnmower...
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The Surprising Reason Brooks & Dunn Were Afraid of Hit “Boot Scootin’ Boogie”
Brooks & Dunn’s 1991 smash hit “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” is one of the country duo’s most iconic tracks, but before they released the album it was on, Brand New Man, the song gave the band (and their...
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The Story and Meaning Behind “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore,” a Frankie...
If someone knew instinctively how to match a song to an artist to create the most impact, they’d be able to name their price at the record company of their choosing. It’s an inexact science, which is...
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Yacht Rock Essentials: “Summer Breeze” by Seals & Crofts, an Early 1970s...
We mostly associate yacht rock with the late 1970s and the early, pre-MTV ’80s. But there are a few classics of this unique genre that captured the public’s imagination a bit earlier than that. “Summer...
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Behind the Meaning of Carrie Underwood’s “Thank God for Hometowns”
As the holidays begin, many of us transplants have made plans to head back home. Though you may not have appreciated it while you were there, there is something alluring about the comforts of the place...
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The Story Behind the Candid Tribute Nick Cave Wrote for Johnny Cash, “Let the...
In early 2002, Rick Rubin called up Nick Cave and asked him if he wanted to sing a song with Johnny Cash. To Cave, Cash was a hero ever since he first watched him as a kid on Australian TV on The...
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When Brian Wilson Embraced the Electro-Theremin: The Story Behind “Wild...
In the late 1950s, trombonist Paul Tanner and amateur inventor Bob Whitsell developed an instrument to mimic the sound of a theremin. The Electro-Theramin used a different control mechanism but...
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The Real Meaning Behind Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” and Why It’s a...
Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” took the world by storm when it first came out in April 2024, and it’s easy to see why. The melody is infectious, and the hook is nostalgic for a massive demographic of...
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The Thanksgiving Song That Turned Into a Christmas Classic, “Jingle Bells”
James Lord Pierpont originally wrote “The One Horse Open Sleigh” in 1850 for his father’s Sunday school class Thanksgiving church service. He’d written the song while sitting at the Simpson Tavern in...
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Behind the Meaning of Amy Winehouse’s “Tears Dry on Their Own”
Amy Winehouse never shied away from saying exactly what she wanted to in her songs. She was incomparably candid in her music, letting hard truths fly freely. In “Tears Dry on Their Own,” she sings...
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